One out of five Sweetgreen transactions now includes a wrap, several months after the fast-casual chain rolled out the menu platform nationwide in May. The item, which averages about $12.50, has posted strong repeat visit rates and is pulling Sweetgreen into lunch, snacking and dinner occasions beyond its core workday-lunch business.

The wraps contributed positively to second-quarter comparable sales, President and CEO Jonathan Neman said during an August earnings call. Transactions improved by 500 basis points in the quarter. Same-store sales still fell 6.2%, but that marked an improvement from a 7.6% decline in the first quarter of 2026 — the clearest sign yet that Sweetgreen's Sweet Growth Transformation Plan, unveiled earlier this year, may be stabilizing traffic after several quarters of declines.

The plan targets operational improvements, food quality, customer experience and brand relevance. Wraps sit at the center of that effort.

"One of the things that we're really focused on is modernizing the brand for the next generation," said Zipporah Allen, Sweetgreen's chief commercial officer.

Gen Z traffic outpaces the rest

Transactions from Gen Z customers have grown at twice the rate of order growth from other generations, Allen said. To reach that cohort, Sweetgreen ran its first major social media campaign for the wraps, partnering with hundreds of creators across different demographics and subcommunities. The brand invited creators to taste and honestly review the product. One TikToker, Taryn Delanie Smith, posted a video of herself talking in her car while eating a Sweetgreen wrap, generating comments and customer interest.

"We're experimenting with different places to make sure that we are meeting this next generation of consumers where they are and how they consume media," Allen said.

Sweetgreen has not abandoned millennials, who came of age with the brand and built the workday-lunch habit that anchored the chain from its founding. Allen noted that the menu has since broadened with plates and kids' meals, and wraps now span every generation that shops at Sweetgreen.

"When you think about convenience and on-the-go, that is a universal occasion that we can appeal to," she said.

Staged operational testing

Sweetgreen built the wraps through the stage-gate procedures it implemented a little over a year ago — around the time it cut the popular but operationally complex Ripple Fries. Development began with a tortilla matching the chain's ingredient standards: only water, salt, olive oil and flour.

Execution came next. Sweetgreen shut a La Brea, California restaurant for half a day to run what Allen called an "operations shakedown," testing whether ingredients should be filled along the makeline or mixed first and wrapped at the end. Even the cut was a decision: management settled on a middle cut so first bites include all ingredients rather than a tortilla-heavy start.

The chain then ran broader operational testing at roughly eight Los Angeles restaurants, modeling the wraps' impact on throughput, before expanding to 68 stores in New York, the Midwest and Los Angeles in February. The national launch followed in May with three flavors — Classic Chicken Caesar, Chicken Jalapeno Ranch and Cali Chicken Club — plus a rotating seasonal limited-time wrap.

Customization has exceeded management expectations. Tests showed customers wanted salmon in their wraps; leadership initially doubted the single-muscle fillet would work folded in, but allowed it and the response has been positive, Allen said. Guests can now convert bowls and plates into wraps — ordering a Harvest Bowl with a tortilla on the side, for example, wrapping a portion and saving the rest.

Digital and loyalty levers

Sweetgreen updated its rewards program to include wrap redemptions and introduced $3 and $5 credits for more flexible, personalized rewards. Members spend almost three times more than non-members and visit more frequently. Allen framed loyalty as a growth engine that will move beyond transactions toward community, with updates appearing next year. The chain refreshed its app in late summer, adding one-click reordering.

The pipeline extends beyond wraps. Sweetgreen is testing a house-made beverage program in 100 restaurants, citing growth in drinks among Gen Z consumers, and is planning protein-focused menu items for the rest of the year. The app now highlights fiber content to make nutrition more transparent at ordering.

"We're still in the middle of executing our Sweet Growth Transformation Plan, and when I look at the menu and our innovation, it really is centered around this idea of deepening our relationship with our existing customers, and then leveraging our menu to attract new customers," Allen said. "We've got some fun stuff for the back half of the year and into 2027."