Pret A Manger has today announced plans to open five new shops in downtown Berlin by the end of 2023 alongside franchise partner PM Nord GmbH, as part of its continued expansion both in Germany and across the world.
The London-founded freshly made food and organic coffee chain will open its first two shops in the city centre at the start of November, with one on the major culture and shopping street Friedrichstrasse and one in the vibrant Sony Center at The Playce at Potsdamer Platz.
‘Pret A Manger’ which means ‘ready to eat’ in French focuses on preparing freshly made food every day for customers to grab on the go or sit in and enjoy. The new shops will bring Pret’s extensive menu of freshly made food and organic coffee to more people in Berlin. This includes a wide variety of delicious sandwiches, salads, baguettes, hot food, sweet treats, and pastries, all made by Team Members in Pret’s kitchens every day, plus a range of organic coffees, teas and iced drinks prepared by specially-trained baristas. Any unsold food at the end of each day will be donated to local charities via The Pret Foundation.
Together with PM Nord GmbH, a Berlin-based company with a proven track record in the hospitality industry and deep expertise running cafés and restaurants, Pret is accelerating its growth in Germany with a further three shops set to open in Berlin before the end of the year. These include a new Pret at Leipziger Platz, another at The Playce at Potsdamer Platz shopping centre, and a third at one of Berlin’s busiest shopping streets, Steglitzer Schloßstraße. They will join Pret’s popular shops in transport hubs in Berlin, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, creating around 100 jobs for local people across the city.
To enable the expansion, PM Nord GmbH has acquired existing CARAS stores and will convert these into new Pret shops. They have been selected because of their ideally-placed locations in lively areas of downtown Berlin.
Dr Elmar Alexander Voigt, managing partner, PM Nord GmbH, said: “As a native Berliner, I am very pleased to accompany Pret A Manger on its growth journey here in Germany, and look forward to working together with my team to bring Pret’s high-quality fresh food and organic coffee to more local customers as the master franchisee for northern Germany. Berlin makes the perfect first city to begin Pret’s German expansion, thanks to its diversity, openness, and size and is something I know my fellow Berliners will love.”
Stephane Klein, managing director, Pret Europe, said: “Following the success of our shops in German transport hubs, launching the Pret brand in downtown Berlin is a major milestone in our European expansion. We’ve long heard that locals would love to have a Pret in the city centre, so we’re delighted to be working with new franchise partner PM Nord GmbH to bring our freshly-made food and organic coffee to more people and add something new to Berlin’s vibrant food-to-go scene.”
The new partnership between Pret and PM Nord GmbH marks an important step in Pret’s plans to double the size of its business by 2026, as it continues to expand into new countries and regions both in Europe and across the world. In the last year alone, Pret has opened new shops in Luxembourg, Italy, and Ireland, with plans to launch in Portugal and Spain soon.
