Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA), the company known for being the first to bring handcrafted artisan breads to consumers on a national scale, today announced its commitment to leading another food trend -- all-natural chicken. Now, in more than 700 Panera Bread bakery-cafes across the country, consumers can experience the superior taste of chicken that truly can be called all-natural.
While other restaurant concepts or grocery stores may label poultry as all-natural, the chicken available at Panera Bread is of such a high quality that it dramatically exceeds the USDA's standards. According to the USDA, "all-natural" describes food that is "made without chemical food additives or refined ingredients." In addition to meeting these guidelines, the chicken at Panera comes from birds that have been raised in low-stress environments on all-natural, antibiotic-free and vegetarian diets.
This year, Panera Bread expects to purchase up to seven million pounds of all-natural white meat chicken -- making it the largest buyer in the restaurant industry. "All-natural chicken is the latest development in Panera's ongoing work to source the best ingredients to create the best tasting menu items for our customers," said Ron Shaich, Panera Bread chairman and chief executive officer. "Our initial focus on flavor drove us to source a high-quality chicken that not only delivers exceptional taste, but also has the benefits of being all-natural."
Panera Bread first began its search for a superior tasting chicken nearly two years ago. That search brought the company into partnerships with the farms of Bell & Evans and Fieldale, both of which have rigorous standards for raising chickens on an all-natural, antibiotic-free diet in a low-stress environment. In the past year, Bell & Evans has added 17 family farms with 33 growout buildings to raise more than one million additional chickens per year. A significant amount of this additional capacity is due to the increased needs of Panera Bread.
Panera Bread offers customers several ways to enjoy two tantalizing flavors of its all-natural chicken -- one with a pepper-mustard rub and the other with a sweet citrus-herb blend. Popular salads, such as Asian Chicken Sesame Salad and Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, now feature the new chicken, which also can be added to any salad on Panera's award-winning menu. Several new or improved menu items also have been introduced to showcase the outstanding flavor of the all-natural chicken, including:
• Chicken Caesar Sandwich -- Freshly baked artisan three cheese bread is layered with all-natural pepper-mustard chicken breast, Caesar dressing, Asiago-Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, red onions and spices
• Tuscan Chicken Sandwich -- a new recipe of a bakery-cafe favorite, now featuring all-natural pepper-mustard chicken, field greens, tomatoes, red onions and pesto on freshly baked rosemary and onion focaccia
• Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken -- a seasonal salad featuring all-natural citrus-herb chicken, romaine lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, Mandarin oranges and pecans in a sugar-free poppyseed dressing
• Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (available May 25) -- a limited-time-only salad with all-natural citrus-herb chicken, field greens, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pecans, gorgonzola cheese and apple chips, dressed in a white balsamic and Fuji apple vinaigrette
The rigorous search for the best tasting ingredients, the support of family farming and the introduction of the all-natural chicken in Panera Bread bakery-cafes demonstrate the company's values. "For more than 100 years, our family farmers have shared a passion for bringing the highest quality, all- natural chicken to the consumer market," said Scott Sechler, president of Bell & Evans. "We are proud to partner with a company like Panera Bread, which shares our commitment to respect consumers and deliver them the best possible products."
