Seed Money

Sustainable Salad Chainlet Sweetgreen Raised $18.5 Million for Expansion

Let it grow.
Let it grow. Photo: Sweetgreen/Facebook

Venture-capital firm Revolution Growth and Stonyfield Farms founder Gary Hirshberg are among the heavy hitters behind an impressive $18.5 million investment in Sweetgreen. Impressively, the release adds that Danny Meyer and Daniel Boulud are newly minted investors in the rapidly expanding fast-casual salad chain, which makes ample use of local and seasonal ingredients. Throw in all sorts of biodegradable packaging, a carbon-neutral annual music festival, a companion educational component called Sweetgreen in Schools, and a mobile payment app, and the salad restaurant becomes a “lifestyle brand.”

In other words, the chain, which was co-founded by Nicolas Jammet, the son of the owners of New York’s famed La Caravelle, may soon be poised for a more robust national expansion, à la Chipotle. Its Williamsburg and Nolita stores are opening any day now, and in addition to expansion throughout Boston and Philadelphia, Sweetgreen will open in West Hollywood and Santa Monica early next year.

Related: Sweetgreen Opening in Williamsburg

Sustainable Salad Chainlet Sweetgreen Raised $18.5 Million for Expansion