For more than a decade The pink Panera And PANI They were synonymous with brunch, curated aesthetics and sophisticated dining experiences. For years they were also a kind of “classic” in the industry: two Brands strong, with similar audiences that grew in parallel without overlapping. Previously: La Panera Rosa has taken over the PANI brand and is already working on its relaunch with new concepts and formats.
La Panera Rosa’s decision to keep this PANI brand brand one of the most relevant movements in gastronomy in recent times. It’s not just a change of ownership: it’s a strategic operation what are you looking for Save a symbol, organize it and project it on the way to a new stage, with new and several conceptsfocus on Franchises and one Extension designed in two stages.
“After sharing a history of rivalry and admiration with PANI for so many years, we felt it was time to join forces and open a new stage,” explains Leonardo Iluane, founder of La Panera Rosa, in an exclusive interview with iProfessional. “It was not a purely business decision: it was above all an act of respect for the essence of the brand and its creator Eliana Trotta,” he adds.
The context explains part of the movement. While La Panera Rosa consolidated its local and international growth -with 33 branches in Argentina, Spain, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay and new openings soon – PANI experienced a period of internal conflict that had a full impact on operations. After reaching 14 stores, the brand was reduced to 4 active outlets.
For confidentiality reasons, Iluane preferred not to reveal this transaction amount. “It is not information that should be made public,” he clarifies, in line with the agreements reached between the parties involved.
However, it should be noted that the operation occurs in a particularly complex moment for the catering industry. Empty tables have become a common postcard in the city of Buenos Aires and in the country’s main urban centers. Many businesses could no longer sustain themselves and had to close their doors.while most businesses that remain active are resisting by adjusting their margins, reducing their profits and adapting their business strategies in order to survive.
According to the Association of Hotels, Restaurants, Patisserie and Cafes (AHRCC) the decline in consumption in the industry there are around 30% compared to 2024, a year already marked by a deep recession.
La Panera Rosa is one of the brands that can best withstand the blow. Part of this resilience, Iluane explains, has to do with a strategy that has stuck through even the worst moments of the economic cycle: an extensive, varied menu for different consumption levels.
Pizza Feroz was the first step of the new PANI, with a late-night and relaxed offering
“Our menu is the anti-gastronomy menu. That’s what it has.” between 80 and 100 products. “It’s brutal when someone is between 30 and 36,” he emphasizes. “Having such a wide selection also gives the consumer the opportunity to choose according to their wallet,” he adds.
“PANI, for its part, fell quickly, but not for lack of identity or lack of proposal,” says Iluane. “What happened was a Management and partner problem. “The brand still had tremendous value.”
This value was by no means watered down, but rather the starting point. “When the opportunity to keep the brand arose, the first thing I asked myself was what to do with it. There was no point in turning it off or forcing it to be something it wasn’t,” he recalls. “That’s when the idea comes to go back to them Italian roots and building a new universe from there“.
This is how the new concepts that structure the relaunch are created: PANI Pizza Feroz, PANI Cantina, PANI Trattoria and PANI The Original. Four different formats with clear identities and defined target groups designed for coexistence under the same umbrella brand.
The brand operates 33 stores between Argentina and other markets in Latin America and Europe
Selective franchising and a two-stage expansion
The first step of this new stage is already underway. PANI Pizza Feroz, inaugurated in Palermo in Novemberacts as a laboratory and presentation letter for the relaunch: a relaxed, late-night offering featuring signature pizzas, sharing plates, cocktails and music. It’s the most disturbing of the new PANI ecosystem.
“Pizza Feroz is the first step of this new phase. It is a free, nocturnal and bold concept in which the brand allows itself to play and move away from what it has historically been,” defines Iluane. “And it’s just the beginning.”
But beyond the gastronomic format, the real axis of the project lies in the Growth model. In contrast to other relaunches in the industry, the strategy of Franchises will be intentional gradually. In the first phase, the new PANI concepts will be awarded to people from the immediate environment, entrepreneurs and operators known to Iluane with experience in the catering industry.
“We will not sell franchises on a large scale,” he clarifies. And he adds: “First we offer it to people we know, who have already been in this space and know how it works. Investing today is harder than it was two or three years ago, and any mistake messes up the numbers.”
Iluane defines the proposal as an “anti-menu” with up to 100 products to suit different budgets
The decision is then Validate formats, adjust processes and consolidate profitability before bringing the game to market. Only in a second step, when the concepts are fully developed, is it planned to offer them to entrepreneurs and investors in general.
“I don’t want to repeat the mistakes I saw in the market,” he admits. “Gastronomy is complex, it is not a financial business. “If the franchisee doesn’t have the space, it doesn’t work.”
In parallel with the launch of Pizza Feroz, other key milestones of the plan are progressing. PANI Cantina is already under construction and will open in the coming monthswith a more classic Italian menu and a neighborhood spirit. Then comes PANI Trattoria, while PANI The Original will be the format that restores the brand’s historical DNA: Brunch, pastries, careful aesthetics and an experience reminiscent of a boutique hotel.
“The original PANI will be one type Hotel experience“, expects Iluane. “We want you to drink tea again, enjoy brunch, but with a higher level, more care, without losing the essence.”
The PANI Original format aims for brunch, pastries and a boutique hotel experience
The four current PANI locations will continue to operate It is planned that the historic point of El Salvador (Palermo) will be the first to convert to the new The Original concept.
The action also had a strong symbolic component. After the takeover was completed, Iluane called personally Eliana Trotta to tell him what was going on. “The first thing I told him was that the brand would not be destroyed or emptied. On the contrary: we wanted to take care of it and make it grow,” he remembers. “He was very excited.”
Without being part of the company, Eliana Trotta is now actively involved in this new phase, from the design of the menu to the creative identity. “For me, PANI is her brand. She is the creator and deserves all my respect,” emphasizes Iluane.
This time the old competitors stopped looking askance at each other and decided to share a table, a brand and a common vision. With The pink Panera at the forefront of the relaunch of PANIThe bet is not only commercial, but also conceptual: building gastronomic experiences renewed, combining identity, creativity and size in a market that has not yet managed to recover.
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