Panera Is Looking To Sell Off Its Coffee & Bagel Businesses
Between its massive menu overhaul and the loss of dozens of popular menu items, 2024 has already been rife with major developments at Panera Bread. The bakery-café chain may soon undergo another massive change as it reportedly considers selling off its coffee and bagel businesses.
Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that parent company Panera Brands is looking to offload Caribou Coffee and its handful of bagel chains—Einstein Bros. Bagels, Bruegger's Bagels, Manhattan Bagel, and Noah's New York Bagels. The sources said Panera Brands has brought Bank of America on board to organize the sale of the chains, and some operators and private equity firms are already showing interest in the brands.
Panera Brands declined to comment on the reports when contacted by Eat This, Not That! But if true, this would be a significant move for the company considering that the Panera Brands entity came into existence just three years ago.
The investment firm JAB Holding (which backs Panera Brands) combined Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, and the bagel chains into Panera Brands in 2021 to help them grow coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group had been looking to go public that same year, but didn't end up doing so due to the collapse of the IPO markets in late 2021, Restaurant Business Magazine reported. An IPO, or initial public offering, is when a privately owned company makes its shares available to the general public by listing them on the stock exchange.
Panera has faced additional obstacles since then—such as lawsuits over its caffeinated Charged Lemonades, a loss of market share, layoffs, and data breaches—and still has yet to make that long-awaited IPO three years later. However, the reported plans to sell off Caribou Coffee and the bagel brands could mean that Panera is getting closer to finally going public.
As Restaurant Business Magazine noted, Panera Brands' chains all compete with each other because they all serve coffee and bagels, which might make them look less attractive to potential investors. Offloading the other brands to focus on Panera Bread—the largest chain in Panera Brands' portfolio—could put the company in a stronger position for an IPO.
In other Panera news, the chain expanded its menu earlier this month with two new spicy sandwiches, two new avocado toasts, and two returning bagel flavors that were discontinued in April. Additionally, the chain recently rolled out a new selection of sweet and savory breakfast items that have been sharply dividing customers.
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