You can’t exactly call it an unveiling, but Panera Bread Co. has rolled out a new “hidden menu” featuring high-protein, low-carb “power foods” designed to entice health nuts and members-only types who like to feel they’re part of an exclusive in-the-know crowd.
The catch: You have to ask if you want to sample the new foods. In a bit of anti-marketing marketing, the St. Louis-based food chain isn’t promoting the menu in its stores or posting the “power foods” on its menus.
In fact, there hasn’t been much publicity about the campaign since it rolled out nationwide this month — just a few mentions through social media and via the MyPanera rewards program.
Company marketing materials say the idea is to provide Panera customers “a variety of dietary options outside of Panera’s current menu” — most of them healthier options that have higher protein levels and lower processed carbs.
Items include two “Power Breakfast Egg White Bowls,” one with roast turkey (180 calories, 25 grams of protein), the other with steak (230 calories, 20 grams protein); two “Power Mediterranean Salads,” with chicken (360 calories, 35 grams protein) or roast turkey salad (320 calories, 22 grams protein); a “Power Chicken Hummus Bowl (330 calories, 33 grams protein); and a “Power Steak Lettuce Wrap” (280 calories; 28 grams protein).
Will the idea catch on with Panera customers, or even become a new healthy-foods trend?
Food industry and marketing experts say the campaign may make some customers feel special, but it remains to be seen if the hidden menu items really become a hit.
“Some of my research shows that having too many choices makes a decision more difficult, and can lead to less satisfaction,” said Joseph K. Goodman, an assistant professor of marketing at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
“By keeping some of the items off the menu, Panera keeps them from adding to an already complex menu for novice consumers, who are more likely to exhibit this ‘choice overload’ effect.”