Coming soon to Sweetgreen: A test of lower prices

One of Sweetgreen’s biggest challenges right now is its perception of value. This month, the fast-casual chain will begin testing ways to shift that perception.

Speaking at the TD Cowen Future of the Consumer Conference on Tuesday, Zipporah Allen, Sweetgreen’s chief commercial officer, said tests of the new pricing architecture will begin this month, though she didn’t say where or in how many locations.

That new strategy will look at new entry price points on the menu, but also price elasticity of some items. And a focus will be on the Create Your Bowl option, which accounts for about 25% of transactions.

Currently, it can feel like consumers are being nickeled and dimed as they build their bowls, she said.

“It’s not as great of an experience as it could be for the customer,” she said. “It’s not super clear for the customer what’s included in Create Your Own. You’ve got to pay extra for protein.”

Sales and challenges

The move comes in light of plummeting sales at Sweetgreen after a rough 2025. In the first quarter this year, Sweetgreen’s same-store sales fell nearly 13%, and traffic was down 11.2%.

Throughput and hospitality are also problem areas, and the chain is working on a One Best Way plan to improve store performance.

But the No. 1 barrier for Sweetgreen is the price value perception, Allen said, which cannot be fixed overnight. But the brand is making progress.

New wrap sandwiches, launched earlier this year, start at $10.95 and are considered a lower price point. So far, they are being perceived as good value for the money by consumers, she said.

The wraps, as a category, have opened up the opportunity for attachments, like beverages, desserts and sides. Sweetgreen has a number of attachment-worthy menu options in development that it hopes to test soon, she said.

And though guests traded down to wraps from bowls initially, the sandwich launch has brought guests back more often and for different occasions, like afternoons and weekends.

Menu and brand evolution

Sweetgreen has to “get beyond the bowl,” she said.

“When you think about Sweetgreen, everything comes in a bowl or a plate and requires a fork,” she added. “And so when we looked at the consumer needs across the category, and we looked at where we had a right to win with our ingredient quality, with our healthier and quality standards of our food, we saw an opportunity to make that more portable.”

The Cravings of the Month offer through the loyalty program is also helping drive in lapsed guests, with bowls offered at $12.

Sweetgreen has long been seen as a Millennial brand. Founded in 2007, the concept has grown up with that demographic. But now Sweetgreen is looking to connect with younger consumers, said Allen, and the new wraps seem to be attracting the attention of those Gen Z and younger consumers.

“We see a huge opportunity to reach a new audience and reach a younger demographic,” she said. “I think about it as lifestyle or life stage, where we need to be recruiting those folks that are coming out of school, that are just getting started on their adult life and have Sweetgreen be a part of that habit.”

Fundamentally, she said Sweetgreen needs to get back to brand relevance, sparking conversation about food and culture. The brand is really leaning into using social media go get that conversation going.

With the wrap launch, Sweetgreen enlisted an army of “macro, micro and nano” influencers to tap into diverse communities, which has helped drive virality.

Next year is Sweetgreen’s 20th anniversary, she noted.

“That presents a huge opportunity for us to celebrate all of the things that we’ve done from an ingredient and food quality standpoint,” she said.