Restaurant

Panera to Offer Unlimited Coffee for $8.99 Per Month

Panera wants to get you into its restaurants more often! The fast-casual chain known for sandwiches, salads and baked goods, is offering customers a cup of coffee, iced coffee or hot tea every two hours with an unlimited subscription program for $8.99 per month.

With the introduction of the subscription, Panera says it’s the first national restaurant company to offer unlimited high-quality hot drip coffee, iced coffee and hot tea for just $8.99 per month. Fast-food chain Burger King unveiled a coffee subscription for just $5 per month last year.

A regular cup of coffee at Panera stores in Manhattan typically costs $2.49 per cup or $2.19 in the suburbs so the subscription is a pretty good deal.

“Coffee is an important daily ritual for so many – it can give you a dose of optimism – it lifts you up.  We kept asking ourselves, why can’t it be more accessible, more affordable? Moreover, could unlimited coffee translate to unlimited optimism?'” said Niren Chaudhary, Panera CEO.  “Today, we’re changing the game for coffee drinkers across the country with our no compromises, unlimited subscription service—great coffee at an amazing value.  We are eliminating the price barrier and the false choices between convenience and quality – between good coffee and craveable food.  At Panera, there’s no more compromise—and your cup is always full.”

Chaudhary added, “From helping create the fast-casual category, to technology breakthroughs with Panera 2.0, to clean food—Panera has a history of industry-leading innovation that creates value for and adds to the guest experience. Panera is a challenger brand and with unlimited coffee we are disrupting the coffee business.  We are challenging the status quo because we believe everyone deserves a full cup, literally and figuratively.”

The average American spends $1,100 on coffee a year, and Panera’s new coffee subscription could save guests nearly $1,000 per year.

In the last year, Panera recently revamped and expanded its drip and iced coffee offerings, introducing new coffee blends, freshly ground every day and made from 100% Arabica whole beans including:

  • Light Roast—a blend of Central and South American beans with hints of citrus, roasted nuts and chocolate
  • Dark Roast—a blend of Costa Rican and Colombian coffee beans that give this slightly sweet coffee a rich, mellow finish.

Both coffee blends are available, along with Decaf and Hazelnut, as part of the new coffee subscription program.

In addition to its revamped coffee offerings and in line with its commitment to plant-based options, Panera has also removed the upcharge for plant-based milk in all U.S. Panera bakery-cafes.  Almond milk is now available on the coffee station free of charge, and the company is actively exploring adding other non-dairy alternatives.

Panera is owned by privately-held JAB Holding Company.