Panera Bread Discontinues Charged Lemonade Drinks After Facing Lawsuits Over Customers' Death

Panera Bread, an American bakery-cafe chain store, revealed it decided to phase out its Charged Lemonade drinks. The high-caffeine beverage will be removed after the brand was sued for the wrongful deaths of customers.

Lawsuits Against Panera

According to CNBC, Panera Bread is facing a second lawsuit that was filed in December 2023. This time, the company was brought to court by the family of Dennis Brown, who also died after drinking the controversial Charged Lemonade. The man was described as having developmental delay and chromosomal deficiency disorder.

The first case involves 21-year-old Sarah Katz, a student at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a heart condition and allegedly died in September 2022 after consuming the Panera Bread drink with high caffeine content.

The third one to file a lawsuit against Panera Bread was Lauren Skeritt of Rhode Island. She claimed to have been left with “permanent cardiac injuries” after drinking the Charged Lemonade.

Removal of the Charged Drinks from the Menu

The spokesperson of Panera Bread confirmed this week that the company will stop serving Charged Lemonade in all of its stores. The representative said on Tuesday, May 7, that the discontinuation of the drink nationwide comes after a “menu transformation.”

The spokesman said, “We listened to more than 30,000 guests about what they wanted from Panera, and are focusing next on the broad array of beverages we know our guests desire — ranging from exciting, on-trend flavors, to low sugar and low-caffeine options.”

Finally, CNN Business reported that Panera Bread will introduce new drinks to replace the discontinued lemonade option. Some of the beverages to expect are low-caffeine and low-sugar selections in these flavors: blueberry lavender lemonade, citrus punch, hibiscus tea, and tropical green smoothie.

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