Panera Bread Unveils $8.99 Monthly Unlimited Coffee Subscription

On Thursday U.S based bakery café chain store Panera Bread Co unveiled a $8.99 monthly unlimited coffee subscription setting a record as the first ever national restaurant chain to launch such a program.

This monthly subscription will be covering three types of beverages namely; iced coffee, hot tea drinks and hot coffee.

In a phone interview, Panera’s CEO Niren Chaudhary said they are the pioneer of this program further stating the program will help the company increase both its breakfast customers and its loyalty membership.

“We are disrupting the industry. We don’t think this has been done by anybody in this fashion ever before,” said the CEO.

Chaudhary assumed the CEO’s office in May last year and since his ascend to this position the company has taken tremendous steps in its breakfast market giving it a new outlook. For instance Panera has added wraps and soufflés in its breakfast in addition it has also improved the quality of its coffee.

In comparison to its competitors many believe Panera has not done enough to cater for its breakfast customers. Some are also convinced the company isn’t doing enough either to market its coffee products to its customer base.

The CEO says the company will use this to their own advantage. “We can significantly leverage this as an unexploited menu item that we haven’t used so far appropriately,” said the CEO.

The company’s reward program currently has 38 million members, Chaudhary is optimistic the program will garner more members in the course of the year since one will have to first sign up for MyPanera thereafter join the coffee monthly subscription plan.

CEO Chaudhary believes the reward program can have 50 million members before the year ends.