Panera Dropping Charged Lemonade

Panera Bread location in SoCal (Justin Sullivan-Getty Images via CNN Newsource) — Panera Bread location in SoCal (Justin Sullivan-Getty Photographs by way of CNN Newsource)

*New York (CNN) — Panera Bread is eliminating Charged Lemonade from its menu, the caffeinated beverage that has sparked a number of lawsuits and triggered a public relations nightmare for the corporate.

The Charged Lemonades will come off the menu within the subsequent two weeks, in response to Bloomberg, which first reported the information. The chain declined to remark to CNN on the timeline of the drinks’ elimination.

Panera has confronted not less than three separate lawsuits over the lineup of controversial drinks in latest months, claiming that the excessive ranges of caffeine within the product have led to the deaths of two clients and irreversible well being issues in one other.

A Panera spokesperson mentioned new drinks will change it, together with low-sugar and low-caffeine choices, together with a brand new blueberry lavender lemonade, pomegranate hibiscus tea, citrus punch and a tropical inexperienced smoothie.

The lineup of Charged Lemonades was launched in April 2022, tied with the discharge of its beverage subscription program that permit folks get as many comfortable drinks and coffees as they needed every day for $10.99 per 30 days. (The value has since elevated to $14.99 per 30 days.)

Panera saved the Charged Lemonades on the menu, regardless of the controversies, as a result of specialists say eradicating the drink instantly might have come throughout as an implied admission that one thing was incorrect with it within the first place.

“Fairly often in lawsuits, there’s a knee-jerk response amongst attorneys to do as little as doable publicly out of some imprecise concern that you might be exposing your self to extra legal responsibility,” disaster PR professional James Haggerty beforehand informed CNN, noting that this strategy can have a detrimental impact available on the market worth of an organization, at instances to the tune of lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.

Haggerty added that it’s a “cost-benefit evaluation … the lack of reputational worth will usually outweigh something that happens within the courtroom.”

Final month, Panera revamped its choices with its “largest menu transformation ever” that refocused its choice on sandwiches, soups, salads, and macaroni and cheese. Plenty of gadgets obtained the ax too, together with flatbreads, a number of candy treats and chili.

“We’re excited to proceed the success of our latest menu transformation, which started with our core choices of sandwiches and salads,” a Panera spokesperson mentioned concerning the revamp. “We listened to greater than 30,000 visitors about what they needed from Panera, and are focusing subsequent on the broad array of drinks we all know our visitors need.”

The modifications come as Panera is planning to go public once more later this 12 months. In November 2023, the chain laid off 18% of its company workforce, amounting to 300 folks, and Reuters not too long ago reported that it’s loosening the requirements it units for its elements in an effort to save lots of $20 million yearly.

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