Facebook
an the full purchase value of such transaction. Social Media Sites. We may maintain one or more social media sites, applications, and platforms (e.g., Panera App, X (fka Twitter), Facebook, Instagram,
From the filings
+0.09% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Panera
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Panera is controlled at the corporate level, with key decision-makers including CEO/CFO Paul Carbone and EVP/CFO Earl Ellis. The most recent FDD does not mandate any specific POS or operational technology, leaving the tech landscape largely open to vendor pitches. With 2,214 total units split almost evenly between company-owned and franchised locations, the addressable market for software vendors is substantial.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
2,214
1,106 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+0.09%
vs prior filing
AUV
$2.54M
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
—
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$480K–$4.57M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing. It is a floor, not a total — the filing discloses one of the two headline fees.
2%+of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
Instagram
l purchase value of such transaction. Social Media Sites. We may maintain one or more social media sites, applications, and platforms (e.g., Panera App, X (fka Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky,
LinkedIn
a Sites. We may maintain one or more social media sites, applications, and platforms (e.g., Panera App, X (fka Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, Tik Tok, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn or such oth
Pinterest
action. Social Media Sites. We may maintain one or more social media sites, applications, and platforms (e.g., Panera App, X (fka Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, Tik Tok, Pinterest, TikTok, L
TikTok
ial Media Sites. We may maintain one or more social media sites, applications, and platforms (e.g., Panera App, X (fka Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, Tik Tok, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn or
Twitter
es less than the full purchase value of such transaction. Social Media Sites. We may maintain one or more social media sites, applications, and platforms (e.g., Panera App, X (fka Twitter), Facebook,
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
19 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 13 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 14
We and our Affiliates will own all Customer Data, and we and they may, through the Computer System or otherwise, access Customer Data.
How the franchisor buys
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 20
The Franchise Advisory Council is an advisory committee that functions at Panera’s discretion and includes Panera senior officers and franchisees.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
236633454Item 8
In the fiscal year ending December 30, 2025, we derived $236,633,454 in total revenue or other material consideration from required purchases or leases by franchisees, which amount includes rebates on ingredients and food products produced by third parties and sold to franchisees (as further described below).
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
Either the Distributor or the Bakery Supplier will pay us a rebate with respect to your purchase of Bakery Products from a Distributor equal to the difference between (a) the price you pay for Bakery Products, and (b) the agreed upon price charged to the Distributor by the Bakery Suppliers.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
95Item 8
Collectively, the purchases and leases described above are approximately 90% of your overall purchases and leases in establishing your Bakery-Cafe and 95% of your overall purchases and leases in operating
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
An “Alternative Supplier” is any supplier who has been proposed by you or by another franchisee to manufacture, produce, and/or supply any item, including Food and Beverage Products, and who must be approved by us in writing to do so.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
It is your responsibility to maintain and report your Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) compliance, which encompasses operational policies and practices as well as networks and POS systems hardware/software used to process credit card transactions, as well as attesting that you are abiding by (i) the PCI Data Security…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
12. INSPECTIONS OF YOUR BAKERY-CAFE; AUDITS
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Before you acquire, by lease or purchase, any site for a Panera Bread Bakery-Cafe, you must submit a complete site information package to us.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 6
The time to complete the grand opening advertising program, as well as the minimum you must spend is identified in the Franchise Agreement.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 6
you must spend 2% of monthly Net Sales on local advertising and promotion of your Bakery-Cafe
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 6
You must offer for sale, participate in, and honor for purchases by customers, all gift cards, loyalty and other incentive or convenience programs that we may periodically institute
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 6
If we have established an Advertising Association in your market area, you must participate in the Advertising Association and its programs and abide by its bylaws.
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
you must purchase ingredients, goods, services, supplies, fixtures, equipment and inventory only from suppliers we have approved in writing.
Payments
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 6
You must offer for sale, participate in, and honor for purchases by customers, all gift cards, loyalty and other incentive or convenience programs that we may periodically institute
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
Your Panera Bread Bakery-Cafe must, at all times, be managed by your Operating Principal or by an on-site general or assistant manager or a shift supervisor who has completed our training program to our satisfaction.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase any and all products, goods, services or supplies in connection with developing and/or operating Panera Bread Bakery-Cafes, including (but not limited to) Food and Beverage Products, merchandise, uniforms, packaging materials, POP materials, third-party food delivery services, smallwares, menus…
Point of sale
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 14
We and our Affiliates will own all Customer Data, and we and they may, through the Computer System or otherwise, access Customer Data.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
In addition to the training program, you must ensure that the Operating Principal and Bakery-Cafe general manager complete continuing certified operations training programs from time to time as we may require to reinforce operational standards (“Continuing Operations Training”).
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Item 8
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 11
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
Formal HQ procurement; C-suite sponsor + cross-functional committee + IT/security/legal; often PE-backed.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
- 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
- Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.
The vendor opportunity at Panera
Panera operates 2,214 locations across the United States, with a near-even split of 1,106 franchised and 1,108 company-owned units. The brand’s average unit volume sits at $2,541,217, signaling healthy per-location revenue that can support software investment. Year-over-year unit growth is just 0.09%, so the addressable market is stable rather than rapidly expanding. For software vendors, this means the primary opportunity lies in displacing incumbents or introducing new capabilities into an established footprint rather than riding a wave of new openings.
Who controls software purchasing
Purchasing authority rests at the corporate headquarters in Missouri. The FDD lists Paul Carbone as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and Earl Ellis as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer—both likely gatekeepers for enterprise software decisions. Other relevant executives include Marlene Gordon (SVP, Chief Legal Officer), Gregg Waterman (SVP, Chief Manufacturing and Supply Chain Officer), and Patrick Coelho (SVP, Chief Development Officer). The operator base is heavily multi-unit: of 1,100 mapped operators, 1,066 are multi-unit, with 679 operators running 25 or more locations. Despite this concentration, no franchisor mandate signals suggest operators have independent tech purchasing authority.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document does not capture any mandated or recommended technology systems. No POS provider, no back-office platform, no inventory or labor management vendor is named. This absence of a mandated stack means the brand either leaves technology choices to individual franchisees without documenting them in the FDD, or has not formalized a required list. For a vendor, this is both an opportunity and a challenge: there is no entrenched competitor to unseat by mandate, but also no clear signal of what is already in place across the system.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Panera’s FDD does not include an Item 8 extract describing procurement or purchasing requirements, so the supplier qualification process remains opaque from the public filing. The franchise agreement runs for an initial term of 20 years, with a successor term of 10 years available to compliant franchisees under the then-current agreement. Renewal cycles at the 20- and 30-year marks may create natural windows for technology evaluation and vendor switching. With minimal unit growth, most software sales will depend on replacement cycles or new capability adoption rather than new-store rollouts.
How to read the Panera FDD
The 2026 Panera FDD is embedded below. It is filed with state franchise regulators and contains the full legal and operational disclosures required under the Franchise Rule. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executives), Item 8 (procurement, though not extracted here), Item 11 (mandated systems, none listed), and Item 17 (renewal terms). Because the FDD does not name specific technology vendors, direct outreach to the HQ executives listed above is likely the most effective path to understand the current tech environment and purchasing process. For a ranked target list of franchise systems aligned to your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Panera, answered from the filing
Key executives include Paul Carbone (CEO/CFO) and Earl Ellis (EVP/CFO). The C-suite controls purchasing, with no multi-unit operator autonomy signaled in the FDD.
The 2026 FDD does not list any mandated or recommended POS, operational, or IT systems for franchisees.
Panera has 2,214 total US units—1,106 franchised and 1,108 company-owned—making it one of the largest quick-service bakery-café chains.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so whether Panera uses designated suppliers, approved suppliers, or an open model is not disclosed.
With a 20-year initial term and 10-year successor terms, renewal-driven tech evaluations may cluster around those cycles. Year-over-year unit growth is minimal at 0.09%.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can view it in the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Panera files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
1,696 operators run 35,954 mapped locations. 1,066 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
25+ units679
Single-unit630
10–24 units284
2–9 units103
Top states by locations
| OH | 6,187 |
|---|---|
| PA | 3,270 |
| MA | 2,991 |
| GA | 2,668 |
| MD | 2,631 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Panera
pe_firm of JAB Holding Company.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.