It’s difficult to find a restaurant chain that has had as bad a 2025 as Sweetgreen. Same-store sales fell 7.9%, including an ungodly 11.5% decline in the fourth quarter. Worse, the weakening sales led to a widened loss, to $134.1 million from $90.4 million.
Its stock price has lost 76% of its value over the past year, and 89% since its 2021 IPO.
The worst part about the Sweetgreen sales decline is just how inexplicable it really is.
On one hand, it appears clear that consumers are cutting back on dining and have slowed spending at certain fast-casual chains. Both Chipotle and Cava had slower years in 2025, too. That suggests at least part of that difficulty is due to the environment and not because of anything specifically related to Sweetgreen.
Yet Sweetgreen underperformed Chipotle by 900 basis points, and Cava by 1,200 basis points. Wendy’s had a worse underperformance compared with McDonald’s and Burger King but in that case we can blame it on a lack of a CEO and a lack of a marketing late last year.
Some of Sweetgreen’s problems could be the “slop bowl” backlash, and that may help explain at least some of the numbers we’re seeing. Some non-slop-bowl fast-casual chains like Shake Shack and even Noodles outperformed those three brands last year.
Yet others, like Wingstop, also had tough years. And that still doesn’t account for Sweetgreen’s extreme underperformance compared with all of its fellow bowl brands.
There may be other issues, such as the push for protein. But we are skeptical that this would have much of an impact on Sweetgreen, which has put its share of protein-centric items on its menu.
Which brings us to price. As my colleague Lisa Jennings reported last month, Sweetgreen is simplifying its pricing structure so it can add more lower-priced entry points. The company is testing a line of wrap sandwiches—Wraps? Really?—starting at $10.95.
It’s understandable why Sweetgreen wants lower entry points into its menu. Consumers have been pushing brands hard on prices over the past few years and it’s easy to blame sales problems on value reputation.
Sweetgreen does have a reputation for “$20 salads.” But it is hardly alone in pricing its items toward the higher end of the spectrum. Indeed, its average check according to Technomic ($16) is right in between Chipotle ($17) and Cava ($15). It is more than Raising Cane’s (just under $15) and less than Shake Shack ($16.70).
But the chain crafted its business based on a model that targeted higher-income consumers with a fast-food business that promised fresher ingredients. It has a seasonal menu based on when items are available. That kind of model costs money.
By focusing on price, Sweetgreen may drive more of its existing customers to those cheaper items. If that happens too much, Wall Street pressure could lead the chain to cut costs to generate necessary profits. It’s not as if the chain is profitable right now to begin with.
And those cost cuts could, in theory, damage a model that was built on those fresh ingredients and a more expensive supply chain. That would put Sweetgreen in a dangerous cycle that would damage the brand’s long-term reputation as a higher-end fast-casual chain.
We are far more interested in a subsequent Lisa Jennings story, in which the company said that it wants to get back to being a lifestyle brand again. Sweetgreen was at its best when it was holding music festivals and touting the “sweetlife.”
Value isn't just about price, something we've learned a lot recently. If consumers think your product is worth it, they'll spend the money. Sweetgreen may need a lower entry point price. But it would be far better off convincing consumers that those "$20 salads" are indeed worth $20.