Ron Shaich is the founder and former CEO of Panera Bread, and before that was founder, chair, and CEO of Au Bon Pain, the bakery-café chain. Since leading a $7.5 billion sale of Panera in 2017, Shaich’s become the managing partner and CEO of Act III Holdings, which is a lead investor in companies including Cava, Tatte, and Level99.

Shaich also is the author of Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations, a new book about his approach to business and life.

We asked him about why he hates the term “fast casual,” the “aha” moment that led him to transform Au Bon Bain from a bakery to a bakery-café, and why the best time to grow a business is during a downturn.

How were you trying to distinguish Panera from fast food initially in the early ’90s?

All that existed was fast food and fine dining and they had very different currencies. And the currency of fast food was a lot of food for not a lot of money. [Consumers] didn’t feel special in fast food, in which the seats were plastered to the floor, you had employees in paper hats, and [it was] industrial food.

And we said…we could serve something that actually elevated people that made them feel better about themselves for not a lot of money.

Keep reading here.—AAN

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It ironically might be one of the coldest winters for one of the brands best known for keeping its customers warm.

Last week, Canada Goose’s stock hit a record low, as warmer weather and poor consumer trends in some of its key markets continue to drag down sales, according to Bloomberg. The brand’s stock last Thursday “fell 4.4% to close at $12.16,” after peaking at over $24.

• As of Monday’s close, the stock was at $12.17.
• Analysts told Bloomberg that the economic outlook in China, which they estimate accounts for as much as 25% of the company’s sales, is particularly grim, given the country’s turbulent real estate market and lower consumer spending.

Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow is bearish on the stock, and told Bloomberg that warmer weather forecasts around Black Friday and the holiday shopping season could hurt the brand.

Keep reading here.—KM

Everyone knows the McDonald’s jingle. Even people who think they don’t.

On a 90-degree day at Brooklyn’s McCarren Park in early September, parkgoer Kash Livingston told us he wasn’t familiar with the jingle. But as soon as he heard “ba da ba ba ba,” he said, “I’m Lovin’ It.”

In 2003, the fast-food giant reportedly paid Justin Timberlake $6 million to sing it. In the two decades since, other celebrities, from Destiny’s Child to Brian Cox, have put their spins on the tune. Its origins and credits have been the subject of much debate, but one thing is clear: It’s one of the most recognizable jingles in the world.

“It’s embedded in my brain at this point,” Nina Benitich, another park visitor walking two dogs, said that same day.

How did McDonald’s achieve every brand’s dream of living rent-free in the heads of basically every person? It started, as most things in advertising do, with an RFP.

Keep reading here on Marketing Brew.—AM