Panera's Lemonade Controversy: Lawsuits Lead to Removal of Charged Lemonade from Menu
According to Bloomberg, The Charged Lemonades will be taken off Panera's menu in the upcoming two weeks. The restaurant chain had no comment on this development when contacted by CNN.
A representative from Panera revealed that the discontinuation of these drinks would eventually pave way for new additions, such as low-sugar and low-caffeine options like a blueberry lavender lemonade, pomegranate hibiscus tea, citrus punch and a tropical green smoothie.
The company has faced legal issues in recent months due to the contentious beverages, with three lawsuits being filed over high caffeine levels that allegedly led to the deaths of two customers and irreversible health complications for another.
The Charged Lemonades were launched in April 2022, coinciding with the introduction of Panera's drink subscription program. With this offer, customers could enjoy as many soft drinks and coffees as they wanted at just $10.99 a month (the price later escalated to $14.99). However, Panera persisted with the lemonades despite the controversy, fearing it might be viewed as an admission of guilt if they were removed immediately.
“Companies often find themselves facing lawsuits and their first instinct is to do the absolute minimum in the public realm out of a sort of vague fear that they could be perceived as admitting guilt,” explained crisis PR expert James Haggerty in a previous interview with CNN. This approach, he added, could potentially cost the company millions of dollars in terms of damaged reputation.
Last month, Panera made significant changes to its menu, ditching flatbreads, several sweet treats, and chili. The revamped menu emphasized sandwiches, soups, salads and macaroni and cheese. A Panera representative commented on the change, saying: "We are excited to continue the success of our recent menu transformation, which began with our core options of sandwiches and salads. We had received feedback from over 30,000 guests on what they wanted from our menu, and are now focusing on the broad array of beverages we know our guests desire."
The shakeup at Panera comes as the company prepares to invest in the public market again in the latter half of 2023. Last November, 18% of its corporate staff, equating to 300 people, faced layoffs. Additionally, Panera made the decision to lower the standards of its ingredients in a bid to save $20 million annually, as reported by Reuters.
Panera’s dilemma is clear. Remove the drinks immediately and risk being perceived as having something to hide, or keep them on the menu and risk further litigation and brand damage. Whichever course the company chooses, the impact on their public image is inevitable.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
