Panera CEO Calls Out Fast Food Industry For Unhealthy Kids Meals

Panera Bread Co PNRA founder and CEO Ron Shaich believed that rival fast food restaurants like McDonald’s Corporation MCD and Restaurant Brands International Inc's QSR Burger King have an obligation to their customers to provide healthy meal options for kids. Following Panera’s big Q2 earnings report, Shiach called out Panera’s competitors for their unhealthy kids meals.

“We are once again challenging this industry to do what they should do, which is to have a different approach to kids meals—these marketing gimmicks [such as toys, marketing characters] are just the wrong thing to do, as are the sugary beverages that are coupled with these meals,” Shiach told The Street.

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Panera is in the final stages of transitioning to a completely “clean” kids menu. By early September, Panera’s kids menu will be completely free of artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners and colors.

The move comes at a time when McDonalds is launching a huge Olympics advertising campaign touting its removal of artificial preservatives from its Chicken McNuggets, but Shiach believes the iconic fast food chain still has a long way to go in making its menu healthy for kids.

So far this year, Panera’s stock is up 13.8 percent, while McDonald’s shares are up 1.1 percent.