Panera Rolls into the Pizza Category with Launch of Three New Flatbread Pizzas

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Panera announces the launch of Flatbread Pizza – a new menu category from Panera, rolling out nationwide this week. With an emphasis on delicious, craveable food people can feel great about, Panera's newly-appointed Head Chef Claes Petersson has fine-tuned three new flatbread creations, featuring extra finely ground flour for delicate yet crisp crust, topped with delicious, hearty ingredients. Expertly crafted from Panera's pantry of clean ingredients, new Panera Flatbread Pizzas are available in Cheese, Margherita and Chipotle Chicken & Bacon, providing real choice and options for pizza night.

"At Panera, baking is at the core of who we are and what we're known for – we knew that we had all the elements to bring our delicious, hearty flatbreads to life," said Petersson, Panera's Chief Food & Innovation Officer. "With the launch of Flatbread Pizza, we are looking to redefine the expectation of pizza and carve out a niche for Panera in the pizza category. Our Flatbread Pizzas encompass the best of what Panera has to offer: clean, delicious ingredients from our pantry on top of oven-baked flatbread that is expertly crafted for our guests."

Priced starting at $7.99, Cheese, Margherita and Chipotle Chicken & Bacon flatbreads begin with a foundation of crispy dough that is finished on a pizza stone and then topped with delicious and clean ingredients including fresh mozzarella and fresh cilantro and basil. Each represents a hearty and satisfying meal for one or a shareable plate for family and friends alongside a Panera salad or soup. With the launch, the brand wants to offer customers an exciting new category that gives guests more variety and options than ever before.

"Our guests choose Panera because they want to eat delicious food, that they can feel great about eating. Flatbread Pizzas – done the Panera way - are the perfect offering for this moment and beyond," commented Panera Bread Chief Brand & Concept Officer Eduardo Luz. "Our guests have been asking for this for years. We think Panera's bread heritage and outstanding ingredients meet both the desire for high quality, crafted pizza as well as a growing customer off-premise behavior."

Today, Panera has doubled its delivery business, with more than half of its sales occurring via off-premise channels. While consumed nearly as frequently at lunch as dinner, Luz further noted the company anticipates pizza will become a strong anchor for the company's growing dinner business. Pre-COVID, Panera had started to invest in the dinner business, a daypart that without much historical dedication had represented more than 30% of the company's sales. 

With a simple, unwavering commitment to serve food people crave but also feel great about, Panera Flatbread Pizzas mark the second entirely new category Panera has entered in roughly a year. For more information or to order, download the Panera app or visit www.panerabread.com.

About Panera Bread 
Thirty years ago, at a time when quick service meant low quality, Panera set out to challenge this expectation. We believed that food that was good and that you could feel good about, served in a warm and welcoming environment by people who cared, could bring out the best in all of us. To us, that is food as it should be and that is why we exist.

So, we began with a simple commitment: to bake bread fresh every day in our bakery-cafes. No short cuts, just bakers with simple ingredients and hot ovens. Each night, any unsold bread and baked goods were shared with neighbors in need.

These traditions carry on today, as we have continued to find ways to be an ally for wellness to our guests. That means crafting a menu of soups, salads and sandwiches that we are proud to feed our families. Like poultry and pork raised without antibiotics on our salads and sandwiches. A commitment to transparency and options that empower our guests to eat the way they want. Seasonal flavors and whole grains. And a commitment to removing or not using artificial additives (preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, and colors from artificial sources on our No No list) in the food in our bakery-cafes. Why? Because we think that simpler is better and we believe in serving food as it should be. Because when you don't have to compromise to eat well, all that is left is the joy of eating.

We're also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we now offer new ways to enjoy your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering and Rapid Pick-Up® for to-go orders and delivery – all designed to make things easier for our guests.

As of September 29, 2020, there were 2,118 bakery-cafes in 48 states and in Ontario, Canada, operating under the Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co.® names.  For more information, visit panerabread.com or find us on Twitter (@panerabread), Facebook (facebook.com/panerabread) or Instagram (@panerabread).

Media Contacts:
Nirmala Singh
Zeno Group
[email protected]

Edward Ruddy
Sloane & Company
[email protected]

SOURCE Panera Bread