At Panera Bread, “Clean” describes food that does not contain the artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, and colors from artificial sources on this “No No List”. You won't find any of these in our ingredient statements for our US bakery-cafe food menu and grocery products.

CEO Ron Shaich says the chain reformulated 122 of 450 ingredients to eliminate man-made preservatives, sweeteners, colors and flavors. Panera Bread Co. last month made good on a promise it made two years ago, saying its food is now free of man-made preservatives, sweeteners, colors and flavors.

All our products are Clean - made without the artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors or and colors from artificial sources detailed on our No No List.

How does Panera's approach to clean eating provide the company with a competitive advantage? “Fast-food” and “fast-casual” restaurants are typically unhealthy but, Panera offers healthy affordable options. Panera offers a 100% clean menu which is generally unheard of among its competitors.

Generally, clean eating is assumed to refer to foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, maybe organic, and most likely with minimal use of any chemical additives and preservatives.

We utilize select organic ingredients and label them as such on our menu. Any organic ingredients or items will be labeled as organic in their nutritional information, found here. Click on a specific item to view its ingredients.

Panera said the reduced menu pilot was intended to speed up service and increase convenience while “simplifying operations for our associates.” The chain said it has a number of tests, ranging from new menu items to menu cuts to new technology, going on at any one time.

After Au Bon Pain acquired the company in 1993, the Bread Company was renamed Panera, from the Latin word for "breadbasket," to help position it for national growth.

Top 10 healthiest loaves

• Ezekiel. This is a bread made from a mix of sprouted wholegrains, typically wheat, barley, spelt and millet, as well as legumes, lentils and soya beans.
• Pumpernickel.
• Rye bread.
• 100% wholemeal wheat bread.
• Buckwheat bread.
• Spelt bread.
• Sourdough.
• Soda bread.

Panera has compiled a “No No List” of ingredients it will be removing from its menu - in all, 150 artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colors and flavors are getting the boot. General Mills' original Cheerios brand no longer contains GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

Answer: Panera's primary sources of competitive advantage are: – (1) its position in the restaurant industry, – (2) its brand strength, – (3) the atmosphere of its restaurants, and – (4) the distinctive nature of its bakery products. Most students will argue that these sources of competitive advantage are sustainable.

Competitive advantage focuses also on food safety, food compliance and food quality, in order to be able to win customer trust in the long run. The focus for technological innovations is on creating new and high-quality products, while improving the efficiency, productivity, and sustainability of production.