![]() ![]() “Doing salad right is much more difficult than a lot other food cuisines,” says Kenner. A leaked internal memo urged staff not to promote side salads. A few years ago, McDonald’s disclosed to investors that salads made up only 2 to 3 percent of total sales. Kenner, of Just Salad, says that sales during dinner hours have been growing rapidly, especially on weeknights when consumers want lighter meals.īut why are salad chains the only restaurants cashing in on consumer desire for healthier meals? It seems that they have an edge on traditional stores. But stores are also seeing more business at dinner time. Made-to-order salads have become especially in-demand during lunch (a fact that’s obvious to anyone who has stood in line for a salad recently). Almost eight years later, it has really moved into the mainstream.” “Even when you look at the customers, it was a very specific group of people who were very health minded. “When we started it was much more of a niche way of eating, it was definitely on the fringe,” he says. Jon Neman, Sweetgreen’s co-CEO and co-founder, attributes this to a growing customer base. This week, the company announced another $35 million of funding, taking their fundraising to a grand total of $95 million. The salad chain Sweetgreen surprised the tech industry when it announced it raised $18.5 million in venture-capital financing. “We've tripled the number of our stores in the last two years, that tells you two things: First that our stores are profitable … and number two is the sheer demand,” says Alex Perez of Fresh & Co., a salad and prepared-foods chain in Manhattan. Saladworks reported $75 million in sales in 2014, and the chain Chop’t reportedly averages $2-3 million in revenue per location, annually. One industry report found that salad shops were earning more than $300 million in 2014, with some salad chains in the country experiencing double digit percentage growth in sales. ![]() ![]() “The made-to-order salad market is overall doing very well,” says Nick Kenner, Founder and CEO of the chain Just Salad. In recent years, salads have become big business in the booming fast-casual restaurant category. the old-school knock was that salad is rabbit food. “At the time, salads were essentially a side dish. “We were founded 28 years ago,” said Steck. The chain started in 1986 and has more than 100 franchise stores in 15 states the company emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year. Paul Steck, President and CEO of Saladworks, remembers when people weren’t so excited about greens. Oregano-flavored olive oil-suspected to be for salad dressing- was discovered in a 2,400 year old shipwreck in the Aegean Sea.īut despite its ancient roots, America’s salad sector wasn’t always so vibrant. The poet Virgil describes a rustic salad made of herbs, vinegar, and cheese. According to historians, ancient Greeks and Romans had oil-based dressing on raw vegetable. ![]()
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