Panda Express Logo PNG
This restaurant serves popular dishes from Chinese and American cuisines, as the “Panda Express” logo suggests. They are delicious and fresh. They are prepared very quickly. The menu offers a wide range of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.
Panda Express began with Panda Inn, which Andrew and Peggy “Cherng” opened in Pasadena, California, in 1973. The restaurant served Sichuan-style food and served as the basis for a fast-casual concept centered on Chinese dishes adapted to the pace of American mall dining.
In 1983, the first Panda Express opened at Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California. The concept retained the Chinese-American menu while streamlining service at high-traffic locations. In 1987, the chain introduced Orange Chicken, which became its best-known dish and a key part of the brand’s identity.
The menu kept expanding as the chain grew. Beijing Beef, introduced in 2008, features beef, onions, and bell peppers. In 2009, Panda Express added a lower-calorie option, followed by Honey Walnut Shrimp in 2010. During the same period, the company responded to changing eating habits by introducing brown rice, vegetables, and the Wok Smart line, which has fewer calories and less fat.
Growth accelerated through the 1990s and 2000s. By 2000, Panda Express had more than 250 restaurants, and by 2007, it had passed 1,000. The brand later entered markets including Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Japan, Guatemala, Russia, the UAE, and other countries. In 2017, it opened its 2,000th location, and today the chain operates more than 2,200 restaurants worldwide, with updates such as digital ordering, plant-based dishes, and a plan to use chicken raised without antibiotics by 2025.
Meaning and History
Panda Express is owned by the Panda Restaurant Group. The family business began in 1973, when chef Ming-Tsai Cherng and his son, Andrew, opened their first Szechuan restaurant. Later, Peggy Cherng, Andrew’s wife, joined them. To attract customers, they ran many promotions and gave away free food.
The Panda Inn brand was in danger of going bankrupt, but it had a fast-food version, Panda Express. This happened in 1983 after the manager of Glendale Galleria suggested that restaurant owners open a fast-food outlet in the mall. They were lucky because they would not have succeeded without connections with Terrence Michael Donahue’s football coach.
Since then, the network has expanded rapidly. Its branches operate on city streets, at airports, on university campuses, at stadiums, and on military bases. As a result, the Panda Express logo, which also serves as an advertising sign, is familiar to millions. It looks stylish because restaurant owners have considered the brand’s visual identity as important as a thoughtful menu.
Designers created the most suitable symbol for catering establishments: a panda. This logical choice aligns with the company’s vision and underlines its connection with Chinese culture. Scammers once tried to steal the Panda Express trademark. They opened a restaurant with the same name, passing it off as a chain branch, and used the original logo without permission. After an investigation, authorities closed the illegal restaurant and fined its owner.
In addition, Panda Express recently had a competitor, Panda Libre, which served Mexican-Asian cuisine. Because of the similar names and the common mascot on the emblems, a Chinese restaurant chain filed a copyright infringement suit in 2020. As a result, the business owner had to rename his catering outlet Kung Pow Restaurant. Moreover, the Panda Express company uses a logo similar to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s symbol, but this does not bother anyone. A standing panda appears here and there; for the fast-food brand, it faces left, while for WWF, it faces right.
What is Panda Express?
It is the largest restaurant chain in the United States that serves American-style Chinese cuisine. It is part of the Panda Restaurant Group and is its most popular brand. The catering service began operating in 1983 with the opening of the Galleria food court restaurant. Over time, the company opened many more outlets in the US and abroad, so the logo is familiar worldwide.
1973 – 1983
Before Panda Express entered the market, a chain of Panda Inn restaurants served traditional Szechuan food in a formal setting. Its first establishment opened in 1973, and the logo appeared then; it remained the same for the next ten years. As expected, the central character was the panda. The artists depicted her in cartoon style, with a green bamboo shoot in her front paws. To make the black-and-white animal stand out, they added a large red circle with a black border against the background, like a sun.
A crimson rectangular tablet with white inscriptions was displayed in the lower half. The brand name occupied the top line. In the middle, the phrase “MANDARIN CUISINE” was underlined on both sides with horizontal lines. Below it were three Chinese characters. For English words, it used a thin sans-serif font.
1983 – 2009
In 1983, a “fast food” version of Panda Inn appeared as Panda Express. The new restaurant chain inherited the name and a system of graphic symbols from its predecessor. It adopted a similar logo featuring a panda image, though this time the animal stood, so only three paws were visible. The overall design recalled the world-famous WWF badge. The background circle hasn’t disappeared. The developers designed it to look like a rondel, highlighting the scarlet middle and a wide white ring along the edge. The black outer outline became scarlet. The rectangular tablet disappeared, so all the inscriptions were in the ring. Traditionally, the brand name was on top, and below it was the phrase “GOURMET CHINESE FOOD.”
2009 – 2014
In 2009, Panda Express updated its logo to make it more expressive. To do this, she replaced the red with crimson and used a bold black sans-serif font.
2014 – today
A few years later, the company modernized the graphic symbol again. The crimson became a pale red, and the letters’ edges were rounded. However, the most significant update is that the brand name is now partly written in a serif font. As for the painted panda, the designers have slightly altered its shape, though the change is not very noticeable. In place of the long phrase “GOURMET CHINESE FOOD” is “CHINESE KITCHEN.”
Font and Colors
The restaurant chain’s mascot demonstrates its connection to China, as pandas are found only there. These animals are considered a national symbol of the PRC and are even used as a diplomatic tool, a “living gift” for friendly states. Modern China rents them out for ten years and takes them back with the cubs, so it’s hard to come up with something more Chinese than a panda. The country’s authorities do not allow bamboo bears to be bred and sold worldwide, even though all proceeds go to the endangered species protection fund. So, the Panda Express logo fully reflects the restaurant’s concept.
Until 2014, the words on the brand logo were set in Frutiger Cond Bold, designed by Adrian Frutiger. Then the typographers refined the style and transformed the grotesque so that the letters “P” and “D” appeared in a single short serif at the top. The edges of all symbols have been rounded, which was not the case before.
The color scheme has also been changed: the traditional raspberry shade (#CE123D) has been replaced by red (#C12322). After the redesign, only black (#000000) and white (#FFFFFF) remained.
FAQ
What company owns Panda Express?
The Panda Restaurant Group, Inc., owned by the Cherng family, runs the well-known Panda Express, Panda Inn, and Hibachi-San restaurants. Andrew and Peggy Tsiang Cherng, along with Andrew’s father, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, founded the company in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China. They brought their family’s Chinese cooking skills to America.
The family didn’t stop there. They also started Hibachi-San, which focuses on Japanese food and adds more variety to their business. The Panda Restaurant Group shows what the “Cherng” family has achieved. They’ve managed to mix Chinese and Japanese food with American tastes. Their focus on good food, new ideas, and sticking to their values has helped them grow. Today, they’re known worldwide and keep expanding.
Why is Panda Express famous?
Panda Express is the largest Chinese fast-food chain in the U.S., and it is known for its orange chicken and chow mein. This dish, known for its sweet and tangy flavor, has won over millions. The chain also offers other favorites, making it a hit with noodle lovers.
With more than 1,800 locations worldwide and 27,000 employees, Panda Express serves many customers in America and around the world. This large team plays a major role in the chain’s success, ensuring enjoyable meals. What makes Panda Express stand out is its fast yet quality service. It’s perfect for anyone looking for a quick, tasty meal. By mixing Chinese flavors with an American twist, Panda Express has carved out a distinct spot in the fast-food world.
What does the Panda Express Logo Mean?
The logo reflects what the brand stands for, blending simple design with deeper meaning. It features a giant panda, a well-known symbol of China, linking the restaurant to its Chinese roots.
The logo places the panda inside a red circle, representing the panda’s origin and the importance of red in Chinese culture, which symbolizes luck and joy. The logo’s letters mimic bamboo stalks, reinforcing this connection. Because pandas eat bamboo, this ties everything back to the logo’s main image and highlights the brand’s Chinese inspiration. A short tagline with the logo often signals to customers that they’re getting Chinese-style food. The logo cleverly combines symbols and design to reflect its heritage in Chinese cooking and its goal of offering a great, genuine eating experience.
What does the Panda Express logo symbolize?
The logo, featuring a black-and-white panda, reflects Chinese culture and the restaurant’s values. In China, the panda symbolizes many positive things, such as friendship, peace, and sincerity.
The panda in the logo clearly signals the restaurant’s connection to Chinese cuisine, suggesting its menu items are inspired by or taken directly from classic Chinese recipes. The friendly panda image serves as a welcoming face for the brand, inviting people to enjoy the warm hospitality Panda Express aims to provide. The panda symbolizes the brand’s promise of quality and genuine dining experiences. It assures customers that at Panda Express, they’ll find a perfect mix of Chinese tradition with the convenience of American fast food.
Why is the Panda Express logo a panda?
The logo features a giant panda because it directly represents the brand name and aligns with its Chinese-American identity. The panda is a symbol many people associate with China, which is famous for its culture and cuisine. Panda Express offers Chinese food adapted to American tastes, so the panda in its logo matches what it’s all about.
Tanda Express’s founders, American restaurateurs of Chinese background, intentionally chose the panda as their logo. They wanted to clearly show the link between their Chinese heritage and business in the U.S. The panda symbolizes this blend of authentic Chinese food with the fast, easy style of American dining. Using a panda helps make Panda Express stand out and shows its role as a cultural link.
What is the Panda Express mascot name?
Panda Express’s mascot is a black-and-white bear named Tom Tom. In a 2008 ad, the company also introduced another panda named Eddie. The commercial featured both pandas talking in a zoo about wanting to eat Beijing beef instead of bamboo, making a fun reference to one of Panda Express’s dishes.
Tom-Tom and Eddie helped highlight what Panda Express offers, but the panda in the logo doesn’t have a name. This panda represents the restaurant’s Chinese-American cuisine and serves as a brand icon without being tied to a specific story. The logo shows Panda Express’s aim to bring Chinese-style meals to people everywhere, using a widely known and loved symbol to represent Chinese culture.
Did Panda Express change its logo?
In 1983, Panda Express changed its logo from a rectangular Chinese character plate to a round seal with a panda at the center, a major shift that made its connection to Chinese culture and food clearer. Since then, the logo’s basic look hasn’t changed much, keeping the round seal and panda as key brand symbols. Over time, though, the logo’s style and colors have seen small tweaks. For example, in 2014, they changed the central circle to red, an important color in Chinese culture that symbolizes happiness and good luck. They also added details to the letters to make them look like bamboo sticks, further linking the logo to the panda and Chinese cooking traditions.
These updates have kept the logo fresh and modern while maintaining the original design’s spirit. The logo shows the brand’s focus on making Chinese-style food that everyone can enjoy, mixing traditional flavors with a fast-food approach that fits well in America.