They Just Wanted To Sell Better Food. Now Sweetgreen is Trading on the NYSE and Booking Music Stars.

Nicolas Jammet is a co-founder of Sweetgreen, the fast-casual brand that grew from college startup into a publicly traded company. From last-minute recipe rewrites to festival stages, Jammet helped shape Sweetgreen into a brand defined by thoughtful food, and tech-driven innovation.

Watch now to learn how three college friends built a big brand, why technology is at the heart of hospitality, and how a salad company ended up sharing a stage with The Weeknd.

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Chapters:

[02:46] - Birth of the Ripple Fry

[07:30] - Sidewalk Samples

[16:48] - Sweetgreen’s IPO Day

[22:11] - Early Tech Moves

[24:54] - The Infinite Kitchen

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RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST —

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

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Episode Links:

Nicolas Jammet LinkedIn

Nicolas Jammet Instagram

Sweetgreen Online

Sweetgreen LinkedIn

Sweetgreen Instagram

Sweetgreen Spotify

Sweetgreen Twitter/X

Key Takeaways:

From Samples to Stadium: Sweetgreen’s early hustle, including sidewalk DJ sets and handing out salad samples, wasn’t just noise. It laid the foundation for Sweetlife, a music festival that grew from a parking lot pop-up to a full-scale cultural event featuring Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and even a surprise visit from Taylor Swift.

Tech First, Guest Focused: While other chains scrambled to catch up to digital trends, Sweetgreen quietly built a tech-forward operation from the ground up. They introduced app ordering, self-serve pickup, and now robot-powered Infinite Kitchens that prioritize speed without losing soul.

Still That College Startup at Heart: Sweetgreen may be publicly traded now, but its origin story of three college kids pulling an all-nighter after their only laptop was stolen is more than just folklore. It’s the mindset that still drives the company: build fast, adapt constantly, and always bet on the long game.

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ABOUT NICOLAS JAMMET —

Nicolas Jammet is the Co-Founder & Chief Concept Officer of Sweetgreen, the mission driven restaurant brand that serves healthy food at scale. Nicolas and his co-founders started Sweetgreen in 2007, opening their first location in Georgetown, DC, just three months out of college. Their vision is to be as ubiquitous as traditional fast-food, but far more transparent and honest. Nicolas has been recognized as a key innovator in food and business, named to Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Inc.’s “30 Under 30”, Forbes’ “30 Under 30” and Food & Wine’s “40 Big Food Thinkers 40 and Under.”

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS —

Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Toast co-founder Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online.

Published by Entrepreneur Media

Produced by Cali BBQ Media