Dive Brief:
- Panera Bread is testing four new beverages in two new categories — Frescas and Energy Refreshers — at about 65 locations beginning on Wednesday, the company said in an emailed press release. The pilot will run through Jan. 6.
- Both categories are fruit-infused, flavored drinks, the Frescas are caffeine-free, while the Energy Refreshers are modestly caffeinated.
- Panera, in some respects, is behind the curve on beverage innovation, as QSR giants, like Yum and McDonald’s, have rolled out or started testing refreshers already. Such tests have positioned traditional QSRs in closer competition with their coffee competitors, like Starbucks, and with beverage-heavy fast casuals, like Panera.
Dive Insight:
Beverages have long played an important role in Panera’s menu strategy, with the Unlimited Sip Club subscription program serving as a longstanding pillar of its loyalty system. Drinks and snacks are increasingly important to QSR menu strategies, as consumers look for value and convenience and brands search for high-margin menu items.
“The beverage landscape is expanding fast and now more than ever guests are seeking flavorful, refreshing, and innovative beverage options as a reason to come into our bakery-cafes,” said Brooke Buchanan, chief corporate affairs officer at Panera Bread.
The test will run in select franchised and corporate-owned locations in the Nashville, Tennessee; Baltimore; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida markets, according to the press release.
The new test items are meant to increase beverage occasions by capitalizing on recent trends in drinks, including coffee alternatives, herbal refreshers and fruit-forward flavors, according to the brand. The emphasis on fruit infusions aligns with a shift among consumers toward prioritizing healthier-seeming options, the same market shift behind Starbucks’ Protein Cold Foam. The results of the market test will inform Panera’s future beverage innovation efforts.
Panera’s focus on beverages hasn’t always succeeded — in 2023 the brand faced several lawsuits over its highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade. The brand eventually scrapped the allegedly deadly drink. The new menu items seem to reflect some of the lessons from the Charged Lemonade disaster: The Energy Refreshers have between 28 and 44 milligrams of caffeine, depending on size — less than half the caffeine in eight ounces of drip coffee, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
