Fast-casual bakery-café chain offering soups, salads, and sandwiches
After pulling the Charged Lemonade amid wrongful death lawsuits, Panera Bread is re-entering the beverage space with a reformulated, lower-caffeine lineup. The move signals a broader menu reset as new management works to win back lost ground at the second-largest fast-casual chain in the country.
March 24, 2026
Steak 'n Shake has deployed biometric payment at over 300 locations. Whataburger is piloting palm vein scanning. As QSR chains race to shave seconds off drive-thru times, biometric checkout promises sub-5-second transactions, but privacy laws and consumer trust remain open questions.
March 24, 2026
Eight out of ten QSR locations now have self-service kiosks, McDonald's alone has deployed them in 20,000 stores worldwide, and operators report 15-30% higher average tickets. With a 73.8% annual quit rate hollowing out front-of-house teams, the traditional counter is being redesigned from scratch.
March 24, 2026
A Cornell study found households on GLP-1 medications cut fast food spending by more than 5% within six months. With projections showing GLP-1 users could account for 35% of all food and beverage spending by 2030, the QSR industry faces a demand shift it cannot ignore.
March 20, 2026
March 20, 2026
March 20, 2026