Chickening out
The 2 day Sweetgreen-Chipotle war is over after the salad maker agreed to change the name of its latest menu offering, the “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl”, after Chipotle filed a lawsuit accusing the chain of copyright infringement.
The move makes sense for Sweetgreen. The company's shares had closed 6% down on the day Chipotle staked its claims that the promotional materials for the product used the fast-Mexican chain’s iconic font and that the new “very similar and directly competitive” bowl could confuse customers.
Wilting
Sweetgreen was dreamed up back in 2007 by 3 college students who’d grown tired of the nutritious-but-overpriced or cheap-but-unhealthy options they’d encountered while at school. The company’s seen impressive growth since, from its debut store in Washington DC, to becoming the “first-ever restaurant unicorn”, and an IPO in 2021. Getting the financials into the green, however, hasn’t come easily.
Even though its salads and sides aren’t particularly wallet-friendly, Sweetgreen's bowls can easily cost $15+, the company is yet to turn its sales into profit. Despite revenues of $470m in 2022, Sweetgreen posted an operating loss of $193m, building on the $134m loss the year before. Even with the resolution of the lawsuit the company’s shares are still down ~85% since going public.
