Panera’s Charged Lemonade, the topic of a number of wrongful dying lawsuits, is being axed from its menu

New York
CNN
 — 

Panera Bread is eliminating Charged Lemonade from its menu, the caffeinated beverage that has sparked a number of lawsuits and triggered a public relations nightmare for the corporate.

The Charged Lemonades will come off the menu within the subsequent two weeks, in line with Bloomberg, which first reported the information. The chain declined to remark to CNN on the timeline of the drinks’ removing.

A Panera spokesperson stated new drinks will change it, together with low-sugar and low-caffeine choices, together with a brand new blueberry lavender lemonade, pomegranate hibiscus tea, citrus punch and a tropical inexperienced smoothie.

Panera has confronted no less than three separate lawsuits over the lineup of controversial drinks in current months, claiming that the excessive ranges of caffeine within the product has led to the deaths of two clients and irreversible well being issues in one other.

The lineup of Charged Lemonades was launched in April 2022, tied with the discharge of its beverage subscription program that permit individuals get as many comfortable drinks and coffees as they wished every day for $10.99 per thirty days. (The worth has since elevated to $14.99 per thirty days.)

Panera stored the Charged Lemonades on the menu, regardless of the controversies, as a result of specialists say eradicating the drink instantly might have come throughout as an implied admission that one thing was unsuitable with it within the first place.

“Fairly often in lawsuits, there’s a knee-jerk response amongst attorneys to do as little as potential publicly out of some obscure worry that you’re exposing your self to further legal responsibility,” disaster PR skilled James Haggerty beforehand instructed CNN, noting that this method can have a detrimental impact available on the market worth of an organization, at occasions to the tune of a whole lot of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.

Haggerty added that it’s a “cost-benefit evaluation … the lack of reputational worth will usually outweigh something that happens within the courtroom.”

Final month, Panera revamped its choices with its “largest menu transformation ever” that refocused its choice on sandwiches, soups, salads and macaroni and cheese. Various gadgets obtained the ax too, together with flatbreads, a number of candy treats and chili.

“We’re excited to proceed the success of our current menu transformation, which started with our core choices of sandwiches and salads,” a Panera spokesperson stated in regards to the revamp. “We listened to greater than 30,000 visitors about what they wished from Panera, and are focusing subsequent on the broad array of drinks we all know our visitors want.”

The modifications come as Panera is planning to go public once more later this yr. In November 2023, the chain laid off 18% of its company workforce, amounting to 300 individuals, and Reuters not too long ago reported that it’s loosening the requirements it units for its components in an effort to save lots of $20 million yearly.