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Entrepreneur
6 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
A Sweetgreen Co-Founder Talks About Where the Brand Is Going
Sweetgreen co-founder Nicolas Jammet dives into how the brand got started, what setbacks it faced and how it's using automation in its 250-plus locations. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Most college seniors are thinking about final exams, graduation parties or maybe landing their first job. Nicolas Jammet was about to open a restaurant. Not just any restaurant — Sweetgreen, the mega-popular, fast-casual chain with more than 250 locations, a public stock listing and — for a brief but unforgettable stretch — its own music festival featuring Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd. Jammet co-founded Sweetgreen in 2007 with friends Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Ru. Today, Jammet is the company's chief concept officer, Neman is CEO and Ru is chief brand officer. Related: Fans Are Tattooing This Pizza Brand's Logo on Their Skin for a Year of Free Slices Two days before opening their first location in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood, Jammet's apartment was broken into. The only laptop they had was gone. Inside were every recipe, training document and operational detail the team had built. "There was no backup," Jammet says. "We stayed up for 48 hours straight, trying to piece it all back together." They opened anyway and made it work. Then winter hit. Georgetown emptied out, foot traffic disappeared and their 560-square-foot salad shop teetered on the edge. "We almost didn't make it out alive," he recalls. But they adjusted. They tweaked the menu, leaned into warm dishes and started figuring out what actually worked. It wasn't pretty, but it was enough to keep going. The second location was a step forward, but it brought its own challenges. It backed up to one of D.C.'s best farmers' markets — great for ingredients, but not so great for business. The location was on the wrong side of the street — the Starbucks across the road was packed, but Sweetgreen sat empty. So they improvised: They got a speaker from Guitar Center, and Ru performed a sidewalk DJ set while they handed out samples. It worked — people looked up, traffic trickled in and then, gradually, things started to click. They threw a block party. Then a bigger one. That block party turned into the Sweetlife Festival. The first one was small — just a few hundred people in a parking lot, a Lululemon tent and local energy. A few years later, it was thousands at Merriweather Post Pavilion, watching Lana Del Rey, The Strokes and yes, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd. Avicii brought Taylor Swift. SZA performed too. What started as a way to move salads turned into something bigger: a brand with cultural gravity, a point of view and a habit of doing things the hard way, on purpose. That same impulse to rethink the expected now drives the company's approach to something far less glamorous than a music lineup: operations. Related: This Chef Lost His Restaurant the Week Michelin Called. Now He's Made a Comeback By Perfecting One Recipe. A game-changing accident From the early days, Jammet and his team understood that convenience would be just as important as quality. Sweetgreen was among the first to build a native ordering app, offer mobile pickup and eliminate the counter altogether. The self-serve pickup shelf, now standard at countless fast-casual chains, was originally a last-minute fix in a short-staffed Boston store. "It was a happy accident," Jammet says. "Customers didn't want to wait. They wanted to walk in, grab their food and go." That instinct to reduce friction without sacrificing experience now defines the brand's next phase: automation. Sweetgreen's Infinite Kitchen uses robotics to assemble up to 500 bowls per hour with precise portioning and temperature control. Proteins, grains, greens and dressings are all added by machine. But the company hasn't gone full sci-fi: Guests are still greeted by a host, and ingredients are still prepped and finished by hand. The idea is efficiency without coldness. It's not just about speed. The technology also gives the brand room to scale without compromising consistency, something that's notoriously hard to maintain across 250+ locations. Sweetgreen's latest flex? French fries. It calls them Ripple Fries, which are fresh-cut, air-fried in avocado oil and served with garlic aioli or pickle ketchup. The rollout wasn't quiet — they handed out thousands of samples at the Hollywood Farmers Market, posted ingredient comparisons next to fast-food giants and let the internet do the rest. Jammet calls them craveable. They're also strategic. Fries aren't just a crowd-pleaser; they're a signal: Sweetgreen isn't just optimizing salad. It's coming for fast-food's sacred staples and rewriting them ingredient by ingredient. Which is fitting, considering the original recipes had to be rewritten from scratch on zero sleep after that laptop was stolen. Now, the files are backed up, and Sweetgreen is doing what it's always done best: seeing where food is going, and quietly getting there first. Related: How a Spot on 'The Montel Williams Show' Sparked a Restaurant Power Brand for This Miami Chef About Restaurant Influencers Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point-of-sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about Toast. Restaurant Influencer is also supported by NEXT INSURANCE. See why 600,000+ U.S. businesses trust NEXT for insurance.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SG Q1 Earnings Call: Menu Innovation and Loyalty Investments Amid Consumer Slowdown
Casual salad chain Sweetgreen (NYSE:SG) beat Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 5.4% year on year to $166.3 million. On the other hand, the company's full-year revenue guidance of $750 million at the midpoint came in 1.8% below analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP loss of $0.13 per share was 27.2% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy SG? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $166.3 million vs analyst estimates of $164.8 million (5.4% year-on-year growth, 0.9% beat) Adjusted EPS: -$0.13 vs analyst estimates of -$0.17 (27.2% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $285,000 vs analyst estimates of -$1.52 million (0.2% margin, significant beat) The company dropped its revenue guidance for the full year to $750 million at the midpoint from $770 million, a 2.6% decrease EBITDA guidance for the full year is $30 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $33.62 million Operating Margin: -17.2%, in line with the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow was -$29.86 million compared to -$9.98 million in the same quarter last year Locations: 251 at quarter end, up from 227 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales fell 3.1% year on year (5% in the same quarter last year) Market Capitalization: $2.14 billion Sweetgreen's Q1 results were shaped by ongoing investments in menu innovation, the rollout of new restaurant formats, and an intensified focus on operational execution. CEO Jonathan Neman highlighted external headwinds, including adverse weather events and shifting holiday patterns, but emphasized that the company's Infinite Kitchen and sweetlane formats contributed to operational efficiencies, while menu launches such as Ripple Fries boosted customer engagement. Management acknowledged that the same-store sales decline reflected both traffic softness and mixed results in core urban markets, especially as consumers became more selective with discretionary spending. Looking ahead, management's full-year guidance factors in a more challenging macro environment and the impact of tariffs on build-out costs and packaging. CFO Mitch Reback cited 'a dynamic environment' and noted that April sales trends were softer than typical seasonal patterns, citing shifting consumer sentiment and tariff announcements. The company plans to lean on its newly launched SG Rewards loyalty program, expanded menu offerings, and a continued rollout of Infinite Kitchen restaurants to counteract these headwinds. Leadership expressed confidence in the long-term strategy but acknowledged that near-term volatility could persist. Sweetgreen's management addressed both positive strides and ongoing challenges in the first quarter, focusing on operational adjustments and strategic initiatives to support future growth. Menu innovation impact: New offerings like Ripple Fries and collaborations such as the upcoming KBBQ menu with COTE Korean Steakhouse were cited as direct drivers of increased ticket averages and customer frequency, supporting a refreshed brand perception. Restaurant format advances: The Infinite Kitchen and sweetlane formats drove operational efficiency, higher digital sales, and improved restaurant-level margins, particularly in new and emerging markets. Management noted that these formats continue to outperform traditional units in cash-on-cash returns. Geographic and market variation: While markets like Texas and Colorado saw double-digit same-store sales growth, core urban regions—Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C.—experienced persistent softness, with management attributing some of this to lingering effects from regional events and changing consumer behaviors. Loyalty program relaunch: The nationwide rollout of SG Rewards resulted in 20,000 new digital customers per week, broadening Sweetgreen's access to customer data and enabling more targeted marketing campaigns. Early adoption rates were described as 'very encouraging.' Tariff and cost management: Management outlined efforts to mitigate tariff-related cost pressures, particularly for packaging and Infinite Kitchen components sourced from China. Initiatives include supply chain diversification and pre-purchasing materials to limit near-term exposure, with longer-term cost reductions anticipated as sourcing shifts progress. Management's outlook for the remainder of the year is anchored in driving traffic through menu and technology innovation, while navigating macroeconomic uncertainty and external cost pressures. Menu and loyalty initiatives: Sweetgreen aims to increase visit frequency and attract new customers with limited-time menu offerings, seasonal rotations, and expanded use of the SG Rewards program, which management believes will become a key lever for traffic and retention. Expansion of innovative formats: Continued investment in Infinite Kitchen and sweetlane locations is expected to drive improved operational efficiency and higher digital sales, supporting restaurant-level margin expansion despite cost headwinds. Tariff and macro uncertainty: Management highlighted risks associated with consumer sentiment, ongoing tariff impacts on build-out and packaging costs, and operational challenges in legacy urban markets. The company cautioned that a sustained slowdown in discretionary spending and further cost inflation could pressure results. Jon Tower (Citigroup): Asked whether tariffs would alter plans for Infinite Kitchen rollouts; management replied that returns remain attractive and deployment strategy is unchanged despite higher build-out costs. Sara Senatore (Bank of America): Inquired about regional performance differences; management noted ongoing softness in Los Angeles and a recent downturn in Washington, D.C., attributed to lingering wildfire impacts and changing consumer patterns. Zach Ogden (TD Cowen): Sought clarity on the cadence of same-store sales recovery; management indicated that Q2 would remain challenged but expects seasonal menus and loyalty initiatives to improve trends in the second half of the year. Sharon Zackfia (William Blair): Queried value perceptions and operational challenges in core markets; management pointed to the need for a return to more frequent seasonal menus and greater discipline in digital order execution. Christine Cho (Goldman Sachs): Asked about SG Rewards metrics and data usage; management reported strong weekly signups and highlighted plans to leverage customer data for targeted marketing and menu development. In the coming quarters, our team will closely monitor (1) the impact of new menu launches, including the KBBQ collaboration and seasonal offerings, on guest frequency and sales trends; (2) adoption and engagement levels of the SG Rewards loyalty program as a driver of digital and in-store traffic; and (3) the scale-out of Infinite Kitchen and sweetlane formats, especially their effect on margin and throughput. The company's ability to offset tariff and macroeconomic pressures through operational discipline and customer engagement tactics will also be an important area of focus. Sweetgreen currently trades at a forward EV-to-EBITDA ratio of 51.7×. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? The answer lies in our free research report. Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs. While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 175% over the last five years. Stocks that made our list in 2019 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+2,183% between December 2019 and December 2024) as well as under-the-radar businesses like Comfort Systems (+751% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Growth Stock Down 40% in 2025: Should You Buy It With $100 Right Now?
Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) made a splash with its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2021, but not in a good way. Shares of the health-forward fast-casual chain tanked not long after their debut. Exactly two years following the company's IPO, they had lost a gut-wrenching 80% of their starting value. While Sweetgreen failed to satisfy investors' appetites early on, it has turned things around. Since the start of 2024, shares have surged 70% (as of April 25). However, volatility remains the key theme. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » In 2025, this restaurant stock has dropped by 40%. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 index has fallen 6%. Does this mean you should buy Sweetgreen with $100 right now? Founded 14 years after Chipotle Mexican Grill, Sweetgreen brings the same emphasis on a fast-casual concept, customizable menu, open kitchen, and sustainable ingredients, but to salads and grain bowls. Plus, it plays on the growing interest in eating healthy. According to McKinsey & Company, 82% of U.S. consumers consider wellness a "top or important priority in their everyday lives." That has given Sweetgreen a favorable growth tailwind. After opening 25 new stores in fiscal 2024, the company has a footprint of 245 locations. The target is to open at least 40 more this fiscal year. Sweetgreen has focused on positioning itself as a tech-forward restaurant concept, demonstrated by the fact that 56% of revenue in fiscal 2024 came from digital channels in total and 30% came from its own website and app. Digital sales will likely be boosted by Sweetgreen's new points-based loyalty program that was launched in April. What's more, the business is investing in automation. Infinite Kitchen is automated kitchen technology that uses robots to prepare food for customers. The goal is to add it to 20 of the new stores being built this year, which would bring the total to more than 30. Bringing these to more stores has a direct positive benefit to Sweetgreen. Infinite Kitchen helps to lower costs, while at the same time boosting throughput (a measure of how fast customers are served). That's a win-win situation. Besides these more noticeable moves, Sweetgreen also tries to keep things fresh on the menu. In March, the company added Ripple Fries, potatoes air-fried in avocado oil. Jonathan Neman said the business wants to "increase the pace of menu innovation." Due to fears about the direction of the economy, with many now thinking a recession will happen, it makes sense that Sweetgreen's stock has gotten hammered in 2025. If consumers tighten their belts and decide to cut back on eating out, this business could see demand come under pressure. This depressed view has hit the stock's valuation, which now trades at a more reasonable price-to-sales ratio of 3.3. I can understand why this might be enticing to some investors looking to buy a growth stock on the dip. However, I'm not entirely convinced that growth will be durable. Since the average meal at Sweetgreen costs substantially more than at a rival like Chipotle, I believe it somewhat caps the former's total addressable market. The leadership team expects same-store sales to rise by just 1% to 3% this year, demonstrating economic sensitivity. It doesn't help that Sweetgreen has yet to turn a GAAP profit. It registered a $90 million net loss in fiscal 2024. Maybe with greater scale that will change, but it could be a long road to get there. The industry is extremely competitive as well, which will make things difficult for Sweetgreen. I don't think investors should buy the stock. Maybe when I see consistently increasing earnings, that perspective will change. Before you buy stock in Sweetgreen, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Sweetgreen wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $680,390!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 872% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 160% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025 Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends Sweetgreen and recommends the following options: short June 2025 $55 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Growth Stock Down 40% in 2025: Should You Buy It With $100 Right Now? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Growth Stock Down 40% in 2025: Should You Buy It With $100 Right Now?
Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) made a splash with its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2021, but not in a good way. Shares of the health-forward fast-casual chain tanked not long after their debut. Exactly two years following the company's IPO, they had lost a gut-wrenching 80% of their starting value. While Sweetgreen failed to satisfy investors' appetites early on, it has turned things around. Since the start of 2024, shares have surged 70% (as of April 25). However, volatility remains the key theme. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » In 2025, this restaurant stock has dropped by 40%. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 index has fallen 6%. Does this mean you should buy Sweetgreen with $100 right now? Founded 14 years after Chipotle Mexican Grill, Sweetgreen brings the same emphasis on a fast-casual concept, customizable menu, open kitchen, and sustainable ingredients, but to salads and grain bowls. Plus, it plays on the growing interest in eating healthy. According to McKinsey & Company, 82% of U.S. consumers consider wellness a "top or important priority in their everyday lives." That has given Sweetgreen a favorable growth tailwind. After opening 25 new stores in fiscal 2024, the company has a footprint of 245 locations. The target is to open at least 40 more this fiscal year. Sweetgreen has focused on positioning itself as a tech-forward restaurant concept, demonstrated by the fact that 56% of revenue in fiscal 2024 came from digital channels in total and 30% came from its own website and app. Digital sales will likely be boosted by Sweetgreen's new points-based loyalty program that was launched in April. What's more, the business is investing in automation. Infinite Kitchen is automated kitchen technology that uses robots to prepare food for customers. The goal is to add it to 20 of the new stores being built this year, which would bring the total to more than 30. Bringing these to more stores has a direct positive benefit to Sweetgreen. Infinite Kitchen helps to lower costs, while at the same time boosting throughput (a measure of how fast customers are served). That's a win-win situation. Besides these more noticeable moves, Sweetgreen also tries to keep things fresh on the menu. In March, the company added Ripple Fries, potatoes air-fried in avocado oil. Jonathan Neman said the business wants to "increase the pace of menu innovation." Due to fears about the direction of the economy, with many now thinking a recession will happen, it makes sense that Sweetgreen's stock has gotten hammered in 2025. If consumers tighten their belts and decide to cut back on eating out, this business could see demand come under pressure. This depressed view has hit the stock's valuation, which now trades at a more reasonable price-to-sales ratio of 3.3. I can understand why this might be enticing to some investors looking to buy a growth stock on the dip. However, I'm not entirely convinced that growth will be durable. Since the average meal at Sweetgreen costs substantially more than at a rival like Chipotle, I believe it somewhat caps the former's total addressable market. The leadership team expects same-store sales to rise by just 1% to 3% this year, demonstrating economic sensitivity. It doesn't help that Sweetgreen has yet to turn a GAAP profit. It registered a $90 million net loss in fiscal 2024. Maybe with greater scale that will change, but it could be a long road to get there. The industry is extremely competitive as well, which will make things difficult for Sweetgreen. I don't think investors should buy the stock. Maybe when I see consistently increasing earnings, that perspective will change. Before you buy stock in Sweetgreen, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Sweetgreen wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $680,390!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 872% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 160% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025 Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool recommends Sweetgreen and recommends the following options: short June 2025 $55 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Growth Stock Down 40% in 2025: Should You Buy It With $100 Right Now? was originally published by The Motley Fool
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Sweetgreen's C.E.O. on Robots, ‘MAHA' and Why Salads Are So Expensive
When Jonathan Neman was a student at Georgetown in the mid-2000s, he and some friends wanted to start a restaurant. A fast-food restaurant, but it would be healthy. And cool. The documentary 'Super Size Me' had made waves, and 'we were going to be rejecting the fast food of the previous generation,' Mr. Neman said. He and his business partners, Nicolas Jammet and Nathaniel Ru, opened the first Sweetgreen in 2007, on the edge of campus on M Street in Washington. As they expanded, they decided against franchising the brand, keeping control of every new location. Soon it became a buzzy millennial lifestyle brand. It sponsored an annual music festival. It went public in late 2021. Sweetgreen now has more than 250 restaurants across the United States. The chain is known for its endlessly customizable salads — and for how quickly the cost of all those extra toppings and dressings can add up. (A recent lunch there cost me $16.28.) The company also runs a growing number of locations that include what it calls the Infinite Kitchen, with salad-slinging robots that assemble bowls faster than human workers. With great fanfare, Sweetgreen recently put fries on its menu — air-fried in avocado oil, to make customers feel better about adding a side of carbs to a salad. Much of its food is sourced locally, including avocados from California, which will limit the hit the company takes on tariffs, executives have told investors. And Sweetgreen doesn't cater just to office workers eating salads at their desks. Mr. Neman, 40, said he had heard that teenagers were 'obsessed' with the salads, which wasn't the case when Sweetgreen started. 'The fact that they think that eating healthy is cool is something that we envisioned,' he said at his office in Los Angeles, where the company is now based. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
