Comfort foods are trending in 2024, and in addition to the type of food, many consumers have comfort brands they turn to when they need a mood boost.

These positive feelings with certain brands may come from fond memories of being at a physical restaurant with family and friends, or having someone pick up to-go food from a particular restaurant for them when they were sick.

St. Louis-based Panera Bread tapped into this concept in the fall of 2022 when it redesigned its grocery retail line with its signature green color and a more prominent logo. The company said it also used new photography that communicated the “quality and craveability” of the products.

Panera grocery store productsSource: Panera Bread

“Our mission for Panera’s CPG business is to make craveable Panera products easily accessible wherever consumers shop for groceries,” said Zach Soolman, Panera’s vice president and general manager of CPG.

When the company debuted the new packaging, it also ran a ‘Pairs Well With’ marketing campaign, “designed to place Panera grocery items at the center of important family moments,” Panera said. The campaign focused on life events that Panera meals enhanced or were associated with.

As digital now plays a huge role in how consumers shop for groceries, users viewing the Panera Bread website for food orders and keeping track of rewards can also click over to the Panera at Home website to easily view the company’s entire CPG lineup. Each product listing has a store locator button, ingredient and nutrition information, and a few recipe options to use that product at home.

Along with the Recipes tab, the Panera at Home website also has ‘What’s Simmering,’ a blog with articles offering more inspiration for using Panera products based on the season and the brand’s latest releases.

bowl of tomato soupSource: Panera Bread

Panera at Home’s refrigerated soup lineup includes:

  • Autumn Squash Soup
  • Baked Potato Soup
  • Black Bean Soup
  • Broccoli Cheddar Soup
  • Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
  • Creamy Tomato Soup
  • Greek Style Lemon Chicken Soup
  • Italian Style Wedding Soup
  • Lobster Bisque Soup
  • Mexican Style Street Corn Chowder
  • New England Clam Chowder
  • Turkey, Sausage, Kale & Quinoa Soup

Panera at Home’s current refrigerated Flatbread Pizza lineup includes:

  • Chipotle Chicken Flatbread Pizza
  • Margherita Flatbread Pizza
  • Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza

Panera at Home’s current refrigerated Mac & Cheese and Bowls lineup includes:

  • Asiago Mac & Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes
  • Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese
  • Chicken Caprese Bowl
  • Lemon Chicken Primavera Bowl
  • Mac & Cheese
  • Tuscan Style Chicken Bowl

Even though Panera offers comfort foods like Mac & Cheese, the brand has achieved a better-for-you image by having a No No list of ingredients all of its products are free from.

Panera Bread No No ListSource: Panera Bread

“As in Panera bakery-cafes, all Panera grocery items are made with Clean ingredients — food that does not contain the artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, and colors from artificial sources set forth on our No No list,” the company said.

This article is an excerpt from the March 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Branded Entrees feature and more in the digital edition here.