Observation And Company Analysis Of Panera Bread

Panera Bread is a symbol of warmth and welcome and they believe that food should be so good that you should feel good about eating it. Thirty years ago Louis Kane and Ron Shaich began a simple commitment: to bake fresh bread from fresh dough in their bakery-cafes, taking no short cuts, just bakers with simple ingredients and hot ovens (Panera Bread, Media, n.d.).

The formation of Panera Bread began in 1978 when Louis Kane bought Au Bon Pain, a retail producer of baked goods. Kane changed it to a wholesale business by opening two cafes and staffing them with bakers and employees, but high production costs made it impossible to cover his overhead. In 1981 Kane decided to remain responsible for site selection and financing, but he chose Robert Shaich to help turn the company around as President of internal operations ("Au Bon Pain History").

Panera Bread Bakery and Café boast of its quality of food and market it as freshly baked breads prepared everyday. But with this kind of strategy involves a lot of spoilage, contributing to the high cost that the company is incurring. In the statement provided in the case, despite the increasing operating profit since 2001, the profit margin remains to be low.

By emphasizing nutritional value and quality, such as antibiotic free chicken and whole grain bread, this restaurant chain distinguishes its products from fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King. Panera also distinguishes itself from these other fast food chains by providing a longer dining experience, with more welcoming furnishings and free Internet access. As opposed to the concept of “fast food”, Panera is associated with the concept of “fast casual”. This is a combination of fast food with a casual dining experience.

“Increasingly, companies are locating different value chain activities in different parts of the world to exploit location-based advantages that vary from country to country” (Gamble, Peteraf, Strickland, Thompson, 2014). Panera Bread extraordinary specialty showcase gives them the apparatuses they have to adequately manage the challenges standing up to the fast food industry and also additionally going up against the eat in industry. Panera Bread's less expensive items makes it more appealing contrasting option to conventional restaurants. Panera fabricated its organization on negligible long haul obligation. The greater part of their extension is financed with income from their operations. Besides quality control is kept up by making new batter every day at one of a few crisp mixture offices as well as the mixture is then transported day by day from the office to stores and heated new in the store. The normal length of each outing is 300 miles. The company also has solid brand

Expanding the target market of Panera Bread is a good growth opportunity for them. This can be achieved by product line (menu options) extension or by entering international market outside the American continent so as to increase their geographical coverage. In addition, Panera has an opportunity to get additional market and growth by adapting rapidly to changing market and customer preferences. They need to advertise and market themselves as a healthy option for eating out. Health oriented food or food that are low in calories, sugar, cholesterol, etc. is getting very important as people started becoming very health conscious and selective. Their effort to roll out new products with fresher ingredients such as antibiotic-free chicken needs to be further expanded. Recognizing the health risks associated with transfat, Panera had completely removed all transfat from its menu by 2006. Organic food, non GMO, etc. They could increase number of their franchises. A number of markets were still available for franchise development. The have opportunity in front of them to open more outlets, both company-owned and franchises. They could open within North America and mainly in areas where they are not present now, and those areas where the growth potential is good, like some of the suburban markets. Many good locations for fast casual dining options are available in many of the untapped areas. Panera has a good market opportunity outside the small urban niche where greater growth

Panera Bread has established itself as one of the most popular, fast growing “bakery-café” restaurants in the United States as well as in Canada. With 1,800 locations in 45 states, the franchise appears to be unstoppable. This in part is due to the superior customer service experience that keeps customers coming back time and time again. Just to give you an example, in 2012; the most recent year that data is available, Panera Bread brought in an astounding $2.13 billion in revenue, about $1 billion more than its revenue in 2008.

“A loaf of bread in every arm” is the mission statement of Panera Bread Company (Vincelette & Fogarty, 2010, p.1). Panera started as a small bakery under the name Au Bon Pain and grew to one of the largest fast food service companies in the U.S. In 2008 they had the 5th overall rating in the restaurant industry. “Panera Bread is widely recognized for driving the nationwide trend for specialty breads” (Panera Bread, 2011).

The Panera Bread Company is starting 2007 with unfinished goals and missed targets previously set and a review of their strategy is in order to continue their ongoing success. The company has grown substantially since its inception in the competitive restaurant industry; however, an aggressive target of 2,000 Panera Bread bakery-cafes will require a focused strategic plan. The company has a strong base with loyal customers who appreciate Panera’s unique dining atmosphere with a focus on quality products at a reasonable price. Panera will need to continue its market research and focus on environmental issues, which are an important core value. The opportunity for

Panera’s strategy was called Concept Essence. In simple terms they wanted to be, “better than the guys across the street.” This included offering an appealing selection of breads, bagels and other handcrafted pastry products that were baked fresh daily at each location. They only serve high-quality foods at what they believe was a good value. They developed a menu that was offered diverse selections in an effort to draw customers from breakfast through dinner. Provide above quality customer service and to make sure their patrons enjoy a satisfying dining experience. Panera also sought to ensure that all of their locations were aesthetically soothing and inviting to potential patrons.

Being a nationally recognized brand and a dominant in restaurant operations in the specialty bakery café segment and to expand broadly in the regional market is Panera’s strategy. And by giving high quality product Panera is following their strategy.

Among the crowded field of casual, quick-service restaurants in America, the distinctive blend of genuine artisan bread and a warm, comfortable atmosphere has given Panera Bread Company a golden opportunity to capture market share and reward shareholders through well-planned growth. With the objective of opening approximately 1,000 more bakery-cafes in the next three years, Panera Bread Company must make prudent strategy decisions about new store locations, supply-chain management and expanded offerings, all the while continuing its above-average earnings per share growth of at least 25 percent per year.

This approach has been one of the main competitive advantages of the company that maintained its stores and cafes in a friendly and ambient atmosphere in various locations. The company did not start as a traditional fast food restaurant, but rather as a network of places where people could fulfill their natural instincts with healthy and freshly cooked food with a little higher than average price range. Panera Bread was one of the trend makers of casual-food restaurants, whose vision was entirely different from the typical model of public facilities. All of the locations shared a common design and menu that created a unique environment of the franchise. Moreover, in order to enable high-quality service, the executive team of the company decided to equip all of the bakery’s completely to be capable of making their own products directly to the spots. This fact allowed to reach a certain level of autonomy and reliability of the brand that always managed to deliver and provide the freshest and natural

When examining Panera Bread Company, it possesses several strengths. One of the greatest strengths in providing great bread is the actual menu. Panera prides itself on the commitment to the quality and reliability of its products, which is supported by its focus on creating the menu. With an understanding of customers ' needs Panera has developed an extensive product line to satisfy a variety of tastes. Panera continually adapts the menu in response to seasons and changing customer preferences. For example, it introduced whole grain breads because customers were concerned with consuming good carbohydrates. Each bread product is artisan made in one of the seventeen dough facilities to ensure freshness

Panera Bread’s intention is “to make Panera Bread a nationally recognized brand name and to be the dominant restaurant operator in the specialty bakery-café segment.” Panera experienced competition from many numerous sources in its trade areas. Their competition was with specialty food, casual dining and quick service cafes, bakeries, and restaurant retailers, including national, regional, and locally owned. The competitive factors included location, environment, customer service, price, and quality of products. Panera learned from its competitors, none of its competitors had yet