Panera Employee Exposes Secret Behind How Soup Is Made at Chain A new TikTok is making the rounds by a Panera employee who showed viewers how the fast-casual chain prepares its famed hot delicacy.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
That's how the sausage — or in this case, soup — gets made, we suppose.
A new TikTok is making the rounds by Panera employee Dylan Smith (@ohana_trender) who showed viewers how the fast-casual chain prepares its famed hot delicacy.
In the video located at a New York-based Panera, Smith lifts up a plastic bag of soup to the camera before making his way to the counter and putting it into a pitcher.
@ohana_trender##panera ##ny ##fypシ ##soup ##ghettogirls ##hehe
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He then cuts off a corner on the top of the plastic bag and proceeds to pour the liquid into a soup container as steam rises from the lid.
The video has since been viewed over 374,400 times and garnered over 16,600 comments.
The soup appears to be chicken and wild rice, and has caused quite a stir among customers who (somewhat surprisingly) didn't expect the chain to be serving pre-packaged soup.
Related: Panera Founder and CEO: It's Not About Choosing the 'Right' Path
"Omggggg I thought the wild rice soup was made from scratch," Abi Alvarado commented. "I'm over here looking for the recipe … It's ruined."
TikTok user @yuh.1_ fired off, "So y'all charging those kinda prices for WHY."
However, the vast majority of customers pointed out the fact that as a chain, most of the food is pre-packaged, with Smith himself even noting that using pre-packaged foods ensures that "everyone can have the same taste at every location."
"I'm confused what you guys thought you were getting at Panera," TikTok user Brett Campbell wrote. "You honestly thought they would spend hours making soups from scratch????"
"This is like this at every chain restaurant," added Tony Sanchez Franco. "Ppl can't possibly think they home cook everything."
JAB Holding Co., which acquired Panera in 2017 in a $7.5 billion deal, announced that it would be forming fast-casual conglomerate called Panera Brands earlier this month.
Panera Brands include Panera Breads, Einstein Bros. bagels and Caribou Coffee.
