For decades, consumers would say they want more healthful fast food, and yet what they would buy is burgers and fries.
That’s still largely true—except perhaps now in fast casual they’re buying fried chicken sandwiches, wings and burrito bowls. But evident in this year’s Top 500 numbers is the growth of an emerging category that indicates consumers really are making more healthful choices:
Salads.
Outside the core categories of burgers, chicken, pizza and Asian concepts within fast casual, the salad niche showed up strong in 2023, with players like Just Salad growing sales nearly 88%, Crisp & Greenup nearly 44%, Sweetgreen up more than 24% and Chopt Creative Salad Co. increasing sales almost 15%, according to data from Technomic’s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report. Salad and Go, though technically more a quick-service concept, ended the year with sales up nearly 68%.
These players are still relatively small chains with plenty of runway ahead. And they are evolving to allow guests to build salads as healthful or as indulgent as they like, with all the digital ease and pickup convenience of grabbing a burger, with drive-thru formats, kiosks and automation to speed service.
In fact, Just Salad founder and CEO Nick Kenner earlier this year made the argument that salad is the first new category creation since Starbucks reinvented coffee in the early 1980s. He sees potential for the segment to reach $7 billion over the next 10 years.
Like coffee, salad can draw a loyal and frequent fan base. People might not eat burgers several times a week, but they will eat salad.
He bristles when asked if salad is having a moment.
“To say it’s having a moment implies it’s a fad,” he said. “This is a trend that’s accelerating, and, I think longer term, something bigger is happening in fast food right now.
“It’s not just the higher-income consumer, but the everyday consumer wants to eat [food that is] healthy, fast and affordable,” Kenner added. “Wherever that option is available, that’s the preferred option for consumers. And that’s only going to grow from here on out.”
A robot with promise
The largest player in the salad niche is Sweetgreen, which ended 2023 with 221 units, an increase of nearly 19%, and sales of $584 million, according to sister brand Technomic.
While the Los Angeles-based chain is still inching its way to profitability, CEO Jonathan Neman is highly optimistic about the brand’s future, expecting same-store sales growth of between 4% and 6% this year, higher than the 3% to 5% projected earlier.
The chain last month rolled out a new Caramelized Garlic Steak as a protein option, designed to appeal to guests looking for heartier fare. And last year, Sweetgreen launched a new, non-salad protein plate platform, which has helped boost dinner daypart sales.
But many are watching Sweetgreen for its early innovation with automation, which could be a gamechanger to help the salad concept scale profitably.
Sweetgreen's first Infinite Kitchen in the Chicago area. | Photo courtesy of Sweetgreen.
Neman’s optimism rests in part on early strong results from two units with automated makelines, dubbed the Infinite Kitchen, which opened last year. Guests order at a kiosk and watch the bowl roll through the automated makeline with minimal human intervention. It’s a variation of the Spyce technology Sweetgreen acquired in 2021.
Seven more Infinite Kitchens are expected to open this year, including three to four existing restaurants that will be retrofitted with the automated makeline technology.
So far, the Infinite Kitchen formats have margins 10 points higher than the system average, with faster throughput, better order accuracy and lower labor costs.
“Looking ahead, we have a massive opportunity to bring real food to more communities and disrupt the industry with the rollout of the Infinite Kitchen,” Neman said during the first quarter earnings report last month. “We do think it’s going to be a huge part of our go-forward strategy.”
Making salads accessible
Chopt is another growing salad player testing automated makeline technology.
“The North Star for us is: Make the best salad, and then make it as easy as possible for the customer to get the best salad,” said Nick Marsh, CEO of Chopt and its parent company, Founders Table Restaurant Group.
Marsh said the chain is working with automation company Hyphen to potentially add an automated makeline format to the mix.
The New York-based Chopt, which ended 2023 with 88 units and sales of nearly $160 million, expects to hit the 100-unit mark this year, with another 15 expected to open next year, all company owned. Marsh said the plan is to penetrate existing markets more deeply in the 10 states where it operates—from Connecticut to Alabama.
Like Sweetgreen, Chopt is developing new restaurant formats, like drive-thru units and digital-only locations with kiosk ordering.
Coming down the pike is the increased use of artificial intelligence, said Marsh. The chain is testing AI-driven computer vision systems to watch the line to improve order accuracy and speed.
“It has to be better for the customer ultimately,” Marsh said. “It’s not about what sounds good in a press release. It’s how do you use technology to remove friction.”
Fundamentally, salads are a great product for pickup and travel, said Marsh. “We’ll have a salad on the shelf in five minutes, and if you don’t pick it up for another 10 minutes, it’ll still taste as good.”
Chopt’s tech innovation has created efficiencies that have reduced labor costs, and that has allowed the salad concept to expand the menu—at a time when many brands are tightening up their offerings. By the end of the year, the ingredient options at Chopt will grow by about 10%, Marsh said.
The Lemon Crush Bowl, an LTO launched in partnership with Enzo Olive Oil, with marinated kale, warm roasted chicken, picked red onion, feta and crispy shallots, has been a top seller, for example. Salads joining the lineup on June 12 are the Summer Corn Caesar with Basil Caesar Dressing; and the Strawberry Summer Salad with Strawberry Poppy Vinaigrette.
“Most people are trying to take away and make smaller to make the box work. We’re trying to go the other direction,” said Marsh. “People love choice. People expect choice. We’re trying to give them really unique and creative things to choose from.”
From city to suburbs
Just Salad’s standout 88% sales growth, ending the year with about $150 million in sales, was fueled in part by unit expansion. But Kenner said same-store sales grew 18% last year, with only 5% of that from price.
The New York-based chain ended the year with 75 units, an increase of 25% over the prior year.
And unit growth is ramping up. This year, so far, Just Salad has grown to 81 units in seven states, with 20 new restaurants expected to open this year and 30 next year. Among the new locations coming this summer is a first drive-thru location, coming to Livingston, New Jersey.
A rendering of Just Salad's first drive-thru unit. | Rendering courtesy of Just Salad.
Just Salad’s average unit volume is about $2 million. Kenner said about half of sales come from digital channels, where guests can customize their salads and see nutritional facts in real time as they build their orders. Want more protein? Guests can see exactly how much they’ll get by adding chicken or chickpeas, for example.
Just Salad is also known for its commitment to sustainability, pioneering the use of reusable bowls more than 10 years ago. Guests who bring back their bowl get a free topping (including avocado). Earlier this year, the chain promoted a line of Sesame Street- themed reusable bowls, along with an extension of the kids’ menu.
The chain is also a certified B Corp.—Kenner said it’s the country’s largest B Corp.—a designation that verifies the company meets certain standards for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
It’s probably not something that impacts sales, but Kenner said it has helped reduce turnover. Workers like knowing they’re part of a company that sticks to its mission, he said.
“I do think our sustainability efforts are recognized by lots of consumers,” and workers, he said. “We’ve found that as fast-food has struggled to hire store-level employees, we’ve found a lot of Gen Z excited to work at Just Salad, and that makes the store operators’ lives a lot easier.”
Crisp & Green's menu has grown to include grain bowls, wraps, acai and smoothies. | Photo courtesy of Crisp & Green.
The franchise brand
Another up-and-coming salad player, Minneapolis-based Crisp & Green, ended 2023 with sales of $54.7 million, up nearly 44% over the prior year.
Steele Smiley, the chain’s founder and owner of parent company Steele Brands, expects to hit more than $100 million by the end of 2024, and to almost double in unit count over the next 18 months.
Crisp & Green has about 50 units open in 15 states; the brand has a strong presence in the Midwest. For example, 11 units are scheduled to open in Chicago starting next year, and those are among 200 in the system pipeline.
Crisp & Green is one of few franchised salad brands, with only three corporate stores, and that’s part of the appeal, Smiley said. It’s also a scratch-kitchen concept with a broader menu. Salads are a signature, but the menu has grown to include grain bowls, wraps, smoothies and acai.
“The idea is to get people to visit three times a day,” said Smiley.
Crisp & Green has four drive-thru locations and a variety of store formats, but Smiley said the brand is not moving toward automated makelines or the use of kiosks, like other chains. Instead, Crisp & Green is emphasizing community connection, with restaurants hosting wellness events, from running clubs to yoga classes.
“It’s always been about human-to-human connection, and we’ll always be that way,” he said.
Drive-thru salad
Salad and Go is a standout from the pack for two reasons:
It’s a drive-thru-only concept. The tiny 750-square-foot units have no dine-in, and salad ingredients and dressings are mostly prepped in commissary kitchens that serve the restaurants, where salads are assembled for drive-thru pickup or delivery.
It’s also the most value positioned of the salad players, with freshly made salads around $6 to $8, including a protein. The chain also offers coffee and some breakfast options, with the idea that customers can stop in to pick up breakfast and a salad to eat for lunch later.
Salad and Go planned to open a restaurant a week through 2024. | Photo courtesy of Salad and Go.
Salad and Go ended 2023 with 136 units, a 66% increase over the prior year, and a 68% increase in sales to more than $206 million.
CEO Charlie Morrison, who left the top spot at Wingstop to helm the salad up-and-comer in 2022, in January said the chain planned to open nearly one restaurant every week through 2024, saying it will be a “breakout year” for the brand.
“We have the right offering and the right team at the right time,” he said in a statement. “We are at an inflection point in this country where Americans are demanding more from restaurant chains. They should have to compromise on fresh, nutritious food that’s also convenient and affordable.”
UPDATE: This article has been updated to adjust the unit count for Crisp & Green.
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