Panera Bread

Company History

Panera Bread Company and its subsidiaries operate a national bakery-café concept with 1,541company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-café locations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Ontario, Canada, serving almost 6.5 million customers a week. Panera’s bakery-cafes are located in urban, suburban, strip mall and regional mall locations. Panera features “high quality, value priced food in a warm, inviting, and comfortable environment. With our identity rooted in handcrafted artisan bread we bake every day, we are committed to providing great tasting, quality food that people can trust”.

1. Issues

Panera relies on growing their brand awareness through positive word of mouth. Panera’s marketing efforts cannot compete with their competitors. The company allocates .7% of their sales for advertising fund to promote themselves. Panera spends too much money on investing the upstream supply chain of dough and is not taking advantage of its free production capacity by providing fresh dough to companies which need it. Food enjoyed at home rather than at the restaurants becomes a trend. Panera is not currently pursuing this market.

2. External Analysis

Macro-Environment Analysis

• General economic condition

Changes in cost and efficiency – As the market competes on price, improvement in cost and efficiency will be a key industry driving force. Firms that can produce the highest quality for the cheapest will often find success in the industry.

• Political, Legal, and Regulatory Influences

Regulatory influences and government policy changes – One of the biggest industry driving forces in the restaurant industry are the regulations and government policies that govern the quality and methods in which food is produced.

• Sociocultural Forces

Changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles – One of the primary reasons firms like Panera gained in popularity and success could be correlated with the demand for healthier and...