On Tuesday, August 27, Panera Bread announced that its national delivery service will be available for the first time through food delivery partners DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. This bolsters the company’s already robust delivery program of its own which customers can order through its app and website.
The addition of DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats to Panera’s delivery lineup for lunch or dinner allows customers to have more ways to access Panera favorites while still experiencing quality delivery experience they’ve come to expect in the past few years.
Whether customers order via Panera’s apps or through one of its partners, their orders will be delivered to them by Panera’s own delivery drivers (known as the ‘bring your own courier model’) in most markets. Year to date, Panera’s platforms have driven more than 28 million delivery orders, resulting in delivery becoming 7 percent of its overall sales.
“Panera has been a leader in the delivery market as one of the first fast casual concepts to offer its own delivery service. Today, through these partnerships, we are pioneering once again by being the first fast casual to launch the ‘bring your own courier’ model nation-wide,” says Dan Wegiel, EVP Chief Growth and Strategy Officer at Panera.
“The most important consideration for Panera is owning the guest experience—and making sure it's a great one. These new partnerships are possible because we already have a fleet of delivery drivers and the infrastructure created to support increased demand. We believe this partnership model helps differentiate us from our competitors and will take our already successful delivery business to new heights.”
Panera now looks to connect its loyalty program—MyPanera—to delivery orders placed through the delivery partner sites. In the coming months, customers signed up for the MyPanera program will be able to earn visit credits toward MyPanera rewards when ordering through DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.