ST. LOUIS – Panera Bread Co. hopes to reach even more customers with the announced plan to expand its national delivery platform to include DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats.

Panera said customers now will be able to order lunch or dinner via the Panera app and web site, as well as through the apps offered by DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. Panera plans to use its own drivers in most markets to deliver the orders.

Daniel A. Wegiel, executive vice president and chief growth and strategy officer at Panera, said the partnerships will capitalize on the delivery base Panera has built over the past three years.

“Panera has been a leader in the delivery market as one of the first fast-casual concepts to offer its own delivery service,” Wegiel said. “Today, through these partnerships, we are pioneering once again by being the first fast-casual to launch the ‘bring your own courier’ model nationwide. The most important consideration for Panera is owning the guest experience — and making sure it’s a great one. These new partnerships are possible because we already have a fleet of delivery drivers and the infrastructure created to support increased demand. We believe this partnership model helps differentiate us from our competitors and will take our already successful delivery business to new heights.”

Panera said its apps and e-commerce platforms have driven more than 28 million delivery orders so far in 2019. As a result, delivery orders now account for approximately 7 percent of Panera’s overall sales, the company noted.

Going forward, Panera said it will work to integrate its MyPanera loyalty program into orders placed with its delivery partners’ sites.