Pret A Manger has released their Christmas sandwich five months early

The sandwich chain says it was inundated with requests for the festive snack after customers missed out last Christmas

Pret A Manger is releasing its popular Christmas sandwich in the height of summer.

The ubiquitous sandwich chain is dismissing tradition to introduce the festive bite in stores from Tuesday.

According to Pret, the franchise made the decision after being inundated with requests from customers to reintroduce the sandwich after they missed out last December.

The seasonal sarnie is comprised of turkey with a port and orange cranberry sauce, herby pork stuffy, baby spinach, mayo and crispy onions, encased in thick-cut bread.

And to add to the festive fervour, Pret has employed the services of Slade frontman Noddy Holder to add a dash of sparkle to proceedings.

The singer of hit Christmas song “Merry Xmas Everyone” will also star in a new video promoting the Yuletide sarnie’s return, and will even appear at London’s Wardour Street branch to hand out 100 free Christmas sandwiches from 11am on Tuesday.

Clare Clough, UK managing director of Pret A Manger commented: “While we can’t change the weather or the football scores this summer, we can help people celebrate and recreate some festive joy by reuniting them with their favourite Christmas sandwich.”

The festive sandwich is only available until the first week of August, with 50p from each sandwich going to The Pret Foundation to tackle homelessness and poverty.

The exodus of city centre workers following the lockdown has forced the chain to reevaluate its business model after customer numbers plummeted.

Pret A Manger has now shifted to opening branches within Tesco stores in an effort to attract business lost as a result of the pandemic.

The company cut 2,800 jobs after closing 30 shops in August 2020, with a further 400 jobs losses in October.

“As the UK emerges from lockdown, this partnership with Tesco is one way in which we’re transforming our business model to adjust to a new way of living and working,” said Pano Christou, Pret’s CEO.