Panera Bread’s ‘Sandwich Holder’ Taps Y2K Bag Trend

Released to coincide with the addition of toasted baguettes to Panera’s menu, the olive-green shoulder bag is a clear riff on Fendi’s baguette silhouette, which was hugely popular in the 90s and 00s, and is currently enjoying a Y2K-induced resurgence. While just this year, Fendi reimagined its famous bag shape to look more like actual bread, Panera’s iteration (which is stylised as ‘The BAGuette’) is 14ins long, making it the perfect sandwich holder. Priced at an accessible $39.50, it quickly sold out, and fans are demanding a restock.

The bag is part of a wider ongoing trend that sees fashion and food brands team up on novelty – yet still hugely buzzy – accessories. Last year, to celebrate the launch of its Twister Wrap, KFC took a similar approach with the release of its Wrapuette – another play on the Fendi baguette. The $300 Italian leather shoulder bag had an insulated lining to carry your wrap in, and also subsequently sold out.

Both of these products tick a number of important boxes that greatly contributed to their popularity. For one, the bags themselves are genuinely stylish, and tap into an already hugely covetable trend in the Fendi baguette. Secondly, Gen Z’s sardonic sense of humour is largely influencing their fashion choices, and these bags – combined with the seemingly absurd idea of using them to carry food – appeal to their penchant for irony. Smart brands will merge elements of style, humour and genuine practicality to effectively surprise and entice consumers.