Six Degrees of Panera Bread

The game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" was started because people like finding arbitrary links between things. It's actually just how the human brain works; it sees things and links them together. While things like the food and music industry may not seem to have much in common, I am going to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon to bring the two together.

First Degree of Bacon

I've actually never played Six Degrees, but I think I already named a starting and ending point so here goes nothing. We have the food industry: a place where I have been involved in since I was old enough to hold a job, where the profit margins are smaller than perceived,and companies do whatever they can to increase those profit margins...or so we think.

Second Degree of Bacon

My second job and first stable job was at Panera Bread. Upon moving to Montana, I was surprised to find Panera had not made its way here yet. For my Montana friends and any others who have not eaten at a Panera, Panera is a quick casual dining restaurant. The restaurant is divided into two sections a bakery and a cafe. The bakery side sells an array of sweets and breakfast items like cookies, brownies, bagels and quiches. In addition, they also sell coffee shop drinks (not to mention the best chai tea). The cafe side sells soups, sandwiches, and salads. Panera's real claim to fame was the introduction of a quick casual dining experience.

Third Degree of Bacon

As a former employee of Panera I know they have always tried to better the community surrounding them. At the end of the day Panera puts all the bakery items which have not sold and places them in a bag for collection the next morning by a local charity. Lately Panera has raised the bar on community involvement by setting up "Panera Cares" cafes across the United States.

Fourth Degree of Bacon

Panera Cares is set up to allow customers pay what they can afford of their purchase and volunteer to work off the rest of what is due.Why go to a Panera Cares instead of a local soup kitchen? Panera Bread wanted the ability to offer the "Panera Experience" to everyone. While soup kitchens have a general negative vibe when you walk in, Panera Cares offers the same environment any other Panera Bread would even down to the menu.

...the non-profit cafe has two goals. The first is to raise awareness about food insecurity. The second is to give those who aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from a sense of dignity

Fifth Degree of Bacon

The biggest splash I can recall of a "pay what you can" business model was when Radiohead released their seventh studio album, "In Rainbows", in 2007. Against the advice of their label, Radiohead released "In Rainbows" to the general public on the internet. The entire album was free to download for three months before hard copies were sold in stores. While on the internet the album generated more money than their previous album, "Hail to the Thief", and out sold both Hail and"Amnesiac" in total sales.

Sixth Degree of Bacon

Once available in stores, "In Rainbows" debuted number one on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Album Charts. Rainbows also precluded the most successful tour Radiohead has had to date. Not only did fans take notice of the true value of this album, but so did the music industry. Rainbows earned two Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Special Limited Edition Package. The last time Radiohead had won a Grammy prior to 2009 was three albums ago when they won a Grammy the Best Alternative Music Album for "Kid A".

Preliminary numbers for Panera Cares look promising. Maybe Panera will have the same impact on the food industry that Radiohead had on the music industry maybe not, but Panera's attempt to change perceptions of food security the same way Radiohead changed the music industry's opinion on downloading music is admirable.