Panera Bread’s New Menu Ushers in Guest-Led New Era

Since its first community bakery-cafe opened its doors in 1987, Panera Bread’s focus has never wavered. The belief that sharing great bread as an expression of warmth and generosity is as true today as it was back then. When sharing is at the core of everything you do, there’s no better way to express those sentiments than by listening to what the people who mean the most to your business — the loyal guests who crave your food and the hard-working team members who make it all happen — and giving them more of what they want.

Thanks to its New Era of “more is more” featuring an updated guest-centric menu and improved service capabilities, Panera Bread has done just that. “The New Era at Panera marks an important and exciting evolution for the brand, one where we are focused on listening to our guests and delivering what they want most,” noted Panera Bread CEO José Alberto Dueñas.

“That means serving great food made just for you, with the right combination of amazing taste, quality ingredients, and value. We are transforming and returning to what our guests love, which will propel Panera into the future as we continue to serve food our guests feel good about eating.”

Panera Bread’s New Era Menu Offers ‘More of More’ Things Guests Love

Taking a back-to-basics, only better approach, Panera Bread’s revamped menu focuses on elevating Panera guests’ favorite items, including soups, salads, sandwiches, and mac & cheese, and adding new items that are sure to please as well. Along with the added perk of innovative flavor profiles, the revised classics were designed with enhanced serving sizes and greater value in mind — something everyone can truly appreciate.

Guests ordering from the new menu will find a number of novel salads and sandwiches, increased protein portions on select sandwiches and salads — think chicken and steak — and an expanded selection of wallet-friendly options for under $10.* “We are getting back to Panera at its best with these menu updates that are centered completely on our guests and what they love about us,” said Alicia Mowder, Panera Bread senior vice president, product strategy and insights. “We’ve listened to thousands of guests on our path to unveiling more than 20 new or enhanced menu items and are thrilled to bring these products to Panera bakery-cafes nationwide.”

“After interviewing more than 30,000 guests during this process, our research shows what they want is a focus on our core offerings, and we are confident that once they try the new menu, they’ll be back for more,” Debbie Roberts, Panera Bread executive vice president and chief operations officer, concurred.

Leading up to the New Era launch, nearly 400,000 members of the MyPanera guest rewards program were also asked to vote for their most eagerly anticipated new menu item from a field of taste-tempting entries. The winner was the Toasted Italiano, which, if an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception is any indication, is destined to become Panera Bread’s next classic sandwich.

How Inclusive Team Feedback Also Informed Panera Bread’s New Era

While customer feedback was essential in shaping its New Era of “more is more,” the company also paid close attention to its associates’ thoughts on optimizing the Panera Bread experience to achieve an even higher level of excellence. Input from Panera Bread’s bakery-cafe team members played a key role in revitalizing many functions of the company’s operating model. Additionally, an updated menu configuration was implemented both in-store and on the Panera app to streamline Panera Bread’s extensive pantry of ingredients, thus allowing associates to achieve increased speed and accuracy, while still delivering consistently high-quality food selections, no matter the time of day.

“We have already heard great things from our teams about Panera’s New Era. The energy and excitement from our associates around these new menu items have been unlike any other menu change we’ve undertaken,” Roberts reported. “This improved associate experience translates to an even better experience for our guests, with the goal of providing more value and creating renewed excitement.”

*Participating cafes only. Prices vary by item. Menu price for delivery is higher and other fees apply. Catering excluded. Other restrictions apply.