About Panera Bread
Panera Bread is a Consumer company based in St. Louis (United States) founded in 1987 by Ken Rosenthal and Louis Kane, and was acquired by JAB Holding Company in April 2017. Provider of bakery-cafe services and a loyalty program. Panera Bread has raised $145.61 million across 5 funding rounds from investors including Bridgewater Associates, NAXS and JAB Holding Company. Panera Bread has completed 2 acquisitions, including Au Bon Pain and Paradise Bakery. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Niren Chaudhary. Its website panerabread.com draws about 8.8 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Food and Agriculture, Food Service Chains, Caterers and Events. Its competitors include Just Salad, Aramark and HumanCo; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Panera Bread was founded in 1987 in St. Louis, United States, and operates in the food service sector. Bakery-cafe services are provided through locations offering baked goods, sandwiches, and salads for dine-in, takeout, and delivery options. The MyPanera loyalty program is utilized by customers to manage payment details, rewards, and delivery addresses. Catering services are also available to support various events and gatherings.
- Headquarters St. Louis, United States
- Founders Ken Rosenthal, Louis Kane
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsConsumer
- Website category Food and Drink · Restaurants and Delivery
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website panerabread.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
- Acquired by JAB Holding Company (Apr 2017)
- Total Equity Funding$145.61M (USD)
in 5 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$1M (USD), Post-IPO
May 2023
- InvestorsBridgewater Associates
& 2 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsAu Bon Pain
& 1 more
- Acquired byJAB Holding Company
(Apr 2017)
Apps and channels of Panera Bread
Panera Bread publishes 1 mobile app with over 5M+ downloads; its YouTube channel Panera Bread has 17.3K subscribers and 12 videos.
Videos from Panera Bread
The most watched videos on Panera Bread's YouTube channel, Panera Bread (17.3K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Panera Bread.
Funding Insights of Panera Bread
Panera Bread has successfully raised a total of $145.61M across 5 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Post-IPO round of $1 million completed in May 2023. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $145.61M
- Total Rounds 5
- Last Round Post-IPO — $1M
- First Round $2.86M
(Jun 2016)
- Investors Count 3
All 5 funding rounds of Panera Bread with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | $1M | Post-IPO | – | – | |
| Sep 2022 | $900,000 | Post-IPO | – | – | – |
| Dec 2018 | $145.61M | Private Equity Round | – | – | – |
| Nov 2017 | $182.32M | Post-IPO | – | – | – |
| Jun 2016 | $2.86M | Post-IPO | – | – |
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in Panera Bread
Panera Bread has secured backing from 3 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Bridgewater Associates, NAXS and JAB Holding Company.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Private equity investments are managed across the Nordic region. | 2007 | naxs.se | Stockholm, Sweden | |
Premium brands are acquired by the private equity firm. | jabholco.com | Luxembourg, Luxembourg | ||
Multiple strategies are employed in hedge fund management. | 1975 | bridgewater.com | Westport, United States |
Investor details for Panera Bread
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People of Panera Bread
250 people are tracked at Panera Bread (117 in leadership, 1 in board & advisors, 132 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Ken Rosenthal | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Louis Kane | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Niren Chaudhary | CEO | Leadership |
Brianna D. | Director Of Quality Assurance | Leadership |
Gina Bryant | Director, New Product Development & Commercialization | Leadership |
Ashil Bijou | Chief Procurement Officer | Leadership |
Maria Mattingly | Director, Deployment & Program Management | Leadership |
Michael Falk | Operating Partner General Manager | Leadership |
Gillian Morgan | Vp, Organization, Talent Planning And Development | Leadership |
Ron Kyhl | Vice President Operations | Leadership |
Alycia Gonzalez | Chief People Officer | Leadership |
Wendy Ovesen | Director, Paralegal Services & Legal Operations | Leadership |
Brock Reichart | Senior Director Tax | Leadership |
Santhosh Kumar | Chief Information Officer | Leadership |
Denise Moreo | Director Of Training | Leadership |
Eric D'Amico | Director - Franchise Sales | Leadership |
Earl Ellis | CFO | Leadership |
Katie Canty | Senior Vice President, IT | Leadership |
Donna Konieczny | Senior Director Technical Implementation Services | Leadership |
Nancy Wangerin | Director, Consumer Systems Program Management | Leadership |
230 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Panera Bread
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Investments & Acquisitions by Panera Bread
Panera Bread has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include Au Bon Pain and Paradise Bakery.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quick-service cafe and bakery items are offered to customers. | aubonpain.com | Hialeah, United States | 1978 | Nov 2017 | •••• | |
Chain of bakery cafe | paradisebakery.com | Omaha, United States | 1976 | Nov 2006 | $21.1M |
Complete acquisition details for Panera Bread
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Timeline of Panera Bread
6 dated milestones of Panera Bread across 36 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Panera Bread is founded.
- Acquisition Acquires Paradise Bakery.
- Funding First funding round of $2.9M.
- Exit Acquired by JAB Holding Company.
- Acquisition Acquires Au Bon Pain.
- Funding Latest funding round, Post-IPO, of $1.0M.
Competitors of Panera Bread
Panera Bread has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Just Salad, Aramark and HumanCo.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| justsalad.com | 2006 | New York, United States | $206M | Event catering services are provided nationwide from New York. | ||
| aramark.com | 1939 | Philadelphia, United States | 262,550 | Aramark is engaged in food services and facilities management. | ||
| humanco.com | 2019 | New York, United States | $35M | Venture capital investments are directed across multiple sectors by HumanCo. |
Detailed competitors of Panera Bread
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Web traffic of Panera Bread
The website of Panera Bread (panerabread.com) receives about 8.8M visits a month and ranks #6,107 among all websites worldwide, #159 in Restaurants and Delivery.
- Monthly visits8.8M
▲ 7.3% vs previous month
- Unique visitors3.9M
per month
- Global rank#6,107
among all websites
- Category rank#159
Food and Drink · Restaurants and Delivery
- Bounce rate34%
- Pages per visit4.5
- Average visit3 min 15 sec
- DevicesDesktop 28% · Mobile 72%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Panera Bread. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| applebees.com | 100% | 5.5M | #9,512 | View details | |
| chipotle.com | 96% | 10.6M | #5,584 | View details | |
| arbys.com | 94% | 3.8M | #13,786 | View details | |
| panera.com | 90% | 32.1K | #1,142,296 | View details | |
| ezcater.com | 89% | 3.8M | #14,514 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Panera Bread
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Top companies in Food & Beverage Products & Processing
2 companies that operate in the same segment as Panera Bread (Food & Beverage Products & Processing) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hens and cattle are reared to supply eggs and butter. | 2007 | Austin, Texas, United States | USD 49.96 M | USD 759.44 M | 598 | |
Food, snacks, and beverages are produced and distributed globally. | 1898 | Purchase, New York, United States | USD 93.92 B | 319,000 |
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Related news about Panera Bread
Complete news archive for Panera Bread
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Frequently Asked Questions about Panera Bread
Panera Bread was founded in 1987 and raised its 1st funding round 29 years after it was founded.
Panera Bread is headquartered in St. Louis, United States. It is registered at St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Niren Chaudhary is the CEO of Panera Bread, as recorded in our data.
Panera Bread is a funded company, having raised a total of $145.61M across 5 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Post-IPO of $2.86M, raised on Jun 2016.
Panera Bread was founded in 1987 in St. Louis, United States, and operates in the food service sector. Bakery-cafe services are provided through locations offering baked goods, sandwiches, and salads for dine-in, takeout, and delivery options. The MyPanera loyalty program is utilized by customers to manage payment details, rewards, and delivery addresses. Catering services are also available to support various events and gatherings.
Panera Bread's top competitors include Aramark, Just Salad and HumanCo.
Panera Bread has made 2 acquisitions, including Au Bon Pain, and Paradise Bakery.
Panera Bread has 3 investors. Key investors include Bridgewater Associates, NAXS, and JAB Holding Company.
Yes. Panera Bread was acquired by JAB Holding Company in April 2017.
Yes. Panera Bread publishes Panera Bread, with over 5 million downloads.
The website of Panera Bread receives about 8.8 million visits a month and ranks #6,107 among all websites worldwide.