Panera Bread Industry Analysis

Mexican and Bakerey-Café are the two largest segments in the fast casual industry, making it no surprise why Chipotle and Panera Bread are the top leaders. Mexican segment is notably larger than the other segments. After Mexican, comes Bakery-Café then Sandwich segment falls just short. After Sandwich segment comes Hamburger, Chicken, Pizza, Asian/Noodle and Salad being the smallest segment in the category. The top five chains in the fast-casual industry are Panera Bread, Chipotle, Panda Express, Zaxby’s and Five Guys. After getting to know each restaurant as an individual I can see why each one is in the top five and what they bring to the industry. Let’s start with Panera Bread, they offer a lot to the fast-casual industry. Not only do they offer lunch and dinner but they offer breakfast and a lot of people associate Panera Bread with healthy and wholesomeness.

They also donate their unsold foods. When walking into Chipotle you already know what you want and how you want it. Chipotle has taken that concept and lets the consumers customize their food to the way they want it. The do-it yourself style restaurant brings a lot of uniqueness in that aspect. Another reason they bring uniqueness is their ingredient integrity. They only sell locally grown and raised ingredients at high quality.

Panda Express is another unique company because you can also see them make your plate as well as you can see them cooking the food. They opened the Panda Express in 1983 in California and have expanded from coast to coast. They also offer a Panda Cares Outreach Program. It helps feed children in need and also provides financial support. Zaxby’s is a little restaurant with just over 500 locations. They fall under the chicken category and are in 13 states on the east