I came across an article from CNBC and it talked about Sweetgreen’s latest struggles and how it is turning to automation as a central focus for their future. I live near a Sweetgreen, so we can make a pretty accurate assumption I live in or near a highly gentrified area. I sometimes do go and grab a salad, but my oh my, it is expensive. To pay over 16 dollars for a single salad is a concept I have not yet been able to wrap my head around, and it looks like a lot of people are on the same boat.
Now this struggle is not just limited to Sweetgreen, as fast-food chains from McDonald’s to Chipotle have also seen same-store sales decrease. The middle-class consumer is shifting back to groceries rather than dining out, especially at fast-casual and fast-food chains whose prices have steadily risen year after year. It is definitely hard as prices on everything are increasing. These restaurants are raising their prices at a time when most people are finding it harder to justify spending a lot on food that you can make at home pretty easily.
Lately, the concept of “slop bowls,” meaning glorified mixes of rice, greens, grains, and a protein, has turned people away. Not because they taste bad (I will be honest, the salad I got from Sweetgreen was actually pretty good), but because of the price. Think about it: you can buy a bagged salad from the grocery store for four dollars and add your own meat or toppings, or you can order basically the same thing for fifteen dollars or more.
Sweetgreen and other “slop bowl” chains grew rapidly over the last few years, mostly thanks to heavy investment from venture capital firms. Billions have been poured into the hope of locking down market share early and capturing younger millennials’ and Gen Z’s desire to dine out, try new things, and buy into fresh and healthy experiences.
But here is the real tension: price. Younger consumers, the exact demographic Sweetgreen relies on, are the ones feeling the most financial pressure. They are juggling student loan debt, higher rent, insurance costs, and rising prices across every single category of their lives. How can they expect us to regularly pay 18 to 20 dollars for a salad with salmon when they are just trying to stay afloat?
And this is where Sweetgreen, and brands like it, are missing an opportunity. If they want to bring back the middle-income consumer, they need to rethink the value equation. Value does not have to mean lowering prices, although that would not hurt (and would help bring back customers who may have pulled away). Value can also mean giving people something that feels worth it such as rewards, incentives, member perks, better portion sizes, better experiences, or something that creates an emotional return.
There used to be a feeling of value when you went to McDonald’s. You felt like you were getting more than what you paid for. I remember getting a McChicken and a drink for $2.50, and I’d be so excited thinking I just hit the jackpot. Now McDonald’s is struggling to maintain that feeling, and consumers notice. We need places where people walk in and genuinely feel valued, not just charged.
If Sweetgreen and its competitors can find ways to bring back that sense of value, not luxury, not exclusivity, but actual everyday value, they can win back younger consumers. Because at the end of the day, people do not just want a bowl of greens. They want to feel like their hard-earned money matters.