Panera Bread Case Analysis

Panera Bread is ready for change in American eating habits. The company is a leader in the quick-casual restaurant business with more than 1,027 bakery-cafes in 36 states. Its locations, which operate under the Panera and Saint Louis Bread Company banners, offer made-to-order sandwiches built using a variety of artisan breads, including focaccia, asiago cheese, and its classic sourdough bread. Its menu also features soups, salads, gourmet coffees and a few items for kids. Panera sells its bread, bagels, and pastries to go. Almost 400 of its locations are company-operated, while the rest are run by franchisees. Panera Bread’s driving concept was to provide premium specialty bakery and café experience to urban workers and suburban dwellers. They want to make the experience of dining at Panera so attractive that their customers would be willing to pass by other fast-casual restaurants competitors to dine at a near-by Panera Bread. They have very strong competition throughout the whole fast-food/restaurant business. Two main competitors that they have are Starbucks and Applebee’s. Panera Bread has proven they are a company that is always looking for ways to move forward and advance their business.

1. What is Panera Bread's strategy? What type of competitive advantage is Panera Bread trying to achieve?

The driving force of Panera Bread’s strategy was to provide a premium specialty bakery café experience to urban workers and suburban dwellers looking for quick service meals and a more appreciating beauty dining experience than the traditional fast food. They wanted to provide a distinctive and engaging environment and try to be better than the people across the street. Panera Bread used a broad differentiation type of comparative strategy. Panera Bread also strived to build a competitive advantage based on the triple combination of Product, Environment and Great Services (PEGS).

2. What does a SWOT analysis of Panera Bread reveal about the overall...