It's normal for fast food brands to poke fun at their competitors, but Panera Bread's latest social media campaign isn't cracking jokes. It's a call for executives everywhere to put their kiddie meals where their mouth is.
On Wednesday, Panera Bread's founder and CEO, Ron Shaich, launched the #KidsMenuChallenge, a social media campaign that challenges other fast food executives to spend a week eating the food that's served on their own children's menus.
"For too long, food chains in the United States have served our children poorly," he says in a promotional video posted to Panera Bread's official Twitter. He then cites popular kids' menu items, like chicken nuggets and french fries, while also making mention of the fact that McDonald's uses toys to market Happy Meals to children, a gimmick he's commented on in the past.
Shaich's challenge also promotes the changes that Panera has made to its kids' menu recently. Aside from last year's announcement about the removal of artificial ingredients, parents can now order half-sized portions of almost all of the items on Panera's regular menu, which results in more than 250 healthy combinations for kids to eat.
"I can tell you I would happily live off of Panera's kids menu," he says. "I wonder what the CEOs of the largest companies in our industry would say."
Shaich has been vocal about his opinions on the unhealthy options served by fast food restaurants before. Shaich took a dig at McDonald's last year and claimed that the brand hadn't done enough to switch to healthier ingredients, even after the brand boasted about removing preservatives from its Chicken McNuggets.
The brands mentioned in Panera Bread's initial tweet have yet to respond, but for what it's worth, McDonald's announced earlier this week that, in an attempt to add a healthier element to its Happy Meals, the popular kids meals will now be served with organic juice.
Given Wendy's Twitter history, it wouldn't be surprising if the brand releases a cheeky response to Shaich's comments.
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