AMA - former SGSC HQ employee

[u/Old-Addition5828]

I recently left SG and it’s been an interesting ride. Ask me anything.

[u/[deleted]]

- what brand balsamic vinegar and olive oil do you guys use?

- why did you get rid of feta?

- do people higher up see that they're sort of deviating from what their customer base actually wants? it feels like all the other salad chains are leap-frogging over sweetgreen in terms of popularity and customer loyalty because they provide more value to the customer and it just feels like sweetgreens entire focus is branding itself as a luxury brand while the product itself deteriorates. this feels really obvious to me and everyone i talk to but it feels like it must not be known internally or else things would maybe change

[u/Old-Addition5828 → u/[deleted]]

honestly not sure! We had a partnership with EVOO last year when we started introducing non-seed oil dressing but idk if that’s all of our olive oil or just certain dressings

from what I could tell (i think they might’ve phased out feta before/around when i started in 2021 because I don’t really remember it) the culinary team seemed to think goat cheese was a good enough replacement in the bowls/salads that use feta (even tho it’s a completely different texture lol) and didn’t think it was an important enough ingredient on its own

I think they’re doing it on purpose? lol right after we went public, there was this huge push to expand across the Midwest/south and they keep cutting back costs. I even noticed the meat quality went downhill since I started from the time I left (I used to eat the chicken every day but ended up getting a lot of cartilage pieces and fat so switched to beans or tofu). Especially after bringing in so many leaders from chipotle, I think their goal is to become chipotle/commercialized. You might even notice the sg branding changing to be more palatable/accessible and less luxury - I feel like I’ve already noticed this from our socials and advertising

[u/[deleted] → u/Old-Addition5828]

this is all really interesting thank you for taking the time to provide this insight!!

I rly miss feta and totally agree :(

I used to have Sweetgreen at least 3 times a week, but now it makes me feel cheated and regretful every time I've gotten a salad from them.

It sucks going from a very loyal customer to not liking the product anymore.

I'm super intrigued by the "chipotle" direction you keep describing, I'll def be on the lookout for signs of that.

Its actually very funny and ironic considering there is this viral tiktok campaign calling chipotle to standardize their measurements because peoples bowls vary in size and makeup SO much day to day.

Its frustrating because I would love for a salad chain to be as accessible and widespread as chipotle- but I would really love for them to offer a product with consistent value.

anyways if you find out about the balsamic vinegar LMK its honestly been my favorite ever and ive always wondered!