If you are interested in a healthy lifestyle and diet, you probably heard of Sweetgreen and its delicious healthy meals.
The company has quickly grown to a certain amount of popularity with its organic food and fresh ingredients.
Because of all this, you might have thought of owning a Sweetgreen franchise since they generate good income.
We will talk about Sweetgreen and its franchise opportunities if you are looking to enter into Sweetgreen’s world.
You will find out whether Sweetgreen franchises or not and other details surrounding the company.
About The Sweetgreen
Sweetgreen is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers healthy and delicious salads, grain bowls, and plates made from fresh, organic, and locally-sourced ingredients.
The company’s mission is to inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.
Sweetgreen is known for its customizable menu, which allows customers to create their own salads and bowls using a variety of ingredients, dressings, and toppings.
The company was founded by three Georgetown University students, Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Neman, who were looking for healthier food options on campus.
They started by opening a single restaurant in Washington, D.C., and quickly gained a following for their fresh and tasty food.
Today, Sweetgreen has over 990 locations throughout the United States and other countries.
In time, they moved their headquarters from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, where they still have their headquarters.
History Of Sweetgreen
Sweetgreen was founded in 2007 by Georgetown University students with the idea of providing healthier options on campus.
Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Neman were all sons of entrepreneurs.
They saw the opportunity for the lack of healthy food options on campus and decided to start their own restaurant.
Because they were inspired by the lack of healthy food, all their offerings were about offering fresh, organic, and locally-sourced food.
The first Sweetgreen restaurant opened in Washington D.C. in August 2007, and it quickly gained a following thanks to its healthy and quick food around the area.
The three students’ aim was to inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food. That’s why they made Sweetgreen’s menu customizable.
This allowed customers to create their own salads and bowls using a variety of ingredients, dressings, and toppings.
In return, this helped them gain a huge following and popularity. Despite all the fame and popularity, Sweetgreen never franchised its outlets.
Even though it was never franchised, it quickly grew all over the United States and other countries.
Today, Sweetgreen is known for its commitment to sustainability and its efforts to support local farmers and communities.
The company continues to innovate and evolve its menu to offer healthy and delicious food to its customers.
Sweetgreen Franchise Model
| Franchise | NO |
| Franchise-Fee | NO (Doesn’t Franchise) |
| Estimated Outlets | 998 |
How Much Does It Cost To Open a Sweetgreen Franchise
Sweetgreen does not offer franchise opportunities to anyone. That is why there are no costs associated with opening a Sweetgreen franchise.
Sweetgreen doesn’t also offer licensing opportunities which means that there are no opportunities to own a Sweetgreen franchise.
Why Doesn’t Sweetgreen Offer Franchising?
Franchising means for a company to give equity to interested parties, losing the amount percentage they own in the company.
Sweetgreen is aware of this, and this is one of the reasons why they are not franchising.
In an interview one of the founders gave in 2013 to QSR Magazine, he explained the issue himself.
He explained that even though they knew how franchising could be beneficial to grow the company, the founders liked to grow the company themselves.
In addition, they also do not want to give a piece of Sweetgreen via franchising. Sweetgreen also sources most of its ingredients from local farmers.
Nicolas, who gave the interview, mentioned that doing this is extremely complex in the franchising model.
This explanation also shows that Sweetgreen doesn’t want to lose its authenticity and organic ingredients in its stores.
These are the reasons why Sweetgreen doesn’t offer franchising, and it looks like they will keep it that way.
There are no further announcements about whether the company will franchise in the future.
Sweetgreen Revenue & Profit
Sweetgreen has been experiencing significant growth over the years. The last report of 2022 shows that the company reported a revenue of $149 million.
This represents an increase of 24% from the same period in the previous year.
With this 24% increase in revenue, their profits have turned positive than negative compared to the previous year.
The company’s net income was $2.6 million in 2022, compared to a net loss of $19.6 million in the same period last year.
This means that the company’s net profit margin for the first quarter of 2022 was 1.7%, which is a significant improvement from the negative net profit margin of -15.7% in the first quarter of 2021.
Sweetgreen’s EBIDTA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the first quarter of 2022 was $18.6 million, which is again higher than the previous year.
Despite the fact that Sweetgreen doesn’t franchise, they still have strong financials. The company has been focusing on profitability rather than rapid expansion through franchising.
Sweetgreen’s stock (NYSE: SG) has also experienced some fluctuations in the stock market, with the company’s 2023 outlook receiving mixed reactions from investors.
However, the company’s recent financial performance has been positive, indicating that it is on a steady path toward profitability and growth.
What Are Some Alternatives To Sweetgreen Franchise?
Just because Sweetgreen doesn’t franchise, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a franchise in the same industry.
There are many alternatives that you can become a franchisee with. Here are two of those alternatives.
Saladworks
Saladworks is a franchise that specializes in made-to-order salads and other healthy food options.
They offer a variety of salads, wraps, soups, and other menu items that are customizable to customers’ preferences.
Saladworks prides itself on using fresh, locally sourced ingredients to create its menu items.
To open a Saladworks franchise, the estimated initial investment ranges from $233,797 to $598,386.
This includes a franchise fee of $35,000 and ongoing royalty fees of 6% of gross sales. When you also sign the franchise agreement, the initial term is 10 years, and you can also renew it after this ten years.
Saladworks was founded in 1986 in New Jersey by John Scardapane.
The company began franchising in 2001 and has since grown to many locations in the United States and abroad.
The company was acquired by a private equity firm in 2015. Since then, Saladworks has continued to expand its franchise operations, with a particular focus on non-traditional locations such as airports, universities, and hospitals.
Just Salad
Just Salad is a fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in salads, wraps, bowls, and other healthy options.
Their aim is to provide healthy meals to customers every day and sustain this kind of lifestyle, similar to Sweetgreen.
Just Salad’s foods are plant-centric, made from scratch, and include homemade dressings.
If you are looking to open a Just Salad franchise, the initial investment ranges from $307,000 to $753,000.
This number includes everything from the $30,000 franchise fee to the marketing costs associated with operating the branch.
In addition to the investment fees, you also must pay a royalty fee of 6% of gross sales to the company each month.
Just Salad was founded in 2006 in New York City by Nick Kenner and Rob Crespi.
The company’s mission when they were first founded was to promote healthy eating and environmental sustainability by using locally sourced and organic ingredients, eco-friendly packaging, and a reusable bowl program.
They grew very quickly, and Just Salad was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2019. They now have over 70 outlets, and they plan on expanding even more
Sweetgreen Comparison
| Company | Franchise Fee | Royalty Fee | Initial Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshii | $30,000 | 6% | $169,000-$636,000 |
| Pokeworks | $25,000-$35,000 | 6% | $263,000-$1,968,000 |
| Portillo’s | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Conclusion
It is no doubt that Sweetgreen is quite famous for its healthy options and generates a high amount of revenue and profit.
Unfortunately, even though they are very popular and generate high revenue, they are not franchising for people to own one of their stores.
This is because they don’t want to give up a part of Sweetgreen and keep the quality of the products instead of risking it in franchising.
However, Sweetgreen is not the only restaurant chain serving healthy food options.
There are many alternatives that you can franchise with, such as Freshii and Just Salad. You can pick one of the other alternatives to have a healthy fast-food restaurant branch.
FAQ
Is Sweetgreen A Franchise?
No, Sweetgreen is currently not a franchise. All the stores of the company are company owned, and no one has the right to open a Sweetgreen store.
Is Sweetgreen Planning On Being A Franchise?
As far as the communication of the company goes, Sweetgreen is not planning on becoming a franchise.
This might change in the future, but current plans are not to franchise.
How Much Does It Cost To Open A Sweetgreen Franchise?
Since Sweetgreen is not a franchise, there are no costs associated with opening a Sweetgreen franchise.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladworks
https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Sweetgreen-USA
https://investor.sweetgreen.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx
Amit Gupta is the founder of DrFranchises – a digital marketing agency that helps brands rank better on Google Maps through local SEO strategies. Amit has over 11 years of experience in digital marketing, SEO, email marketing, and social media marketing. He’s also the owner of multiple franchises and has helped countless brands achieve success online. When he’s not working, Amit can be found playing with his dog.