Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Bros. Bagels have joined forces to create a new platform called Panera Brands.
Niren Chaudhary has been appointed as the group CEO of Panera Brands and will continue to lead as CEO of Panera Bread.
“Together as Panera Brands, we are united by our common values and shared belief that we can be force multipliers for good. We exist to provide exceptional experiences for our guests, and to positively impact our communities, the planet and our shareholders while unlocking the dreams of our teams.” said Chaudhary, in a statement. “We believe Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels together will leverage each company’s unique expertise and services to build an unrivaled fast casual platform with a tremendous runway for growth.”
José Alberto Dueñas, CEO of Einstein Bros. Bagels, and John Butcher, CEO of Caribou Coffee, will report into Chaudhary while continuing as CEOs of their respective companies.
“Our efforts to transform the business during 2020 allowed us to come out of the pandemic as a stronger, more profitable, and more nimble company,” said Dueñas, in a statement. “I’m looking forward to seeing our powerful brand portfolio, executed with a simplified retail model and optimized for a great digital experience, continue to gain momentum.”
With Panera Bread’s capabilities, which include a broad omnichannel retail network, strong digital infrastructure, a robust food innovation pipeline, and access to extremely well capitalized franchise owners, Panera Brands will be in a unique position to turbocharge the growth in Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels, said the newly formed company.
“Caribou Coffee is proud to be closing out the first half of 2021 stronger than ever,” said Butcher, in a statement. “The creation of Panera Brands enables us to work smarter together, and drive greater impact for our teams, guests and communities.”
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Image: Panera Brands