Sweetgreen Receives $35 Million In Funding To Open More Locations

Sweetgreen will be receiving $35 million in funding to open new locations, according to BuzzFeed News.

Sweetgreen is a salad chain based in Washington, D.C. that currently has 31 stores on the East Coast and in California. The funds were managed by investment company T. Rowe Price with additional funding from Revolution Growth, an investment company with a focus on smaller brands and entrepreneurs.

Jonathan Neman, co-founder and co-CEO of Sweetgreen, told BuzzFeed News that although the salad chain will be adding more stores, it does not plan to franchise. This year, Sweetgreen intends to open 10 more locations in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, New York, Boston, D.C., and Philadelphia. They also plan to expand into two new markets in 2016.

There are also plans to invest in new technology, with 25 percent of orders made via the restaurant's app and accompanying rewards program.

Sweetgreen, which follows the Chipotle model of allowing customers to choose what goes into their meal and demonstrating concern about using humanely-raised livestock, is trying to position themselves as unlike other salad chains by claiming they use local and organic ingredients from farmers and partners, with emphasis on making "Food With Integrity."

The company raised $95 million since it was founded eight years ago.