Panera Bread Company
Food as it should be
With over 2,000 bakery-cafes nationwide, Panera leads the fast-casual restaurant category by example — providing good-for-you food while doing good in every community it serves.
Providing good-for-you food while doing good
CHALLENGE
With a menu of healthy salads, sandwiches and fresh-baked breads, it’s no wonder Panera is a popular choice for hosting fundraising events and baking classes for kids. However, all events at bakery-cafés were booked and managed by one corporate employee, leaving little time for connection as programs expanded.
SOLUTION
Paradigm proposed an automated, data-driven system for booking, managing and measuring the success of each event. Through targeted microsite design and development, we streamlined event coordination and delivered actionable performance insights.
Web Design + Development
We provided two microsite designs: one for Panera’s Bakers in Training program and one for its fundraising events.
Each microsite featured information about its respective program, FAQs and custom introductory videos. Through a mobile-responsive user interface, our booking website design made it easy for users to learn about and book events at their local bakery-café.
Technology Development
Microsite development allowed us to implement new tools for booking and management.
Our microsite development team built a custom tech stack that streamlined interactions for both prospective customers and internal stakeholders.
During frontend microsite design, we added custom web forms with a Google Maps plugin. Fundraising teams could select a program, find locations near them and provide booking information. On the backend, we prioritized functionality for bakery-cafe owners, accounting teams and administrators.
Bakery-Café Owners
We integrated detailed monitoring analytics with a built-in event dashboard. This allowed bakery-café owners to easily view upcoming events and make necessary changes.
Accounting Teams
We plugged our tools into Panera’s accounting systems. This allowed accounting teams to automate charity payments, ensuring fundraising organizations are paid properly and promptly.
Administrators
We built in robust functionality that allowed Panera administrators to collect and view web form submissions. This facilitated automated customer and store communications, including company-wide calendar updates.
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39%
Year-over-year event increase
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30%
Year-over-year increase in donations from Panera
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18%
Increase in sales surrounding events
