Panera Bread is a quick casual restaurant chain that is a mixture of fast food and more upscale casual dining and especially known for its fresh ingredients and bakery goods. It sells handcrafted bread, sandwiches, soups, drinks, salads and other bakery items.
The foodservice industry is enormous in Canada; its sales represented nearly 4% of national gross domestic product in 2014, the industry sales are expected to increase by 4.0% to $74.1 billion in 2015. The commercial foodservice represents 74% of total foodservice sales which includes full-service restaurants (“FSR”), quick-service restaurants (“QSR”) and drinking places. While the QSR sales are expected to increase by 4.1% to 26.5 Billion in 2015. The emerging fast casual segment in Canada continued to experience strong growth in the year.
Although fast casual represents just 1% of the 6.6 billion restaurant visits made annually by Canadians, according to NPD’s 2020 Vision: The Future of QSR report, it is projected to grow by 5% to 7% per year until 2020. Fast casual segment is expected to double by 20201. The quality and innovation of menu offerings combined with the explosion of unit counts will drive Fast Casual growth. The report also says that Fast Casual is the fastest growing segment of the Canadian market. Customers are willing to pay a bit more for a better quick-service meal.
Strong competitions exist in this mature industry, there are more than 72,000 quick service restaurants in Canada, nearly 45% Canadians buy at least one item including a coffee each day. Food items could be highly differentiated based on the quality of ingredients and type of cuisine. There are more than 45% shifting towards from the traditional big corporation fast food brand like McDonalds, Tim Horton, Starbucks to visiting the fast causal chains e.g., Panera Bread, Five Guys, Chipotles, etc.
A traditional fast-food (quick service) meal typically averages $8.50. Full-service restaurants sell average meals between $12 and $20 while fast-casual chains fit somewhere in between.2According to a recent report from Technomic, sales in the fast-casual segment grew by 13.9 per cent in Canada in 2013 and were only expected to rise further in 2014. The same report found one quarter of polled Canadian consumers frequented a fast-casual restaurant at least once a week.3
, etc.e, Mexican, Italian,e as sis ( Panera Bread)s, panini d in a spcious casual and comfortable bakery cafe Macro-environmental Forces Sociological forces: Canadian demographics shift towards Millennial, which in 2013, Millennial alone made up nearly half of the Canadian population4. They prefer fresh food preparation, and greater awareness of the need for and benefits of healthy eating among younger generations. Canadians are now more focusing on sensible spending and health conscious food when it comes to dining out. They are choosing a new ‘sweet spot’ combining both convenience and quality with a medium budget.
Economic forces: Despite expectations for weak economic growth in Canada here have been some recent indications that the economic situation may finally be headed for improvement. The NPD Group forecasts that over the next seven years (through 2020), total market growth will remain modest — growing less than one percent a year over the next seven years.
Quick-service traffic has slowed and it is believed that the segment will continue to be challenged based on a forecast rate of 0.9 percent per year1., etc.e, Mexican, Italian,e as sis ( Panera Bread)s, panini d in a spcious casual and comfortable bakery cafe , etc.e, Mexican, Italian,e as sis ( Panera Bread)s, panini d in a spcious casual and comfortable bakery cafe Technological forces: Need to make sure to keep up the capabilities with equipment upgrade and redesign food processing to increase productivity and efficiency. On the operation side, there is growing importance of mobile technology to build stronger relationships with customers and enhance customer experiences. Political / Legal Forces: Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are modernizing regulations, which will likely result in greater costs for processors5.
In the quick casual restaurant segment, Panera competes with all restaurants that offer quick ordering and preparation of other types of food (such as Chinese, Mexican, Italian, etc.) Panera offers consumers a bakery-café experience with a European touch. The Bakery part of Panera caters to customers of sweet (but somewhat gourmet) goods and artisan-type bread. In this sense, the most direct competitor of Panera is perhaps Artisano Bakery Café and Aroma espresso bar, which offer a similar type of menu.
Artisano Bakery Café is locally based entrepreneurial ownership. It is a quick casual restaurant concept capitalizing on the consumer’s growing desire for fresher and more wholesome food delivered in a spacious casual and comfortable bakery café environment. The Product includes in-store baked fresh daily bakery items, handmade pizzas, sandwiches, Panini soups , salad and coffee, with the price slightly lower than Panera Bread6.
Aroma Espresso Bar on the other hand well known for its superior Organic Drip coffee and Espresso. It has a nutritious Mediterranean-inspired menu made to order Sandwiches, Soups, Pasta, Baked Goods with . It offering its customers a hip and trendy environment7.
A segmentation model for the broad product-market in which Panera competes shows in table below: Nickname of Product-Market
Need Dimensions (benefits sought)
Customer-Related Characteristics
Health conscious individual Fresh ingredients, bake fresh bread daily, nutrients listed on the menu/ website for transparency, wholesome offerings, use grass-fed beef, whole grain bread, all natural ingredients, no artificial ingredients.
Any individuals want a fit and healthy lifestyle and want to know everything that they consume with a variety of products they could be selected from plant base to meat. With the affordable price. Corporate
Offer catering, consistency, provides breakfast assortments, sandwiches, salads, soups, pasta dishes, drinks, and bakery items using the same high-quality, fresh ingredients enjoyed in our bakery-cafes Alternatively, any occasion including morning meetings, in-office lunches Working professionals
Wifi provided warm and quiet environment. A wide range selection of good quality foods and drinks, privacy setting, express and friendly service. Cozy seating areas or outdoor cafe seating, Convenience packaging. Ideal for business meeting Business professional who want to catch up with coffee meeting Or On the go options
Family and friends A wide variety of choice, from cold items like salads, bakery items to hot items like soups, pasta, and grilled sandwiches. From savory items to sweet items. Beverage options from cold smoothies to hot coffees. With big and small tables settings could fit a big family. Very spaces, warm and comfortable interior. Friendly customer service. Near the neighborhood.
Suitable for types of family or friends gathering who want quality food, All day service from breakfast to dinner. There must be something for anyone.
Internal Analysis
Panera’s heritage: “Bake fresh bread daily with quality clean ingredients and no additives.” This is the company official mission statement:”A loaf of bread in every arm.” Mission: Let our customers experience the quality of the ingredients, rather than something manipulated with additives. Brand Values: “Commitment, Service to our Customer, Innovation, Transparent, and Quality.” The Brand Purpose: “To be a positive influence on our food system.” Core Capabilities value proposition: Panera is providing consumer with a quality specialty bakery and café experience and committed to their customer with clean, quality ingredients and to be able to contribute back to communities.
SWOT Analysis Matrix
Strength •Ability to build strong loyalty relationship with customer •A quality food option that is perceived as a good value •Heritage / History
Weaknesses: higher price point compares to the Fast Food Chain •A wide range of selections which leads to higher costs •Even their most frequent customers dine only once per day. Opportunities: •e-commerce channel •catering business •still room for growth in the quick casual restaurant segment Threat: •low switching costs •low customer loyalty •Substitutes are convenient with lower price point •High numbers of competitors.
Marketing Mix
Product/ Service: A semi-elegant, comfort provoking, food and/or dining experience through hot/cold sandwiches, soups, and salads, along with pastries, and bread. Price: Moderate, affordable, average per person per visit about $8- 15 (includes beverage and food item) Place: a high traffic, convenient location and opening hours suited young professionals, middle or upper-income people/ family. (e.g. near the residential area, shopping center or office area Promotion: Loyalty program- MyPanera loyalty program. They advertise through a mix of mediums, including radio, billboards, social networking, and the Internet. People: Provide effective communication, transparency and training with the staffs who will provide in a friendly way and excellence service to the customers.
Panera Bread’s Strategic Platform
Brand Essence: •Bread from earth
Core Identity: •Product identity -handcrafted, fresh-baked, artisan bread •Deliver transparency, food that trusted by the customer •Being good (for wellbeing, communities) •Big ideas – innovation and elevating the customer experience.
Extended identity •Franchisee •comfort, fun, great service with socially responsible manner
Value Proposition: •Functional benefits- provide a variety of foods (fresh bread sandwiches, salad, coffee, etc.) and beverage from day to night •Emotional benefits- authentic, socially conscious, feeling is good for your body, buying food with no artificial, affordable luxury that you could enjoy with friends and family
Brand Relationship: •Food with Trust •“Give Back Value” and create community impact