Reliance Brands teams up with Pret A Manger to enter food and beverages business

With this long-term master franchise partnership, RBL will open the food chain across the country starting with major cities and travel hubs.

Pret A Manger, French for ‘ready to eat', first opened in London in 1986. It was a shop with a mission to create handmade food, freshly prepared each day. The brand currently has 550 shops globally across 9 markets in the UK, US, Europe, and Asia, offering organic coffee, sandwiches, salads and wraps freshly made each day.

“Our partnership with Pret is rooted in the strong growth potential of both Pret as a brand as also of the food and beverage industry in India. RBL closely follows the pulse of Indian consumers and there is an increased consciousness of what we eat – rapidly making food the new fashion. Indians, like their global counterparts, are seeking fresh and organic ingredient-led dining experiences which has been synonymous with Pret’s core offering. Couple that with the high recall the brand enjoys in the country, it’s undoubtedly a recipe for success,” said Darshan Mehta, MD, Reliance Brands Limited.

“Two decades ago, we opened Pret’s first shop in Asia and it’s been an inspiration for all of us to bring our freshly made food and 100% organic coffee to new cities across the continent. RBL are a great partner to help us do just that, bringing their years of expertise in the market to help our brand succeed in India. We’re looking forward to working with them on what is our most ambitious global franchise partnership to date,” Pano Christou, CEO, Pret A Manger, said.

RBL, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, operates in the luxury to premium segments across fashion and lifestyle. In the past five years, RBL has also invested in building and operating homegrown Indian designer brands. Its current portfolio of brand partnerships comprises Armani Exchange, Bally, Bottega Veneta, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Diesel, Dune, EA7, Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, G-Star Raw, Gas, Giorgio Armani, Hamleys, Hugo Boss, Hunkemoller, Iconix, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade New York, Manish Malhotra, Michael Kors, Mothercare, Muji, Paul & Shark, Paul Smith, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Raghavendra Rathore, Replay, Salvatore Ferragamo, Satya Paul, Steve Madden, Superdry, Scotch & Soda, Tiffany & Co., Tory Burch, Tumi, Versace, Villeroy & Boch and West Elm. 

RBL today operates 1,937 doors split into 732 stores and 1,205 shop-in-shops in India.