Just Salad

Just Salad is a US-based fast-casual restaurant chain founded in 2006. Its restaurants serve salads, wraps, and house-made dressings and beverages. As of 2025 it has 100 outlets in the Northeast, Midwest and South. Nick Kenner is Just Salad's president and CEO. The chain is known for its re-usable bowls.

History

Just Salad was founded in 2006 by Nick Kenner and his childhood friend Rob Crespi, who noticed the lack of healthy, easily accessible eating places in Midtown Manhattan.[1] They raised the start-up capital to open their first Just Salad in 2006.[2]

By 2016, the company had grown to 29 outlets.[3] That year, Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of the Panda Express restaurants, invested an undisclosed sum in Just Salad. Additional funding came in 2021 from Closed Loop Partners, a private investment group that supports companies using sustainable materials and production systems; as well as a further investment round from Panda Restaurant Group. In February 2025 the company announced that it had raised about $200 million from Wellington Management, D1 Capital Partners, Neuberger Berman, and Stripes,[4] reportedly giving Just Salad a valuation of $1 billion.[5]

Growth

The funding in 2016 and 2021 allowed Just Salad to expand.[3] From 47 outlets in 2021,[6] the company doubled the number of restaurants over the next four years. As of 2025, Just Salad had 100 locations in seven states; all but two are company owned.[4]

Technology

In January 2025, as part its mobile app, Just Salad introduced an artificial intelligence tool, based on Open AI's GPT-4o that suggests menu options for customers based on their input of diet goals and taste preferences.[7][8]

Sustainability

MyBowl, the restaurant's reusable bowl program began in 2006 as part of a company priority to reduce carbon emissions and food and packaging waste.[6][9] Customers buy a portion-sized bowl from Just Salad, and every time they use it when ordering, they receive a free topping.[9] In 2021, the company expanded the returnable bowl program to include online ordering: customers who request a reusable bowl receive a free topping. The re-usable and returnable bowl programs reportedly save an estimated 40 tons of waste per year.[10]

In 2019 the company hired Sandra Noonan, former vice president at Morgan Stanley's Institute for Sustainable Investing, as chief sustainability officer to expand Just Salad's sustainability efforts.[11] The company partners with Planet FWD to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of its menu ingredients, packaging, and other operational areas and sells surplus food via Too Good to Go to reduce waste-related emissions.[11] As of 2020, Just Salad menus have listed the carbon content of each dish, becoming the first restaurant to do so.[12]

In 2023, Just Salad earned a B Corporation certification of sustainability with an overall score of 80.4 out of 100.[13][14]

Partnerships

• Marc Forgione, Michelin-starred chef and owner of Respect Hospitality Group, to create a mezze salad.[15]
• Amanda Cohen, Michelin-starred chef of Dirt Candy, to create an entirely plant-based salad.[16]
• Sesame Workshop, to create a kid's menu of healthy menu options and provide nutritional eating content.[17]
• Kathryn Kellogg, advocate of sustainability and plastic-free living, founder of Going Zero, and spokesperson for National Geographic, to create a pickle-based salad.[18]
• PanCAN Purple Stride NYC, a leading sponsor of a run-walk race in New York City, to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research.[12]

Legal issues

In 2018, 16 delivery workers sued Just Salad and its CEO, Nick Kenner in New York's Southern District for wage-related and other employment violations. In 2022, the majority of the charges, including those against Kenner, were dismissed as "moot or without merit". The remainder were settled.[19]

External links

• CASE STUDY: Environmental Impact Comparison of Just Salad's Reusable Bowl and Disposable Containers, NY state Pollution Prevention Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology.