Panera Bread removed French Onion Soup from its menu a few months ago, and the social media reaction the chain saw was overwhelming—with guests sharing post after post lamenting the absence of this Panera staple.
In an exercise of social listening, Panera is bringing back French Onion Soup to its menu – and to commemorate the return of this fan-favorite item, it enlisted the help of St. Louis native Phyllis (fan-favorite from “The Office”) to read mean tweets from Panera fans who wanted French Onion Soup to return.
“We are relentlessly focused on the guest. When we removed French Onion Soup from our menu in September, it was obvious from the social media reaction that French Onion is indeed a crowd favorite. The internet was sad when we took it away, but we heard you. Now, with the help of our friend and St. Louis native, Phyllis, we’re announcing French Onion Soup is back at Panera,” says Scott Nelson, Panera’s vice president of marketing.