Panera plans catering hubs, launches single-serve coffee pods

St Louis-based Panera Bread Co. has released a four-step plan to battle slow sales and increased competition in 2014. The company also began production of single-serve K-Cup coffee pods.

Business Insider reports Panera's improvement plan includes adding labor and increasing the hours of current workers, spending millions to add new food preparation equipment and restructuring its menu.

The company also will begin building stand-alone catering hubs to divert the process away from standard cafe locations, allowing employees to focus on the flow of customers. The catering hubs will service three or four cafe locations each.

Panera coffee pods are currently available at Hy-Vee and other St. Louis-area stores. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Panera have announced plans to introduce the pods nationwide.

Panera reported revenue of $573 million for the quarter ended Sept. 24. There are 1,736 bakery-cafe locations nationwide.

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