For nearly 40 years, Panda Express has been known for its hot foods line.
Customers can see the glistening orange chicken, the vibrant broccoli beef, the mounds of chow mein and the pea-studded fried rice displayed before them. Walking down the line, diners can ask for samples as workers fill their orders.
That cafeteria-style line isn’t going anywhere. But Panda Express, with its 2,285 U.S. locations, is changing with the times to meet growing consumer demands for convenience, multiple access channels and plant-based menu items.
“Our model is really driven by the in-store guest,” said Kevin Holmes, Panda’s executive director of marketing communications. “As we move to off-premise, we lose a lot of that benefit of seeing the food in front of them versus having to know what Panda offers. We’ve seen a lot of our guests shift to drive-thru or off-premise.”
About half of the chain’s units have drive-thrus—a definite plus during the pandemic, Holmes said.
But Panda Express is looking to build on that convenience with new store formats in the coming years, he said, as it seeks to find ways of shortening the “customer journey” between empty stomachs and heaping plates of orange chicken, he said.
The chain is currently testing one ghost kitchen in the San Francisco area, with plans for others around the country.
It is also piloting a program called “kiosk in a pocket,” which uses geo-fencing capability to allow diners to jump the ordering line when using their app in-store.
Panda Express is getting ready to launch a test of a QR code-based line-busting option for its drive-thrus to speed up the ordering process, as well as curbside functionality coming later this year.
Some restaurants are trying a new order fulfillment system to help workers manage the influx of digital orders, the chain added.
“We believe that together, these new capabilities will significantly improve our guest experience and allow us to scale digital sales in a post-pandemic world,” a Panda Express spokesperson said via email.
Andrew and Peggy Cherng opened the first Panda Express at the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., in 1983. It took the chain 10 years to open 100 units. And it had 1,000 locations by 2007. Panda now opens about 100 new restaurants each year.
The chain founded its Panda Cares charity in 1999 and it has since raised nearly $250 million to help children with their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellness, the company said.
While many diners first experienced Panda Express at a shopping mall, those locations make up just 9% of the chain’s total portfolio today.
“It continues to shrink as we open new locations,” Holmes said. “As the brand began 40 years ago, that was the place to go to capture the most guests.”
As store formats and technology changes, so does Panda’s menu. The chain recently launched a crispy almond chicken with a rice-puffed breading. And it held a limited test of a plant-based Beyond the Original Orange Chicken that sold out in days.
Panda Express has raised its wages so that the average hourly pay is more than $15 systemwide, with pay ranging from $12 to $18 per hour depending on the location, Holmes said.
“Labor is definitely top of mind right now,” he said.
As a privately held company, Panda Express is mum on its sales figures. According to Restaurant Business sister firm Technomic, the chain saw its sales dip 3.3% from 2019 to 2020 for a total of $3.81 billion. Restaurants had average unit volumes of about $1.7 million in 2020, down 6.6% from the prior year, according to Technomic.
“We’ve been having a really positive year for our business,” Holmes said. “Obviously, 2020 was a challenging year for a lot of companies, especially for our category. We had a lot of opportunities to improve in a lot of areas.”
Even as it looks to speed up the Panda experience, that hot foods line in the restaurant isn’t going away, he said.
“Our serving table is still part of our business and part of our brand,” he said.