What is Sweetgreen?
A public fast-casual restaurant company serving salads, bowls, plates, wraps, and digitally ordered meals.
- Category
- Fast-casual restaurants
- Headquarters
- Los Angeles, CA
- Founded
- 2007
- Employees
- 1,001-5,000+
- Total funding
- $364M IPO; ~$670M pre-IPO VC reported
- Status
- NYSE: SG
What is Sweetgreen?
Sweetgreen is a fast-casual restaurant company focused on salads, bowls, warm plates, wraps, digital ordering, catering, and automated kitchen operations.
Sweetgreen was founded in 2007 by Georgetown classmates Jonathan Neman, Nicolas Jammet, and Nathaniel Ru. The company built a national restaurant brand around plant-forward meals, seasonal ingredients, digital ordering, and a premium urban lunch occasion.
Sweetgreen reported $679.5 million of 2025 revenue, up 0.4%, but same-store sales declined 7.9% and restaurant-level margin fell to 15.2%. In Q1 2026, revenue was $161.5 million, same-store sales fell 12.8%, and adjusted EBITDA was a loss, showing that the company is in a turnaround period.
The company remains growth-oriented, but the operating story is now about menu value, traffic recovery, restaurant-level margin, digital engagement, and Infinite Kitchen automation. Sellers should expect strong interest in labor productivity, throughput, loyalty, delivery economics, and field operations.
What does Sweetgreen offer?
Sweetgreen sells made-to-order restaurant meals through stores, app/web ordering, delivery, pickup, and catering.
- Salads· Menu
- Warm bowls· Menu
- Protein plates· Menu
- Wraps· Menu
- Catering and Sweetgreen Bar· Catering
- Digital ordering and loyalty· Digital
How does Sweetgreen make money?
Sweetgreen makes money from restaurant sales, digital orders, delivery and pickup, catering, and merchandise or brand-adjacent channels.
The main model is company-operated restaurant revenue. Customers buy meals in-store or through owned digital channels, third-party delivery, and catering; Sweetgreen then manages food, labor, occupancy, delivery, and operating costs to produce restaurant-level profit.
Pricing varies by market and item, but public discussion often places Sweetgreen salads and bowls in the premium fast-casual range; 2026 reporting on wraps cited a lower entry price around $10.95 in select markets. Catering adds individual meals and Sweetgreen Bar formats with ordering windows and delivery/pickup options.
Growth depends on traffic, new restaurants, same-store sales, menu innovation, throughput, digital mix, and labor leverage. In 2026, the company's transformation plan makes operational excellence, value perception, and Infinite Kitchen automation central to the economics.
Who leads Sweetgreen?
Sweetgreen is led by co-founder, president, CEO, and board chair Jonathan Neman, with Jamie McConnell as CFO and Nicolas Jammet as co-founder and chief concept officer.
- Jonathan NemanCo-Founder, President, CEO and ChairCo-founder; since 2007Public face of the company and leader of the turnaround plan.
- Nicolas JammetCo-Founder, Chief Concept Officer and DirectorCo-founder; since 2007Leads concept, food, and brand experience rooted in hospitality.
- Jamie McConnellChief Financial Officer and TreasurerEffective September 2025Former Chipotle finance executive appointed during Sweetgreen's transformation period.
- Wouleta AyeleChief Technology OfficerPublic management-team listingTechnology leader tied to digital ordering and restaurant tech.
How do you contact Sweetgreen's leadership?
Sweetgreen does not publish verified personal executive emails in the sources reviewed. Use investor relations, support, careers, and public contact routes rather than guessed personal emails.
Personal format not verified; use ir@sweetgreen.com and public contact formsHow much funding has Sweetgreen raised?
Sweetgreen is public on the NYSE; its capital history includes roughly $670 million of reported pre-IPO venture funding and a $364 million IPO in 2021.
Before going public, Sweetgreen raised around $670 million in venture funding, including a 2021 round reportedly valuing the company near $1.8 billion post-money. Its IPO priced at $28 per share in November 2021, raising about $364 million and giving it a roughly $3 billion IPO market value before trading opened higher.
By 2026 the more relevant capital view is public-market performance and restaurant-unit economics. Sweetgreen reported 2025 revenue of $679.5 million, a wider operating loss, and a transformation plan focused on operational excellence, menu innovation, and disciplined investment.
Seller signal: Sweetgreen has public-company buying power but intense pressure to improve traffic, labor leverage, and restaurant-level margins. Strong offers tie to store throughput, digital conversion, loyalty, delivery economics, food cost, workforce scheduling, and Infinite Kitchen rollout.
How did Sweetgreen get here?
Sweetgreen grew from a Georgetown startup into a public restaurant chain with a heavy digital and automation agenda.
- 2007Founded in Washington, DCJonathan Neman, Nicolas Jammet, and Nathaniel Ru open the first restaurant near Georgetown.
- 2010sDigital and urban expansionSweetgreen scales app ordering and premium lunch locations.
- Jun 2021Confidential IPO filing reportedAxios reports Sweetgreen had raised about $670M pre-IPO.
- Nov 2021$364M IPOSweetgreen lists on NYSE under SG at $28 per share.
- Sep 2025Jamie McConnell named CFOFormer Chipotle executive succeeds Mitch Reback.
- 2026Transformation plan and wrapsCompany works to recover traffic, improve operations, and broaden occasions.
Who are Sweetgreen's competitors?
Sweetgreen competes with fast-casual salad, Mediterranean, bowl, and healthier-lunch chains.
- CavaMediterranean fast-casual public peer with strong unit-growth narrative.
- ChipotleScaled fast-casual benchmark for throughput, digital ordering, and restaurant-level economics.
- ChoptSalad-focused chain competing directly in urban lunch and office markets.
- Just SaladSalad and bowl chain with value and reusable-bowl sustainability positioning.
- Tender GreensChef-driven fast casual competing on fresh plates and bowls.
- DigVegetable-forward bowls and plates with a cooked-food orientation.
Sweetgreen — frequently asked questions
