Dive Brief:
- Panera Bread added two sandwiches and two varieties of avocado toast to its menu on Wednesday, the company said in a press release.
- The sandwiches are the Spicy Fiesta Chicken and Kickin’ Grilled Cheese; its new avocado toast flavors are classic and garden. Panera also brought back sesame and blueberry bagels, which can be used as an upgrade in lieu of bread for sandwiches.
- The fast casual chain has changed its menu significantly this year, starting with the largest menu revision in its history, which launched in April and included changes to its sandwiches, salads and mac & cheese. It added breakfast sandwiches and several cold beverages in June.
Dive Insight:
A menu refresh could help Panera as its parent company considers an initial public offering, expected later this year. Other QSRs like Subway, Pizza Hut, Blaze Pizza, Sweetgreen and Cava have also updated their menus this year with new products and/or ingredients as a way to drive traffic and boost sales.
Panera’s menu development has incorporated guidance from guests and staff to ensure that it is offering the right kinds of items, the company previously told Restaurant Dive. Its April menu launch received positive feedback from guests, and associates are finding the new items easier to prepare, the company said.
Its newest sandwiches touch on growing consumer demand for spicy items and could make it more competitive against other chains releasing spicy items. Burger King will roll out its Fiery Menu as a limited-time offer starting on Thursday. That menu includes Fiery Strawberry & Sprite, Fiery Mozzarella Fries, Fiery Bacon Whopper, Fiery Chicken Fries and Fiery Bacon Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich all of which offer varying degrees of spiciness.
