Introduction
I have decided to write a marketing plan for Panera Bread, because I had a pleasant experience with this company. Panera Bread is operating 1736 bakery-cafés in 45 states in US and in Ontario, Canada. For the moment Panera is employing more than 80 000 of associates and serves more than 8 000 000 people every week (Panerabread.com). Moreover, Panera Bread is on the 5th place in the list of World’s Most Admired Companies in the Food Service industry (Money.cnn.com).
Mission statement
“Panera Bread aims to deliver a unique experience of bakery-café, and to provide people with fresh and high quality foods. Our mission is to give everyone the opportunity to taste our delicious bread products”.
SWOT analysis (in accordance with information from Panerabread.com)
Marketing Objectives
1) Financial Objectives
- Panera Bread is experiencing a steady growth in its revenues. As of the year 2013 the revenues of the company grew by 15.63% for the last three years. Net income and Earnings per share are also consistently increasing with every year. The 3-year average growth percentage in net income of Panera Bread equals approximately 17-20%. One of the objectives for the company will be to sustain the existing continuous growth for the years 2014-2016, and to increase the percentage up to 21-23% for the years 2017-2019 (Financials.morningstar.com).
- The returns on invested capital ratio for Panera Bread also keeps growing with every year. Since the year 2004 the return on investment grew by 8.05% to the year 2013. The objective of Panera Bread is to continue to increase the return on invested capital ratio every year by 1.5% (Financials.morningstar.com).
2) Global Expansion
Global expansion and selling franchise to the European entrepreneurs is a good opportunity for Panera Bread to introduce its concept to the new market, and therefore, to enter a larger community. The basis of the freshly baked and high nutrition food are commonly accepted in Europe and the big cities that are great touristic and cultural centers such as Paris, London, and Berlin, for example, are good potential locations for future Panera Bread venues. Therefore, another objective for the company is introducing its concept to Europe during the period from 2015-2018.
3) Investment in Research and Development
Panera Bread will invest more in Research and Development in the 3-year period 2014-2016 in order to generate even healthier menu options and to give their customers the best possible options of the baked products. The company will invest in the new product development and provide its customers with greater variety of offerings.
Marketing Strategy
Panera Bread has positioned itself in the market as high-quality and trustworthy bakery-cafés that will create a positive and warming environment for every single customer, and will try to meet all of the preferences of the buyers (Ronshaich.com).
The target market of Panera Bread is difficult to identify, because the company is trying to reach people from different classes and is directed by an affordable pricing strategy. Panera is trying to make an experience at its bakery-cafés unforgettable for everyone and is concentrating on the customers’ experience. Panera’s various programs allow people from different age groups, with different incomes and from different backgrounds to try Panera experience. The main goal of Panera Bread Company is to deliver fresh and high-quality foods to the customers in a pleasurable environment and with good service.
Marketing mix
Product: Panera Bread is providing various products in its locations, though is more concentrated on bread: Fresh baked goods, cookies, beverages, sandwiches, soups, salads, rolls, breads, muffins, sourdough, bagels, sweet goods, and scones.
Price: Panera Bred offers quick-services, but its foods are mostly healthy and of high quality. Therefore, the prices at Panera Bread are slightly higher than in common fast food restaurant chains. Moreover, Panera Bread offers organic menu options, and it has prices that are also a bit higher (Fastfoodmenuprices.com).
Place: Panera Bread is operating on the territory of U.S. and in Canada, selling its production in nice bakery-cafes with pleasant atmosphere and interior.
Promotion: Currently Panera is making advertising through various sources, such as radio, billboards, social platforms, and internet. In order to reach a broader audience Panera Bread has a national cable television marketing campaign. Facebook page of Panera Bread is a good way of promoting the place internationally and locally. So, Panera is actively using social platforms advertising as a promotion tool.
Distribution: Panera Bread production is distributed to the customers only in its special venue locations. As it was mentioned in the introduction, Panera Bread is now operating 1736 bakery-cafés in 45 states in US and in Ontario, Canada (Panerabread.com).
Bibliography
Kowitt, B. (2012, July 18). How we got started: Panera's Ron Shaich. CNNMoney. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/17/smallbusiness/panera-ron-shaich.fortune/
Our history. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/company/about-panera/our-history.html
Panera Bread Company, Inc. Class A. (n.d.). Morningstar. Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=PNRA
The Founder of Panera Explains How He Grew a Tiny Bakery to a $4.5 Billion Restaurant Chain. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.ronshaich.com/pdf/a017a09fa8.pdf
