Panera Bread chain to list added sugars in its drinks

Panera Bread Co., vying with Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. to be the progressive vanguard in the restaurant industry, will become the first major chain to list the amount of added sugars of its fountain beverages.

The company, which sells PepsiCo Inc. beverages at its roughly 2,100 locations across the United States, aims to steer customers away from sugary drinks, saying they contribute to obesity and heart disease. To offer alternatives, Panera is rolling out a series of “craft beverages” that are made without artificial ingredients.

The announcement comes as Chipotle touted its effort to cut preservatives from its food. That move sparked a bit of a feud between the two chains. Chipotle Chief Executive Officer Steve Ells criticized Panera and other rivals for not having as pure a menu. Panera CEO Ron Shaich then called out his competitor in a Business Insider interview for its past problems — a reference to its history of foodborne-illness outbreaks.

Ordinary restaurant diners may not care about the tiff, but they are gravitating toward less-processed ingredients. And the broader industry is relying on menu upgrades to attract customers during a slow period for restaurants. Panera said earlier this year it had rid its food of artificial ingredients, and McDonald’s Corp. removed artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets.

In its push for more nutritious drinks, Panera decided to stop short of pulling Pepsi products from its restaurants, Shaich said. But the company felt that it was important to be transparent about the amount of sugar in soda.

“Panera is not about playing the food police,” he said. “We’re about giving people options.”