Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels Merge
Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels merged under the Panera Brands banner. Panera Brands unites the three fast casual brands. With nearly 4,000 locations and 110,000 employees across 10 countries, Panera Brands is one of the largest fast casual companies in the world.
Niren Chaudhary has been appointed as the Group CEO of Panera Brands and will continue to lead as CEO of Panera Bread. José Alberto Dueñas, CEO of Einstein Bros. Bagels, and John Butcher, CEO of Caribou Coffee, will report into Chaudhary while continuing as CEOs of their respective companies.
The company is "anchored in Panera Bread’s distinctive competencies" including its broad omnichannel retail network, strong digital infrastructure, loyalty program, food innovation pipeline, supply chain and access to "extremely well capitalized franchise owners."
“Together as Panera Brands, we are united by our common values and shared belief that we can be force multipliers for good. We exist to provide exceptional experiences for our guests, and to positively impact our communities, the planet and our shareholders while unlocking the dreams of our teams.” said Niren Chaudhary, Group CEO of Panera Brands and CEO, Panera Bread.
Sustainability for the Planet
Panera is among the brand's touting its sustainable initiatives. Last October, in collaboration with World Resources Institute (WRI), Panera began labeling climate-friendly "Cool Food Meals" on its menu—those meals that have a low impact on the climate. According to HT’s 2020 Customer Engagement Technology Survey, few were focused on recycling and environmental sustainability in 2020, but operators cannot and should not forget the importance of the environment to their guests and to the overall future of the hospitality industry.
Panera Bread has more than 2,100 bakery-cafes is a leader in omnichannel access, digital convenience (45% of sales are e-commerce) and engagement (44MM MyPanera loyalty members).
During the pandemic Panera Bread successfully pivoted to more off-premise and digital access and has rapidly innovated with new offerings such as its coffee subscription program.
[Panera Integrates with Google to Power Off-Prem]
With 713 stores in 10 countries, Caribou Coffee also has a sizeable presence outside the U.S. Caribou Coffee’s omnichannel capabilities and investment in smaller format restaurant models have expanded its reach. Einstein Bros. Bagels operates 1,005 stores consisting of Einstein Bros. Bagels, Bruegger's Bagels, Noah's New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagel.
John Butcher, CEO of Caribou Coffee, said, "The creation of Panera Brands enables us to work smarter together, and drive greater impact for our teams, guests and communities."