Why Panera's 'No No List' Is A Yes Yes For Brands

This article is by Will Johnson and Julia Feldmeier. Johnson is managing director of BAV Consulting, a Y&R Group global strategic brand consultancy. Julia Feldmeier is BAV Consulting’s director of trends.
On Tuesday, fast-casual food chain Panera Bread published a comprehensive list of every artificial additive it intends to remove from its menu by the end of 2016. The list is 150+ ingredients long, full of tongue-twisters like “Caprocaprylobehenin” and “Propylene Glycol Alginate.” The new motto might well be: If you can’t pronounce it, don’t say it and definitely don’t serve it.
Whether these ingredients pose any real health risk to consumers is up for debate, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that consumers crave transparency, and Panera’s “No No List” is dishing it out. According to the Brand Asset Valuator, which measures consumer perceptions of and attitudes towards more than 3,500 brands in the US, brands that are perceived as “transparent” are seen as notably more trustworthy than their more opaque counterparts.
At a time when trust in brands is consistently declining, transparency offers a clear way up. Openness, honesty and candor can’t just be buzzwords. They must translate into actions. Benefit Corporations, or B-Corps, perhaps know this better than anyone else. B-Corps factor both social good and shareholder good into their business decisions; notable B-Corps brands include Patagonia, Etsy, Warby Parker and Ben & Jerry’s.
The B-Corps designation ensures that brands don’t just preach sustainability and social responsibility, they also effectively execute it. And consumers notice. On average, B-Corps brands in the Brand Asset Valuator have 18% greater emotional commitment than competitors, a metric that consistently translates to higher levels of esteem and greater purchase preference.
Panera isn’t joining the B-Corps ranks—yet—but it is signaling a commitment to accountability. By publicly displaying the “No No List,” the thinking goes, the company is forcing action. Consumers respect this: Nearly 70% say they make a point to buy from brands whose values are similar to their own. And in a world of you-are-what-you-eat, values-aligned ingredients pack a powerful punch.
This isn’t Panera’s first foray into improved transparency. Last June, the company disclosed its Comprehensive Food Policy, which “provides a roadmap and accountability for continuous improvement,” according to its website. And Panera isn’t the only company following this recipe. Just last week, Chipotle announced that it was going GMO-free for all of its ingredients.
Critics have plenty of opinions about the sincerity of these newly established food mantras. But as Panera knows, to succeed in this business, you have to cater to consumers’ appetite. And right now, consumers are hungry for transparency and accountability. That’s a lesson other brands would do well to gobble up, too.