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Sweetgreen is adding lower-priced menu options as it tries to shed its reputation for expensive salads and attract more customers.
The Los Angeles-headquartered fast-casual chain rolled out four wraps nationwide in May, all priced below $15 and averaging around $12.50, according to a news release from Sweetgreen.
Sweetgreen Chief Financial Officer Jamie McConnell told The Wall Street Journal the lower starting prices are part of an effort to change how consumers view the chain.
“When you’d walk into a Sweetgreen, you’d see more things above $15 than you would see under $15,” McConnell said.
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“So, psychologically, even though a lot of our prices could be lower than some of our peers, we were viewed as a very expensive company because we didn’t have any of those entry prices in.”
The changes come as Sweetgreen works to improve sales and customer traffic.
Sweetgreen’s same-store sales fell 6.2% in its latest quarter, prompting the company to cut its full-year forecast. It now expects a 7% to 8% decline, compared with its previous forecast of 2% to 4%, the Journal reported.
Sweetgreen said it spent years developing the wraps before testing them in New York, the Midwest and Los Angeles ahead of the nationwide launch.
CEO Jonathan Neman said in May that the new menu items were designed to offer “more flavor, more substance, more convenience” at a price point aimed at making Sweetgreen an “everyday choice.”
Sweetgreen is also working to make pricing clearer for customers building their own salads and bowls.
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“What used to happen is you’d start off with a $10 green bowl, and then you go down the line, add all of these different things, and before you know it, you have a $22 salad, and you’re p—–, right?” McConnell told the Journal.
“We want to make sure that’s more transparent.”
McConnell said customers can get a protein, two bases and four toppings for around $13, with dressing and bread included.
The chain is also making an effort to speed up service.
Some busy locations have assigned workers specifically to wrap assembly during peak hours, according to the Journal.
“People don’t want to always come into Sweetgreen because they feel like it’s slow,” McConnell told the Journal. “If you can go into a restaurant, be in and out with your salad in under five minutes, that would be the goal.”
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Sweetgreen’s push toward lower-priced options comes as consumers continue to face broader price pressures.
Inflation accelerated in September, driven in part by higher energy prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.6% from the prior month and 3.7% from a year ago.
FOX Business reached out to Sweetgreen for comment.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
