Panera’s infamous Charged Lemonades were introduced to the menu in April 2022. Since its release date, Panera has received a lot of legal trouble surrounding these drinks. Many other brands of highly caffeinated soda exist, so why has the charged lemonade faced 3 lawsuits in only two years of business?
One of the many problems with Charged Lemonade is the marketing. On the self-serve container for Charged Lemonade, a sign hangs that reads “Plant-based with about as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee”. But when checked, the Charged Lemonade has more caffeine than any size of the Dark Roast coffee. In a 12 fl oz can of redbull, there is 111 ml of caffeine. However, the small size alone of the Charged Lemonade has 158 ml, and the large has 390 ml. The recommended daily amount of caffeine for an adult is 400 ml, in one drink alone the daily requirement is filled.
This marketing becomes a problem when customers unknowingly drink mass amounts of caffeine. This is exactly what happened to Dennis Brown, a 46 year old man who stayed away from energy drinks due to high blood pressure. According to CBS, Brown drank 3 Lemonades, consuming between 474 to 1170 ml of caffeine depending on size. He later died from cardiac arrest while walking home.
Sadly, Browns life was not the only one taken due these safety flaws. Sarah Katz, a college student who was diagnosed with a heart condition as a child, also suffered fatal cardiac arrest after drinking a Lemonade. As a lawsuit filed by Katz’s family states, she thought it was a regular lemonade that would not harm her. Sadly, Katz entered cardiac arrest hours after having the drink.
Following this lawsuit, a Panera Spokesperson released a statement “At Panera, we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients”. Many found this statement ironic since customers were not given any transparency around the amount of caffeine in the drink. In addition, the FDA states that the large consumption of caffeine can also harm those without heart conditions. Pregnant or breastfeeding people can also be affected, and so can children. NBC calls the Charged Lemonade a “Dangerous energy drink” due to the failure to warn customers about the contents.
Many people are speculation on whether Panera will keep the drink or let it go from the menu in April. If it is removed, people may ask if that’s an admission of guilt. Based on the comments released by Panera currently, we don’t have an idea on if it will be kept. It should be interesting to see how Panera will react and make changes after receiving this amount of criticism.
