Overview

The Panera Charged Lemonade Controversy refers to a series of lawsuits and online discussions surrounding fast-casual cafe Panera Bread and its line of highly caffeinated lemonade drinks called "Charged Lemonade," which was allegedly poorly labeled and dangerous for consumption, leading to two wrongful death suits in 2023. A large Charged Lemonade reportedly has 390 milligrams of caffeine, while the average shot of espresso has around 63.

Background

Panera Bread rolled out a line of highly caffeinated beverages it calls "Charged Lemonades" in several flavors in early 2022.^[1] According to its site, Panera describes the drinks as "the ultimate energy drink guaranteed to charge up your day. Powered by Clean caffeine from guarana and green coffee extract."

Shortly after their introduction, online users on TikTok, the /r/Panera subreddit and other places of online discussion began highlighting the risks and caffeine content of these charged lemonades. For example, on February 25th, 2022, Redditor /u/NeverTrustAnOpenDoor made a post (seen below) describing the caffeine of the drinks, which received over 140 upvotes in nearly two years.^[2]

On TikTok, user sarahebaus said that the Mango Yuzu Citrus Charged Lemonade at Panera Bread contained 260 milligrams of caffeine in a TikTok video (shown below, left) on December 8th, 2022, saying the Mango Yuzu charged lemonade "should be illegal," earning over 200,000 likes in a year.^[3]

Many also posted ironic jokes about the lemonade, like TikToker @babbitykate (seen below, right) who posed a video on July 11th, 2023, about the "freedom" that the Charged Lemonades symbolized, earning over 2,000 likes in five months.^[5]

The Charged Lemonades were also notably included in Panera's Unlimited Sip Cup, a monthly subscription service that offered people the opportunity to buy unlimited drinks. Employees and fans of Panera also complained about the Charged Lemonades on the subreddit throughout 2022 and 2023.^[9]

Developments

Wrongful Death Lawsuits

In late October 2023, a lawsuit was filed against Panera by the family of a 21-year-old woman with a heart condition who had died after drinking the Charged Lemonade in September 2022.^[6] According to an official statement by the company, Panera was "saddened by the death."

A second lawsuit was then filed in December 2023 against Panera for the death of a 46-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest after drinking three charged lemonades in October 2023. The man, who had high blood pressure, was reportedly unaware that the Charge Lemonades were actually potent energy drinks.^[4]

Online Reactions

Following the first death allegedly related to the caffeinated beverages, online discourse began increasing across social media platforms as news coverage followed suit. On X, some like user @MaxKriegerVC joked (seen below, left) that Panera had discovered the "fifth loko,"^[10] earning over 100 likes in two months for their post on October 26th, 2023.^[7] On November 18th, user @hebennigatu joked (seen below, right) about the lemonade in relation to the national Adderall shortage, earning over 1,400 likes in a similar timeframe.^[8]

External References