What Just Salad does

Just Salad is a New York-headquartered, private fast-casual restaurant chain founded in 2006 by Nick Kenner, operating 120+ company-owned locations across eight U.S. states (Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Washington D.C.). The chain sells plant-centric salads, wraps, warm bowls, soups, and smoothies, with menu items priced between $4.69 and $14.89, targeting the office lunch crowd with orders under $20. The company operates as a Certified B Corporation and differentiates on sustainability, being one of the first U.S. chains to carbon-label all menu items (since 2020, verified by Planet FWD), running the world's largest restaurant reusable bowl program (MyBowl and BringBack), and offering checkout-time carbon offsets via Patch.

The underlying technology stack centers on a native iOS/Android mobile app that integrates ordering, the gamified JS Rewards loyalty program, the Salad AI recipe generator (a text-based recommendation engine), and the BringBack reusable bowl return flow. Operations use Claude AI to support pricing discipline and unit economics. Distribution is omnichannel across dine-in, takeout, delivery, and a newly piloted drive-thru format, supplemented by corporate catering and gift cards. Recent product launches include Market Plates (March 2025, a permanent dinner category), Salad AI (January 2025), and JS Rewards (February 2026).

The business model is straightforward transaction-based restaurant revenue across geographically distributed company-owned stores, with preliminary 2025 revenue of $195 million (up from $160 million in 2024) and a 20% growth projection for 2026. Just Salad maintains 22% store-level margins for three consecutive years, has delivered five consecutive years of same-store sales growth, and reports over 50% cash-on-cash returns on new locations by year two. Capital structure is private, anchored by a $200 million raise in early 2025 at a $1 billion post-money valuation led by Wellington Management, alongside D1 Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman, and Stripes, with prior investment from Closed Loop Partners and Panda Restaurant Group.

Name

Just Salad

Legal name

Just Salad

Website

https://justsalad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Just Salad is a New York-headquartered, Certified B Corporation fast-casual chain operating 120+ locations across eight U.S. states, selling plant-centric salads, bowls, wraps, and smoothies to health-conscious office workers and consumers, with a mobile app integrating loyalty, AI recipe recommendations, and reusable bowl returns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-casual restaurant chain

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls) (THAFABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthy/Salad/Grain Bowl QSR (THAFAAAJ), Health & Wellness / Functional Fast Casual (macro-counted, high-protein, allergen-friendly) (THAFABAO), Plant-Based & Vegan Fast Casual (THAFABAK)

Keywords

• Fast casual dining
• Plant based meals
• Healthy salad chain
• Sustainable restaurant
• Mobile food ordering

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices21 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food and Beverage Sales: Core revenue from operating fast-casual restaurant locations selling salads, wraps, warm bowls, soups, and smoothies for dine-in, takeout, and delivery. Preliminary 2025 revenue of $195 million, up from $160 million in 2024. The company maintains 22% store-level margins for three straight years.
2. Mobile App and Digital Ordering: Revenue generated through the Just Salad mobile app for ordering, featuring the BringBack reusable bowl program for pickup orders. The app also includes loyalty rewards and carbon offset purchasing options.
3. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering services providing plant-centric meals for offices and parties, contributing to revenue through larger order values.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Just Salad operates a fast-casual restaurant chain selling plant-centric meals including salads, wraps, warm bowls, soups, smoothies, and Market Plates across more than 120 locations in 8 U.S. states. The chain is supported by a mobile app for digital ordering, a loyalty program (JS Rewards), an AI ordering assistant (Salad AI), and sustainability features including per-item carbon labeling verified by Planet FWD, carbon offsets via Patch, and reusable bowl programs (MyBowl and BringBack).

Product overview

Just Salad operates as a fast-casual restaurant chain with a digital-first business model offering plant-centric meals through both physical restaurant locations and a native mobile application. The core product is the Just Salad Mobile App, which serves as the primary ordering channel and integrates all digital services including the JS Rewards loyalty program, Salad AI recipe generator, and carbon labeling features. The company differentiates through its sustainability-focused product portfolio including reusable bowl programs (MyBowl and BringBack), carbon labeling on all menu items, and Go Carbon Neutral checkout offsets via Patch. Food offerings span the core menu of salads, wraps, warm bowls, soups, and smoothies, supplemented by seasonal menus and Market Plates for dinner. Supporting services include catering for offices and events, and gift cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JS Rewards: Gamified loyalty program that replaces traditional points-based systems with instant rewards for purchases over $12
• Salad AI
• Market Plates

Products and services

• Salads and wraps
• Warm bowls Hot, plant-based bowl entrées served alongside salads and wraps in Just Salad locations.
• Soups Soups available as a rotating or seasonal menu offering at Just Salad locations.
• Smoothies Fruit- and plant-based smoothies sold as beverage options across Just Salad locations.
• Market Plates Market Plate menu category providing a curated plant-based plate offering at Just Salad restaurants.
• Catering services Group meal and corporate catering service providing plant-centric Just Salad menu items for office lunches, team meals, and events.
• Just Salad mobile app Proprietary mobile application enabling digital ordering, loyalty rewards enrollment (JS Rewards), AI-assisted ordering (Salad AI), and access to per-item carbon labeling data for Just Salad customers.
• Reusable bowl program (MyBowl and BringBack) Reusable bowl initiative offering customers reusable bowl options (MyBowl and BringBack) as an alternative to single-use packaging at Just Salad locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22% store-level margins maintained for three consecutive years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• USA RiceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2025Month-long campaign in December 2025 promoting U.S.-grown basmati rice through in-store signage, co-branded social media, customer emails, and paid advertising featuring the Chicken Tzatziki Market Plate.
• Celebrity Chef Marc ForgioneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2024Partnership with acclaimed NYC chef and restauranteur Marc Forgione to create recipes featured across all Just Salad locations.
• Sesame WorkshopminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated first-ever Kids Menu available in-store across all Just Salad locations, with limited-edition reusable bowls based on iconic Sesame Street characters.
• Celebrity Chef Amanda CohenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichelin star chef partnership to create recipes across all Just Salad locations.
• PatchcoreTechnology or IntegrationCarbon credit partner allowing customers to offset their order's carbon footprint at checkout through verified nature-based projects.
• Planet FWDcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party carbon management platform that verifies Just Salad's carbon labels using cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessments compliant with GHG Protocol and ISO 14040/4.
• Dave Portnoy / Barstool SportsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBarstool Sports featuring Dave Portnoy who showcased and rated a variety of salads, giving them a 9.2 rating.
• PoppiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital exclusive pairing menu featuring 3 salad + Poppi combinations launched with influencer @bran_flakezz.
• 4Roots FoundationminorOthersCharity partner for Orlando-area locations, receiving donations during grand openings.
• IDEAS For UsminorOthersCharity partner for Altamonte Springs location grand opening, receiving $1 per in-store purchase during celebration.
• Black Earth CompostminorOthersCharity partner for Dedham, MA grand opening, receiving $1 per purchase donation on opening day.
• Riverbend Environmental Education CenterminorOthersCharity partner for Ardmore, PA location, receiving $1 per in-store purchase during grand opening.
• Seatuck Environmental AssociationminorOthersCharity partner for North Babylon, NY location grand opening celebration.
• Live GreenminorOthersCharity partner for Norwalk, CT location grand opening Giveback Day.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Salad and Go: Drive-thru-focused salad chain that pioneered the high-volume drive-thru salad model. Directly relevant to Just Salad's drive-thru pilot because it demonstrates the unit-economic and operational template for the format Just Salad is now testing.
• Sweetgreen: Largest direct competitor and the category-defining fast-casual salad chain. Sweetgreen competes in the same price point, target customer (health-conscious urban professionals), and plant-forward value proposition, with significantly greater scale and national footprint.
• Dig: Northeast-based fast-casual concept offering salads, bowls, and warm plates with a similar health-and-quality positioning. Dig is a closer direct competitor in the New York City trade area and similar mid-market price band.
• CAVA: Fast-casual Mediterranean chain positioned in the same health-conscious, customizable-bowl category. CAVA competes for the same lunch traffic, uses a similar direct-to-consumer digital model, and has achieved materially greater scale and public-market valuation.
• Chopt Creative Salad Company: East Coast salad-focused fast-casual chain with a similar build-your-own bowl model, comparable price points, and significant overlap in the New York and mid-Atlantic markets where Just Salad is densest.

Broad incumbents

• Pret a Manger: Global fast-casual chain with a strong New York City presence selling salads, wraps, bowls, and soups. Directly comparable on menu structure, urban office-worker target customer, and grab-and-go service model.
• Panera Bread: Larger, established fast-casual chain with overlapping menu categories (soups, salads, bowls) and a similar digital/loyalty program model. Competes for the same lunch occasion but with a much broader menu and significantly larger footprint.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill: Mass-market fast-casual giant with a customizable bowl model that competes for the same healthy-lunch customer. Sets the upper bound on operational scale and digital ordering maturity that Just Salad is building toward.

Emerging players

• CoreLife Eatery: Emerging fast-casual concept with a build-your-own bowl/salad model, similar price point, and comparable health-and-wellness positioning. Represents the next tier of smaller, regional chains nipping at the same customer base.
• Tender Greens: Smaller, chef-driven fast-casual chain offering salads, warm bowls, and plates with a premium, sustainability-oriented brand similar to Just Salad. Comparable in scale and concept positioning but with a primarily West Coast footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/justsalad
• Facebookfacebook.com/justsalad
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/just-salad
• Instagraminstagram.com/justsalad
• TikToktiktok.com/@justsalad

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Just Salad