Can I buy a Sweetgreen franchise?

Every Sweetgreen restaurant is company-owned and company-operated; it does not franchise. Sweetgreen’s own 10-K is direct: "we owned and operated 221 restaurants in 18 states and Washington, D.C." The company describes its restaurant base as owned, not franchised.

How much would a Sweetgreen franchise cost?

There is no franchise fee to report. Sweetgreen owns and operates all of its restaurants, leaving prospective applicants with no investment range or FDD to examine because no such program has ever existed.

Is owning a Sweetgreen location profitable?

There is no public unit-economics number available for citation. Sweetgreen, a public company (NYSE: SG), reports company-wide financial results, but those are corporate figures rather than a franchisee’s FDD Item 19 return. It publishes no such disclosure because it does not franchise.

What franchise can I buy instead of Sweetgreen?

US brands that DO accept individual franchise applications in the same category: , , , , , . Each has a verified profile on FRANticc with investment figures traced to its current FDD.

Has Sweetgreen ever franchised any of its restaurants?

No. Across its SEC filings, Sweetgreen describes every restaurant as company-owned and company-operated, with no franchise structure anywhere in its public reporting. As a public company, it has financed growth with Sweetgreen’s own capital rather than franchisee investment.

Sweetgreen Franchise: Not For Sale, Company-Owned

Restaurants (FY2023 10-K)

221 (18 states + DC)

Founded

2007

Ownership

Public (NYSE: SG)

Individual Franchise

Not Offered

How Sweetgreen Actually Operates in the US

Sweetgreen, Inc.

18 states + Washington, D.C. · 100% company-owned

Sweetgreen owns and operates every restaurant directly, while using its own capital as a public company to finance new openings. Its SEC filings describe growth solely as company-operated; its public disclosures contain no franchise division, franchise agreement, or FDD.

Why There's No Sweetgreen Franchise Fee to Quote

Sweetgreen’s own 10-K is direct: "we owned and operated 221 restaurants in 18 states and Washington, D.C." The company describes its restaurant base as owned, not franchised.
In that filing, "franchise" never appears as an explanation of Sweetgreen’s restaurant operations because there is no program of that kind to describe.
With no franchise structure in place, no franchise fee, investment range, or FDD has ever been published for a Sweetgreen restaurant.
As a public company, Sweetgreen pays for expansion through corporate capital rather than franchisee investment, so each new restaurant remains under direct company control.

Fast-casual sandwich and sub franchises that DO take applications from individual candidates

Sweetgreen’s counter-service, build-your-own setup is more comparable to fast-casual sandwich and sub chains than full-service restaurants, making these the closest US franchise concepts by operating model. Each is actively seeking franchisees, and the investment figures come from current FDDs.