Hardware Podcasts

Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

How I Built This · 10 Feb 2020 · 42m

What this episode covers

Ron Shaich, founder of Panera Bread and Au Bon Pain, explains how he built a fast-casual empire by pivoting from a small Boston bakery to a national chain. He details the chaotic early days of Au Bon Pain, the strategic acquisition of the St. Louis Bread Company to enter the suburban market, and the controversial decision to sell the original brand to focus entirely on Panera. Shaich also discusses his contrarian growth strategy during the 2008 financial crisis and the rationale behind taking the company private to escape short-term Wall Street pressures.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up and established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain, St. Louis Bread Company, U.S. Bank
Products
Can Do Labels
Also
Lisa Dalton

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