Back to search
đź”´ PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Panera Bread
fast-casual · St. Louis, MO
PE Firm
JAB Holding Company
Year Acquired
2017
“They cut costs so hard they forgot the bread was supposed to be fresh.”
The PE Playbook
- •JAB Holding bought Panera for $7.5B in 2017, then aggressively cut costs — smaller portions, cheaper ingredients, reduced staffing
- •Closing all 24 fresh dough facilities and switching to frozen par-baked bread — the chain literally named 'Bread' won't bake its own bread
- •Charged Lemonade linked to two customer deaths and multiple lawsuits; contained 390mg caffeine per large cup; removed from menu in 2024
- •Fell from #1 to #3 U.S. fast-casual chain; sales declined 5%+ in 2024; two attempted IPOs failed
Since the Acquisition
- â–¸CEO publicly admitted in 2025: 'We shrunk portions, so guests would walk into our cafe to buy a sandwich that has gone up significantly in price, with lower-quality ingredients, in a smaller size'
- â–¸Swapped all-romaine salads for a cheaper half-romaine, half-iceberg mix and stopped slicing tomatoes and avocados to save prep time
- â–¸Quietly removed 'No antibiotics ever' and 'Grassfed Pasture Raised' signage in 2024, relaxing sourcing standards on chicken, pork, turkey, and beef
- â–¸Roughly half the menu axed in April 2024: flatbread pizzas, Steak & White Cheddar, Napa Almond Chicken Salad, both vegan soups, and multiple bagel flavors
- ▸All 24 fresh dough facilities being closed — Panera is switching to frozen par-baked bread from a third-party bakery, ending its fresh-baked bread identity
- â–¸Sales dropped 5% in 2024; Panera fell from #1 fast-casual chain to #3, behind Chipotle and Panda Express