After several deaths, serious medical incidents, and subsequent lawsuits, Panera is finally discontinuing their Charged Lemonade energy drink. For a quick refresher, Charged Lemonades have almost 300mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of almost three cups of coffee. It also contains more caffeine and sugar than Red Bull or a Monster energy drink. Last fall, the families of two people with pre-existing heart conditions filed wrongful death lawsuits against Panera, claiming that the company marked it as a “plant-based and clean” beverage with the same amount of caffeine as a dark roast of coffee. In January, a third lawsuit was filed by a young woman who claimed that despite not having any underlying medical conditions, she was left with “permanent cardiac injuries.” In March, a teenager went into cardiac arrest after drinking one, leaving him with “a defibrillator implanted in chest,” possibly for the rest of his life.
Panera has continued to deny culpability in any of the medical incidents or deaths. Instead, they first responded by saying they would put better signage up, warning people of the high caffeine content. They later moved it out of the self-serve machines and behind the counter, so that an employee had to dispense it. In addition to getting rid of the Charged Lemonades, Panera will also be introducing four new drinks in the upcoming weeks, including a “blueberry lavender lemonade, a pomegranate hibiscus tea, a citrus punch, and a tropical green smoothie.”
Panera Bread Co. is discontinuing its Charged Sips, which have drawn lawsuits alleging the caffeinated drinks lead to health issues. To replace the drinks, the company plans to introduce new beverages in the next two weeks, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News. Cafes were instructed to stop ordering the product to avoid having excessive inventory. In a statement, Panera said the company will introduce a blueberry lavender lemonade, a pomegranate hibiscus tea, a citrus punch and a tropical green smoothie.
“We are excited to continue the success of our recent menu transformation, which began with our core options of sandwiches and salads,” a company spokesperson said, referring to a revamp unveiled in February, adding that Panera is focusing on a “broad array of beverages” including “low-sugar and low-caffeine options.”
Panera’s Charged Sips lineup became the target of controversy following allegations that they cause adverse — and even fatal — health effects. Lawsuits include one filed by the family of a 21-year-old student who drank the beverage, which the suit alleges led to a cardiac arrest. The Charged Sips can contain more caffeine than some energy drinks.
The chain introduced the products in 2022 as part of a subscription program that gave customers unlimited refills to many of its beverages. It was seeking to capture a slice of the $21 billion energy-drink market, which grew by 8.6% last year, according to Beverage Digest.
Cafes had already moved the drinks from the front of the store, where customers could freely access them, to behind the counter. The new beverages that are being introduced will also be kept behind the bar, according to the communication. Panera had previously said it stands by the safety of its beverages, and it had added warnings to the drinks to indicate they’re caffeinated.
I honestly do not know what took so long for Panera to remove these drinks. I also don’t get why they didn’t just lower the caffeine content to a healthier level after the first lawsuit. There are a couple of other things to note. The first one is that the FDA has revealed that as a result of the second lawsuit, which was the death of 21-year-old Sarah Katz, they are “gathering information” about the drink and events leading to her passing. The second thing of note is that Panera allegedly filed IPO paperwork in late 2023 and is planning on going public some time this year. There’s nothing to finally get a big company to care and take action than the threat of a government investigation potentially messing with profits, #amirite? I think it’s sh-tty that Panera waited this long to discontinue Charged Lemonades, but am relieved that they’re finally doing so before yet another person gets hurt or worse.
photos credit Panera via Instagram
I can’t believe it freaking took them this long. It took more than one death from lemonade to say hmmmm. And wtf was asking for caffeinated lemonade? No one! And they stuck with it like people were breaking their door down for them. The original signage for the lemonade didn’t mention caffeine prominently, that I remember. My 6 year old saw the sign and wanted that lemonade because it looked awesome, I just happened to read the fine print to see the caffeine. How many little kids got that sh*t because their parents didn’t have time to read a tiny word in the bottom corner?
It reminds me a bit of McDonald’s and their refusal to lower the temperature of their coffee even though they knew it caused severe burns when it came in contact with skin. They knew this long before that poor woman had to have major skin grifting when she spilled it on her lap. Their cost/benefit analysis was that hurting people was worth it.
We don’t know how many people were hurt by Panera’s stupid, gimmicky ‘lemonade’. We only know of the cases that made the news. It is quite possible that the actual cases of harm are much higher.
I’m glad they’re doing this. I got one a while back and had no idea it had caffeine in it. The Panera near me is usually pretty chaotic and disorganized. They just had tags on the dispensers for these labeling the flavor, nothing even indicating that it was the “charged” option. It would have been very very easy to just grab your empty cup and fill it with one of those, not realizing it wasn’t normal lemonade or fruit juice.
This is a great idea, but what took them so long. I swear most people just want affordable, minimally processed, good tasting, healthy food and drink that they can customize. I don’t know why you would hang on to a beverage that goes against your core business? Why not focus on a simple lemonade that people could add flavors to? Who was clamoring for a super charged fountain drink? Its like Starbucks thinking people want olive oil in their coffee, Its like their now discontinued chicken sandwiches-with most fast food restaurants getting rid of grilled sandwiches, it would have been a great time to emphasize a simple healthy sandwich-and they buried the plain one in a huge pile of aioli. And greens with fried pickle pieces? I love Panera hoping their new menu is a good reboot.
This isn’t like McNuggets started killing people and McDonalds was getting a bunch of pressure to drop them. NO ONE at Panera was saying “-but charged lemonade is a beloved staple of our menu and make us a shitton of money…”
It would have been so simple for Panera to say, “charged lemonade was a seasonal drink and has been replaced with *literally anything else*”
exactly, Molly!
I wonder if some executive got fired after the lawsuits and the replacement was smart enough to dump the lemonade. Doesn’t matter though. What other careless sh*t are they going to pull? I’m not going to spend my money or risk my safety at Panera.
I am also surprised that it took so long, but going public makes sense. Dollars above all else.
I hope their new options aren’t caffeinated. I’m sensitive to caffeine and can’t really have it after 1 or 2, and I get sick of plain water at places like Panera. More noncaffeinated options would be nice, but it sounds like these are all tea-based?
I am a firm believer in being knowledgeable about the products you are ingesting, but in these cases, the advertising/marketing was extremely deceptive. If you have a heart condition, maybe stay away from a product that says it’s caffeine “charged”. However the fact that it was readily available to children shows they were only interested in profit not the well being of the consumer. Although they may have stated how much caffeine was in the product, without direct scientific knowledge, at the moment, does anyone really understand how much caffeine that actually is? As well as the probability, that the amount was probably much higher if not using ice. We would also have to “assume” that Panera’s numbers were correct and not deflated. The only reason they’re pulling it in my opinion – They are going to lose the lawsuits.
I drink charged Lemonades daily, I have a sip club membership unfortunately people do not read and/or disregard clear signs. One coed died last yr and family and friends says age ALWAYS was careful to not drink caffeine..bullshite. She ignored the signs on the dispenser.
I have sip club, too. I feel like it is the customer’s responsibility to learn about products, especially if you have a known health issue. I am not without sympathy for the tragic deaths, but you have to be your own advocate sometimes. Just my two cents.
FYI a 30oz large cup of their charged lemonades has 390 mg of caffeine, which is about the total amount of your recommended amount of caffeine a day (400mg). I believe part of their negligence was not labeling them as energy drinks, as actual energy drinks choose to do as to not confuse the consumer. No one is researching lemonade, even if it’s “charged”