Panera Reaches for the Sky
The fast-casual chain focuses on breakfast and dinner strategies to up its game.
Jul 17, 2019
ST. LOUIS—Panera Bread wants to dominate all dayparts, QSR Magazine reports. The fast-casual chain of 2,300 units has been ramping up breakfast and dinner options to keep customers rotating through all day long.
This spring, Panera revamped its breakfast menu for its morning customers. Changes included grinding coffee beans on-site, tapping technology for added convenience and expanding menu items. Coming later this summer is a Panera-branded coffee station, with a new line of hot brews and a new cold brew, too. In June, the chain began testing 10 new dinner items in two cities. The items are only available during the evening hours.
In addition, the chain studied foot traffic data from Placer.ai, a mobile location analytics program. What it discovered was that the stores had steady visits, aside from holidays like Thanksgiving. However, the data also revealed that Panera needed to improve its speed in the mornings, which it partly addressed with three new breakfast wraps that are quick to make and eat on the go.
Other changes include breakfast delivery options, a reorder function on its app and a Panera Tap pilot that lets customers skip the kiosk or register to get coffee via an app. Panera plans to tap into its 34 million MyPanera loyalty users to encourage more digital sales.
Food prepared on-site Format Healthy options Home meal replacement Menu segments
