Pret a Manger Case Solution

The report will focus on an understanding of the marketing principles of Pret. The report will detail the marketing mix strategies employed by the company that has supported its success as well as swift comeback from the drawbacks that the pandemic. The evaluation of the marketing strategies as well as principles for Pret are fairly recent, and not based on information older than 3 years. The portfolio aims to make strategic recommendations for growth grounded in support from academic theories as well as well as the brand’s past performance. 

2. Positioning of company 

Pret A Manger has largely made use of behavioural and psychographic segmentation of the population to assess the market(Gonchar, Gorokhova and Ponomarenko, 2019). Based on this segmentation, the target consumer groups and audiences for the company include individuals who are focused on achievement as well as who are highly health conscious. However, despite being health conscious, these consumers also seek convenience because of their on-the-go lifestyles. These individuals have busy schedules because of the high goals that they have set for themselves owing to their need for achievement and success.

Based on the critical election of its target groups, the company is thus positioned as a brand that serves natural foods. The company makes and bakes all its products across its various stores and locations to ensure high levels, and consistency of quality. This further reinforces the brand’s positioning rooted in values of quality, freshness and being natural. This positioning is further reinforced through the marketing mix of the brand – which will be briefly detailed in the following section (Big Hospitality, 2022). 

3. Task 1 How four of the marketing mix P’s are used to reinforce positioning 

Product    

The actual packaged good that the consumers interact with, and receive as the offering from the consumer is the actual product in the promotional mix (Sander, 2021). For Pret, this includes the final menu items that the consumers order and receive from its multiple categories. Product items by the brand promise high quality and freshness, as well as ensure customers of being naturally sourced. This supports the company’s values and positioning as well (Pret, 2022 e). All menu items under the mentioned categories are available at all physical stores and shops of the company, and are also displayed accordingly – as seen in figure 1. For example, coffee and tea category includes varieties of hot coffee and drinks, iced coffee and cold brew, hot tea, iced tea and hot chocolate. Similarly, other menu items include different sandwiches and salads, as well as a variety of breakfast pastries and items. The shelved products come along with small details about the name of the item, its price, as well as a brief summary regarding its nutritional value as seen in figure 2. All items are also displayed on the over the counter menu, as well as individual physical menu cards - as highlighted in figure 3 and 4.

To reinforce it’s positioning of being a natural, and fresh product the brand also ensures that the packaging is sustainable, and recyclable. Sustainability is incorporated in Pret’s recipes and packaging, as well as the shops and supply chain – which further reinforces it’s positioning of being a fresh, sustainable, and natural brand (Pret, 2022 b). 

Placement

The element of placement within the marketing mix largely refers to the places from where the product may be accessible for consumers (Keller, et al., 2019). The product placement important as it becomes one of the core elements that allows direct interaction between the consumers and the product (Keller, et al., 2019). For Pret A Manger, the menu items across all category offerings are readily available in the brick and mortar shops of the brand that relocated across the UK, especially in London. The locations for the shops are usually chosen based on the popularity of the neighborhood, as well as the footfall of target customer groups within the region – as displayed in figure 4. The physical placemen to the stores reintegrates the product positioning by highlighting the core values of quality, natural food, and organic food as shown in figure 3. This figure highlights that the brand physically spells out the positioning as well through the placement to the core values to appeal to its target audience, and generate higher awareness. The Pret’s physical shops also encourage sustainability in their set ups, and product packaging, and have enabled recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging within stores (Pret, 2022 b) as seen in figure 5. 

In addition to physical stores, the product range of Pret A Manger is also readily available across food aggregators and similar platforms – such as Uber eats, grub hub, and door dash. The brand asserts availability of its items, and credibility of these aggregator platforms through its own website as well, as shown in figure 2. Partnering with aggregator websites allows the brand to increase its penetration, and reach amongst its target audience groups. These aggregators have a wider reach, and an increased consumption which also benefits Pret through increasing its visibility, sales as well as generating positive awareness for the brand. The brand’s own website in turn provides detailed information about its product offerings and menu items – including detailed nutritional values and available flavours (Pret, 2022 c).