Panera Bread® Issues 2016 Responsibility Report

ST. LOUIS, June 29, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA ) today unveiled its 2016 Responsibility Report to update guests, associates and other stakeholders on the Company’s strategic vision for delivering on its values and commitments.  Key accomplishments since the last report was issued two years ago include:

• Achieving 100% clean food by removing artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and colors from artificial sources from the U.S. food menu and Panera at Home consumer packaged products
• Launching a new line of moderate to no-added sugar self-serve beverages and transparently disclosing added sugar and calories at beverage stations
• Converting nearly 70 percent of company-owned bakery-cafes to Panera 2.0 and introducing a major expansion of small-order Delivery
• Donating more than $100 million each year to help fight food insecurity through Panera’s Day-End Dough-Nation™ program
• Operating Panera Cares nonprofit community cafes aimed at addressing food insecurity by allowing guests to pay what they can for delicious and nutritious meals to be enjoyed in a dignified manner

Comment from Ron Shaich, Founder and CEO, Panera Bread

“Since Panera’s founding, we’ve been on a journey to have a positive impact on people’s lives, the communities we serve and the food system as a whole,” said Shaich. “We do that not only by offering food that tastes good and is good for you, but by living up to our commitments and demonstrating leadership in areas like wellness and sustainability that matter to us and our stakeholders.  This report shares where we are on our journey, the milestones we’ve achieved, and where we hope to go from here.”

Panera’s responsibility strategy is structured around the four key pillars of its innovation principle:

• Ally for Wellness:  Serving as an ally to our guests by providing transparency, real information and real options so they can eat the way they want
• Craveable Food:  Honoring the craft of good food and celebrating familiar foods made fantastic, enticing and adventuresome – making wellness a delicious experience
• Everyday Oasis:  Offering a warm, comfortable and inviting atmosphere for guests, while being conscientious about our use of natural resources
• Relationships Through Warmth:  Building warm relationships based on respect and honesty with guests, associates, local communities, investors and other stakeholders

Panera produced the 2016 Report to be in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Guidelines. The GRI framework and reporting approach is a widely accepted global standard that allows companies to measure, evaluate and communicate responsibility-related information in a consistent and comparable manner. The company plans to issue the next Responsibility Report in 2019, with additional reporting on a biennial basis.

To learn more about Panera Bread’s 2016 Responsibility Report, please visit www.PaneraBread.com .

About Panera Bread Thirty years ago, at a time when quick service meant low quality, Panera set out to challenge this expectation. We believed that food that was good and that you could feel good about, served in a warm and welcoming environment by people who cared, could bring out the best in all of us. To us, that is food as it should be and that is why we exist.

So we began with a simple commitment: to bake fresh bread every day in our bakery-cafes.  No short cuts, just bakers with simple ingredients and hot ovens. Each night, any unsold bread and baked goods were shared with neighbors in need.

These traditions carry on today, as we have continued to find ways to be an ally to our guests. That means crafting a menu of soups, salads and sandwiches that we are proud to feed our families. Like poultry and pork raised without antibiotics on our salads and sandwiches. A commitment to transparency and options that empower our guests to eat the way they want. Seasonal flavors and whole grains. And a commitment to removing artificial additives (flavors, sweeteners, preservatives and colors from artificial sources) from the food in our bakery-cafes. Why? Because we think that simpler is better and we believe in serving food as it should be. Because when you don’t have to compromise to eat well, all that is left is the joy of eating.

We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we now offer new ways to enjoy your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering and Rapid Pick-Up for to-go orders – all designed to make things easier for our guests. As of March 28, 2017, there were 2,042 bakery-cafes in 46 states and in Ontario, Canada, operating under the Panera Bread®, Saint Louis Bread Co. ® or Paradise Bakery & Cafe® names. For more information, visit panerabread.com or find us on Twitter (@panerabread), Facebook (facebook.com/panerabread) or Instagram (@panerabread).

Media Contact: Jonathan Yohannan jonathan.yohannan@panerabread.com