Sandwich revolution: Global chain Pret A Manger is coming to SA

Global fresh food and coffee chain, Pret A Manger, is coming to South Africa.

The UK-based company signed a development deal with SA's Millat Group, giving Millat the exclusive licence to operate Pret shops in the southern African region.

The first shop is set to open in Johannesburg, with others to be added in key cities incuding Cape Town and Durban.

Pret A Manger, which translates as 'ready to eat', has a menu which includes sandwiches, salads, baked goods and organic coffees.

“Pret A Manger has the best in class offering of organic grab-and-go and a food service offering that stands out. This partnership is in line with Millat’s strategy of bringing global brands into South Africa.”

"Already we have strong relationships with global brands such as Hyatt, Circle K that have been the foundation of our thesis of curating global brands in South Africa and set the tone for scale."

Hamza Farooqui, CEO - Millat Group

Bruce Whitfield interviews Hamza Farooqui, founder and CEO of the Millat Group.

Farooqui emphasizes that a lot of time and effort is going into making sure they carefully curate the brand, which he says has not always been the case with international companies coming here.

"Many have the concept of just relying on the laurels of a global brand working in a market. We believe South Africans are a very specific type of consumer who need a lot of curation and a lot of attention... and that's not just price point, it's also about taste and consumer palate."

"So, with all of that in mind we're excited... We believe the brand resonates with where the South African customer is today, and it dovetails nicely with what our strategy is within the broader group, within the convenience channels..."

Hamza Farooqui, CEO - Millat Group

The Group aims to launch the first cluster of Pret shops in Johannesburg within this year.

Farooqui says there will be phases to growth, but describes the scale of the intended rollout as 'significant'.

"We see this as a destructive market entry... I know many people are going to be fairly jaundiced because global brands have unfortunately never really resonated... and that is a stigma... but we will be putting the customer first."

Hamza Farooqui, CEO - Milat Group