Despite boasting 65 grams of sugar, Panera Bread’s caffeinated Charged Lemonade proved to be less-than-sweet for one family, who is suing the fast-casual chain over the death of their 21-year-old daughter, who died after drinking the beverage in September 2022.


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The family of late University of Pennsylvania student Sarah Katz filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Panera on Monday, alleging that their daughter, who had a heart condition, was not aware that the “dangerous energy drink” contained more caffeine than Red Bull and Monster combined.



“I think everyone thinks lemonade is safe,” the family’s attorney explained to NBC, who first obtained the lawsuit. “And really, this isn’t lemonade at all. It’s an energy drink that has lemon flavor.”


Panera, however, remained largely tight-lipped on the issue.


"We were very saddened to learn this morning about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz, and our hearts go out to her family," a Panera spokesperson explained, adding that "at Panera, we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients.”



Despite the spokesperson’s promise that the company “will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter,” it appears the offending beverages are still available for purchase, even in a self-serve capacity at some locations.


Though her passing may have evidently come as a surprise to several parties, one demographic was far from shocked — Panera Bread die-hards.


“I've been saying this was gunna [sic] happen since they dropped these drinks and witnessed many distracted parents started giving them to their kids,” Redditor u/throwaway028374829 commented on a venting post in r/Panera. “Whether we tell the custos [sic] or not it's a LOT of caffeine in those drinks.”


u/throwaway028374829, however, was far from alone in envisioning the Lemonade’s sour end, several others revealing that they, too, had a bad feeling about — and in u/shmaola’s case, from — the highly-caffeinated beverage.


“I feel the jitters after 2-3 sips,” they wrote, noting that this intense reaction came even while they “consume heavy amounts of caffeine daily.”



“I talked to my dad who said he had a customer he asked who drank one of them himself and had a headache,” explained u/AcreaRising4 in another comment. “People keep saying it’s safe according to the FDA but if even people with no health defects are having issues, idk.”


But it wasn’t just Redditors. Back in December 2022, glow-up influencer @sarahebaus headed to TikTok with a viral rant on the beverage, claiming that the Charged Lemonade “should come with a warning because it’s delicious” … and would lead to her “cardiac arrest.”


“I don’t drink coffee, I don't have caffeine very much … I thought,” she said, revealing that she, too, was unaware of the drink’s caffeine content. 


“Panera, who is gonna create a product with 263 milligrams of caffeine? Look what you’re doing! I’m dying!”



We can only hope that @sarahebaus and other Panera patrons steer clear of the beverage for the time being … lest we end up with a bunch of terrifyingly hyper suburban white girls and a handful of retired men.