Panera’s CEO unveiled a comeback plan—and it consists of higher components like lettuce: ‘No one likes iceberg’

Panera, once considered the gold standard in American fast-casual dining, has fallen behind competitors like Chipotle and Panda Express, with its sales dropping 5% to $6.1 billion last year. Carbone says the goal is to reach $7 billion in annual sales by 2028 behind “Panera RISE,” a new strategy intended to undo the chain’s cost-cutting measures, which he dubbed “death by a thousand paper cuts.”

The overhaul includes:

• Lettuce: Salads will be fully romaine again and no longer include iceberg. “No one likes iceberg,” said Carbone, who also may have been delivering a four-word review of Titanic. Salads will also have eight ingredients instead of the current five.
• Tomatoes: Starting next year, salads will contain sliced cherry tomatoes (rather than whole ones that were used to save money).
• Drinks: Frescas and “energy refresher” drinks (which have less caffeine than the ones that resulted in two wrongful death lawsuits) are in the offing.
• Portions: The WSJ reports that Panera is “beefing up portions” after shrinking its sandwiches.
• Labor: There will be more workers on hand, and the company is reinvesting in the self-ordering kiosks that haven’t been upgraded in nearly a decade.

Zoom out: Panera is also looking to mimic the value offerings at establishments like Chili’s, but lacks appetizer options. “We haven’t cracked the code yet,” Carbone said.—DL

This report was originally published by Morning Brew.