Sweetgreen is adapting to changing consumer preferences by increasing portion sizes for chicken and tofu and enhancing protein recipes. The fast-casual chain has faced declining same-store sales, dropping by 7.6% this summer, alongside a significant reduction in customer traffic by 10.1%. Investors reacted negatively as Sweetgreen's stock fell over 25% to a record low. The pandemic has transformed corporate lunch habits, with affluent customers becoming more price-conscious due to inflation and economic uncertainty. Looking forward, same-store sales are projected to decrease further, contradicting earlier performance expectations.
Faced with slumping lunch traffic from downtown offices and waning consumer interest in pricey salads, Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman is leaning into America's 2020s-era protein craze.
Sweetgreen's turnaround strategy includes 25% bigger portions of chicken and tofu, recipe upgrades for proteins like chicken and salmon, and member deals on salads as cheap as $13.
Same-store sales have dropped by as much as 7.6% this summer, with a reported 10.1% plunge in customer traffic.
'So I think it's pretty obvious that the consumer is not in a great place overall,' Neman said Thursday in the company's second-quarter earnings call.
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