Au Bon Pain Emphasizes Commitment to Nutrition with Introduction of New Website and Web-based ''Smart Menu''

BOSTON-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Au Bon Pain, known as a popular breakfast and lunch destination in office buildings, airports, hospitals, malls and college campuses, today announced an expanded focus on nutrition with the unveiling of the bakery/cafe’s new website, www.aubonpain.com, which provides in-depth nutrition information for health-conscious consumers. The company also announced it has eliminated trans fats from 100% of its products, reinforcing the company’s commitment to providing fresh, nutritious food to its loyal customers. Currently, 95% of Au Bon Pain menu items available in the cafes contain zero grams trans fats, and by the end of the summer any remaining items made with trans fats will be replaced by items containing zero grams trans fats.

The updated website features an innovative “Smart Menu,” where site visitors can search for foods that fit their specific dietary needs, build an entire Au Bon Pain meal and view the nutrition information for that combination of food choices. Users simply select a nutritional requirement to search by, such as low sodium or high fiber, and choose a category of Au Bon Pain products, such as soups, sandwiches or bakery. The Smart Menu then displays the items in the selected category sorted by the nutritional requirement that the user selected, and users can add individual menu items to their virtual plate. The Smart Menu totals up the nutritional value of the items on the plate automatically, providing consumers with a holistic view of the meal’s nutrition information, including the net calories, carbohydrates, cholesterol, fiber, protein saturated fat and sodium. The Smart Menu also displays the nutritional information for each individual item, as well as a list of ingredients. For users that want to check out the complete nutrition information for their favorite pastry or smoothie at-a-glance, the Cafe Menu on the new website also provides the FDA Nutrition Facts panel for each menu item.

“In a recent survey of Au Bon Pain customers, 12 percent of respondents said they always base meal decisions on nutrition value,” said Au Bon Pain President/CEO Sue Morelli. “Eating healthy is clearly a priority for our customers. In addition to offering a variety of delicious and nutritious food options, Au Bon Pain strives to provide its customers with tools to help them make the right choices for their individual dietary needs.”

The new site also provides take-away menus and order pads that users can print out and complete prior to placing an order, simplifying the ordering process and making it easy to keep track of multiple orders. For customers ordering lunch for the entire office, a complete catering menu is available online and catering requests can now be placed via the website.

Working with a Nutrition Advisory Board, Au Bon Pain has developed an innovative program to keep customers informed about the food choices they make. The company began to greatly reduce trans fats – and, in most cases, eliminate them – from its menu items four years ago. In-store Nutrition Kiosks offer customers in-depth ingredient and dietary information about each Au Bon Pain menu item and provide a customized list of Au Bon Pain menu choices. The revamped website now provides consumers with another channel to make smart food choices.

About Au Bon Pain

Since its beginnings as a Boston bakery, Au Bon Pain (“the place of good bread”) has grown to more than 200 locations in the U.S. and abroad. Au Bon Pain offers consumers a wide array of delicious, nutritional menu items created under the direction of award-winning chef Thomas John. Au Bon Pain is headquartered in Boston. www.aubonpain.com

The Castle Group, Inc.

Heather Fishman, 617-227-0012 ext. 264

hfishman@thecastlegrp.com