What was once a go-to, elevated fast-food chain is now the target of controversy and frequent complaints. Over the years, Panera Bread has gone from being known for freshly baked goods and heart-warming soups to expensive, smaller portion sizes and dangerously caffeinated lemonade. To understand how this company got here, it’s important to look into its whole history.
The Rise
Founded in 1987, Panera Bread was first known as the St. Louis Bread Company. From the start, the company aimed to bake and provide fresh, enjoyable bread for all customers. Since then, it has expanded its offerings from simple sourdough loaves to pastries, bagels and the iconic baguettes that serve as a popular side with any meal. Beyond its baked goods, Panera also became known for its salads, soups, pastas and sandwiches.
Six years after its founding, St. Louis Bread Company was bought by Au Bon Pain, a French bakery led by Ron Shaich. Shaich then changed the name to Panera Bread in 1997, which is Latin for “bread basket.” From there, Schaich grew the chain into the fast-casual restaurant that we know today.
Most of Panera’s success was in the early 2000s, referred to by some as the “golden age” of Panera. Many reminisce on this time of packed restaurants and the best freshly baked goods. This was largely due to Panera’s clean eating initiatives at the time — offering healthier fast food options like antibiotic-free chicken and whole grain bread put Panera ahead of its competitors.
Along with its unique menu offerings, the company invested heavily in technology to speed up wait times. This investment also helped the company create a catering delivery service called Panera Fresh Catering. Panera even became the largest free wifi provider in the United States in 2004.
With its success, the company was able to grow at an immense rate, opening up over 1,000 locations between 2001 and 2006. In fact, revenues were around $151 million in 2000 and grew to over $829 million by 2006. Just three years later, the revenues increased again to $1.4 billion.
As the company grew, it never lost focus of what allowed it to do so in the first place. From launching a loyalty program and becoming the first national restaurant chain to voluntarily list calorie information in 2010 to implementing self-order tablet kiosks and mobile ordering options in 2012, Panera continued to stay ahead of its competitors. By 2016, the chain had over 2,000 stores and over $2.8 billion in revenue.
In 2017, Panera was acquired by JAB Holdings for about $7.5 billion, the same company that owns Pret A Manger, Krispy Kreme and Keurig Dr Pepper. Blaine Hurst took over as CEO, with Shaich remaining on as a chairman of Panera’s board.
The Fall
Once JAB Holdings took over, the company started making changes in attempts to make the chain more profitable. Last year, roughly 17% of Panera’s corporate staff were laid off as Panera planned an initial public offering, or IPO. According to current CEO José Alberto Dueñas, the job cuts were meant to create more efficient store-level management. A Panera spokesperson also told The Wall Street Journal that these cuts were meant to improve customers’ experiences, but the company did not elaborate.
As the company prepares for an IPO, many have taken to the internet, particularly TikTok, to complain about the noticeably smaller portion sizes that Panera has been serving in recent years. Along with smaller portion sizes, the perceived decreased food quality and expensive prices that some customers have been paying at Panera have caused them to lose faith in the company entirely.
In September, the chain also made the decision to cut nearly 50 items from some of their locations’ menus, including fan favorites like the broccoli cheddar mac and cheese or the mango smoothie. In a statement to Restaurant Business News, Panera said they were testing a smaller menu in certain locations in order to provide a “faster and more convenient experience while also simplifying operations for our associates.” This affected around 60-70 restaurants, or less than 3%, of Panera’s nationwide locations, but created much outrage and concern about the future of the company from customers online.
In the last two years, Panera has also faced two lawsuits regarding its charged lemonade, a caffeinated lemonade drink launched in April 2022. The drink has allegedly caused the deaths of both a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student and a 46-year-old man from Fleming Island, Florida. With up to 390 mg of caffeine, the large Panera charged lemonade contains more caffeine than similar energy drinks such as Monster or Red Bull. Not surprisingly, these ongoing legal battles have caused hesitation from the public to try these lemonades.
Between plans to go public, controversial menu items and recent layoffs, the future of Panera Bread is very uncertain. While more and more people have begun to swear off the restaurant for its limited portions and expensive prices, it seems unlikely that the chain will go completely out of business. Whatever the case is, it is clear that Panera is no longer the restaurant it was in the early 2000s, and more change is to come.