Panera Bread Sells Pizza to Cater to Consumer Demand

On Wednesday, Panera Bread has announced that it is now selling flatbread pizza. According to Fox Business, this is “in an effort to cater to the ongoing consumer demand for quick-service takeout during the coronavirus pandemic.”

The flatbread menu category has varieties such as cheese, margherita, and chipotle chicken and bacon – each at $7.99.

“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,” said Panera Bread's chief brand and concept officer Eduardo Luz.

CNBC reported that the flatbread pizzas “are large enough to be shared and are created to travel well, no matter how long delivery takes.”

Luz said the pandemic has caused a shift in customers’ behavior as more of them are choosing delivery or takeout. He also said that drive-thru orders have climbed by “high double digits.”

Delivery is also fueling sales as delivery orders have doubled compared with the same time in 2019. “We believe that flatbread pizza is a perfect fit for those channels,” Luz said.

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