Panera Dives Into Swimwear With Its Latest Food-Themed Threads
Having a sandwich and salad by the pool sounds like a nice way to spend a summer day, but what about wearing your lunch into the pool? With its new food-themed swimwear lineup, Panera Bread offers a mess-free way of doing just that.
To celebrate the arrival of summer, the St. Louis-based bakery chain introduced a new line of seasonal swim attire on June 21 — "Swim Soups: the You Pick 2 Collection." As announced in an official press release, the looks are inspired by Panera's popular "You Pick 2" order, which encourages guests to mix and match sandwiches, soups, salads, and more. The swim tops and bottoms come in five different styles and feature five unique prints that shoppers can combine as they wish. Each colorful design honors a classic Panera menu item. There's Strawberry Poppyseed Salad, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt, Creamy Tomato Soup, and Grilled Cheese.
Whether you opt for a soup, salad, or sandwich design, you'll have a whole different range of options here: The swimwear comes in trunks, one-pieces, swim tanks, ruched bikini bottoms, and crop tops. They are now available for purchase on the online Panera Shop, ranging in price from $32 to $45.
Swim Soups are back
Building on the success of its original 2021 "Swim Soup" Collection, a smaller bathing suit line that sold out in less than a week, it's clear that there's demand for Panera-themed aquatic garb. Social media users were calling for the chain to restock the original bathing suits before the announcement of the all-new You Pick 2 Collection.
Believe it or not, the fast-casual chain has developed a bit of a cult following for its fashion releases in recent years. In February 2023, Panera released a riff on Fendi's iconic Baguette bag. The bright green, $39.50 "BAGuette" purse was cheekily designed to be just long enough to fit one of the bakery's toasted baguettes. It sold out in minutes. The bag earned the chain all sorts of positive attention and had fans anticipating the bakery's next release.
The You Pick 2 Collection appears to be Panera's most ambitious fashion release yet, allowing fans to pick, pair, and even recreate their own Panera orders in swimwear form if they so wish. Grilled cheese, tomato soup, and sunscreen anyone?
As the summer gets into full swing, we'll find out if the You Pick 2 Swim Soup Collection will generate the same level of buzz as other Panera merchandise. Even if you've never wanted to lounge by the pool dressed as your favorite lunch order, it's worth keeping your eyes peeled for soupy attire at your next pool party.