Sweetgreen has been losing millions selling $16 salads — will fries help it turn a profit?

On Tuesday, Sweetgreen announced the launch of “Ripple Fries,” an air-fried (read: rapidly baked) potato product made with only five simple ingredients, described by the salad maker as “a fresh take on a fast food staple.” Indeed, Sweetgreen’s fries notch only 240 calories per portion — around 161 fewer calories than the same weighted amount of McDonald’s fries.

But will the humble french fry finally be what tips Sweetgreen into profitability, something that even robot chefs and steak salads have yet to achieve thus far?

Potayto, potahto

Sweetgreen’s annual report for fiscal year 2024, which disappointed investors last week, showed that despite some of its base menu items touching nearly $18 and the company’s revenues soaring to $677 million (up 16% year on year), the fast-casual restaurant chain still made a ~$90 million net loss. To put this into perspective, by indexing Sweetgreen’s earnings to $16, roughly the average cost of a meal item at the chain, you can see that the company lost about $2.26 for each typical salad it sold in 2024.

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