Odd Lots

Why Salad Giant Sweetgreen Decided to Get Rid of Seed Oils

What does the future of the restaurant business look like? 

A sign for a Sweetgreen restaurant in Burbank, California, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. Sweetgreen Inc. released earnings figures on July 27.Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg
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Sweetgreen, the popular fast food salad restaurant, recently announced that it was eliminating all use of seed oils, in favor of higher quality oils such as avocado and olive oil. This is more costly, but the company sees it as worthwhile, given its reputation for high-quality ingredients, and growing public interest in oils. So how does a company like Sweetgreen decide what to sell? And how does it compete against the numerous other fast casual chains competing for lunchtime dollars. On this episode we speak with co-founder Nicolas Jammet about the company's strategy, how it deals with labor and commodity costs, and the future of the restaurant business. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.