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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 26, 2021

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 001-41069

SWEETGREEN, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

(323) 990-7040

Registrant's telephone number, including area code

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Class A common stock SG New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer o

Non-accelerated filer x Smaller reporting company o

Emerging growth company x

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes o No x

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on November 22, 2021, based on the closing price of $44.38 per share of the Registrant’s Class A common stock as reported by the New York Stock Exchange, was approximately $3.8 billion. The Registrant has elected to use November 22, 2021, which was the closing date of the Registrant’s initial public offering, as the calculation date because on June 27, 2021 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), the Registrant was a privately held company. This calculation does not reflect a determination that certain persons are affiliates of the Registrant for any other purpose.

The registrant had 96,803,554 shares of Class A common stock and 13,477,303 shares of Class B common stock outstanding as of March 1, 2022.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K are incorporated by reference in Part III, Items 10-14 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Page

Part I

Item 1. Business 7

Item 1A. Risk Factors 14

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 53

Item 2. Properties 53

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 53

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 53

Part II

Item 6. [Reserved] 56

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 83

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data F-1

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 107

Item 9B. Other Information 107

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdiction that Prevent Inspections 107

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 108

Item 11. Executive Compensation 108

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 108

Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules II-1

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary II-3

Signatures S-1

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report, including statements regarding our future results of operations or financial condition, business strategy, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “are confident that,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the following:

•our expectations regarding our revenue, restaurant operating costs, operating expenses, and other results of operations, as well as our key operating metrics;

•our expectations regarding our sales channel mix and impact on our margins and business;

•our expectations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on our business and results of operations;

•our expectations about customer behavior trends;

•our plan to approximately double our current footprint of restaurants over the next three to five years and our goal of operating 1,000 restaurants by the end of the decade;

•our plan to diversify our store formats and to bring sweetgreen into a wider variety of neighborhoods;

•our bold vision to be as ubiquitous as traditional fast food, but with the transparency and quality that consumers increasingly expect;

•our commitment to becoming carbon neutral by the end of 2027;

•industry and market trends and our anticipated market opportunity;

•the costs and success of our sales and marketing efforts and our ability to promote our brand;

•our successful development and integration of Spyce’s automation technology;

•potential future investments in our business, our anticipated capital expenditures, and our estimates regarding our capital requirements;

•the effect of inflation on our business, including on labor rates and on our supply chain costs, as well as any future pricing actions taken in an effort to mitigate the effects of inflation;

•our ability to effectively manage and scale our supply chain; and

•our growth strategies

You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and operating results. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment.

New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report. The results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, statements that contain “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report. While we believe that information provides a reasonable basis for these statements, that information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve

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the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments.

GLOSSARY

General

Comparable Restaurant Base. Comparable Restaurant Base for any measurement period is defined as all restaurants that have operated for at least twelve full months as of the end of such measurement period, other than any restaurants that had a material, temporary closure during the relevant measurement period. Historically, a restaurant has been considered to have had a material, temporary closure if it had no operations for a consecutive period of at least 30 days. As a result of material, temporary closures in the second and third fiscal quarters of fiscal year 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 19 restaurants were excluded from our Comparable Restaurant Base as of the end of fiscal year 2020. No restaurants were excluded from our Comparable Restaurant Base as of the end of fiscal years 2019 or 2021.

Channels

We have five main sales channels: In-Store, Marketplace, Native Delivery, Outpost, and Pick-Up. We own and operate all of these channels other than our Marketplace Channel, which is operated by various third-party delivery marketplaces.

In-Store Channel. In-Store Channel refers to sales to customers who make in-store purchases in our restaurants, whether they pay by cash, credit card, or digital scan-to-pay. Purchases made in our In-Store Channel via cash or credit card are referred to as “Non-Digital” transactions, and purchases made in our In-Store Channel via digital scan-to-pay are included as part of our Owned Digital Channels.

Marketplace Channel. Marketplace Channel refers to sales to customers for delivery or pick-up made through third-party delivery marketplaces, including Caviar, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats.

Native Delivery Channel. Native Delivery Channel refers to sales to customers for delivery made through the sweetgreen website or mobile app.

Outpost Channel. Outpost Channel refers to sales to customers for delivery made through the sweetgreen website or mobile app to our Outposts, which are our trademark offsite drop-off points at offices, residential buildings, and hospitals.

Owned Digital Channels. Owned Digital Channels encompasses our Pick-Up Channel, Native Delivery Channel, and Outpost Channel, and purchases made in our In-Store Channel via digital scan-to-pay.

Pick-Up Channel. Pick-Up Channel refers to sales to customers made for pick up at one of our restaurants through the sweetgreen website or mobile app.

Total Digital Channels. Total Digital Channels consist of our Owned Digital Channels and our Marketplace Channel, and include our revenues from all of our channels except those from Non-Digital transactions made through our In-Store Channel.

Key Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

For definitions of our key metrics, Average Unit Volume (“AUV”), Net New Restaurant Openings, Same-Store Sales Change, Total Digital Revenue Percentage, and Owned Digital Revenue Percentage, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Metrics.” For definitions of our Non-GAAP Financial Measures, Restaurant-Level Profit, Restaurant-Level Profit Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

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Restaurant-Level Profit, Restaurant-Level Profit Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” for more information, including the limitations of such measures, and a reconciliation of each of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measures stated in accordance with GAAP.

SUMMARY RISK FACTORS

Investing in our Class A common stock involves numerous risks, including the risks described in “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report. Below are some of these risks, any one of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

•We operate in a highly competitive industry. If we are not able to compete effectively, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

•Pandemics or disease outbreaks, such as the recent outbreak of COVID-19, have disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, our business, and have adversely affected our operations and results of operations.

•Changes in economic conditions and the customer behavior trends they drive, including long-term customer behavior trends following the COVID-19 pandemic, which are uncertain, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

•Our future growth depends significantly on our ability to open new restaurants and is subject to many unpredictable factors.

•Our long-term success is highly dependent on our ability to effectively identify and secure appropriate sites for new restaurants.

•Our expansion into new markets may present increased risks.

•New restaurants, once opened, may not be profitable, and the increases in Average Unit Volume that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of future results, and new restaurants may negatively impact sales at our existing restaurants.

•Our success depends substantially on the value of our brand and failure to preserve its value or changes in customer recognition of our brand, including due to negative publicity, could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

•Food safety and foodborne illness concerns could have an adverse effect on our business.

•We have incurred significant losses since inception. We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, as we grow our business, increase our new restaurant openings, and invest into new technology, and we may not achieve profitability.

•Increases in labor costs, labor shortages, and any difficulties in attracting, motivating and retaining well-qualified employees could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

•Acquisitions could be difficult to identify, pose integration challenges, divert the attention of management, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value, and adversely affect our results of operations and expansion prospects.

•Governmental regulation may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

•Changes in employment laws may increase our labor costs and impact our results of operations.

•We have been and will likely continue to be party to litigation that could distract management, increase our expenses, or subject us to monetary damages or other remedies.

•If we experience a serious cybersecurity incident, or the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of our information technology, software, services, communications, or data is compromised, our platform may be perceived as not being secure, our reputation may be harmed, demand for our products and services may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities.

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•We are subject to rapidly changing and increasingly stringent laws, regulations, industry standards, and other obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security. The restrictions and costs imposed by these requirements, or our actual or perceived failure to comply with them, could harm our business.

•We may not be able to adequately protect or enforce our rights in our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our brand and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Our Mission

To Build Healthier Communities by Connecting People to Real Food

Overview

Sweetgreen, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “sweetgreen”, “we”, “us” or the “Company”) is a mission-driven, next generation restaurant and lifestyle brand that serves healthy food at scale. Our bold vision is to be as ubiquitous as traditional fast food, but with the transparency and quality that consumers increasingly expect. As of December 26, 2021, we owned and operated 150 restaurants in 13 states and Washington, D.C.

Our Food Ethos

We believe the choices we make about what we eat, where it comes from and how it is prepared have a direct impact on our health, our communities and the planet. This is our Food Ethos, and it is firmly rooted in every aspect of our business. At sweetgreen, we only serve Real Food, which for us means:

•Plant-forward

•Celebrates seasonality

•Made fresh in our restaurants

•Prioritizes organic, regenerative, and local sourcing

•Meets strict and humane animal welfare and seafood standards

•Free of highly-processed preservatives, artificial flavors, and refined or hidden sugars

•Mindful of the carbon impact of each ingredient to protect future generations

This commitment to our Food Ethos keeps our food delicious, nutrient dense and sustainable. At sweetgreen, Real Food tastes better, makes you feel better, and drives the frequency that has defined our success.

Our Menu Offering

We have designed our menu to be delicious, customizable and convenient to empower our customers to make healthier choices for both lunch and dinner. We are constantly seeking ways to enhance our menu, all while honoring our Food Ethos.

Our Core Menu

•Our core menu features 11 curated, signature items which are offered year-round in all of our locations.

•In addition to our core menu items, our single most popular item is the “custom” salad or bowl, which can include millions of combinations from 40-plus ingredients prepared fresh in each of our restaurants every day, as well as our made-from-scratch dressings.

•We keep our menu fresh by curating a smaller seasonal menu five times per year. We believe our seasonal menu rotation, which celebrates the strength of our regional supply chain by highlighting

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fresh local ingredients, increases order frequency by introducing new flavor combinations for our customers to sample.

•On our Owned Digital Channels, we offer exclusive menu items, including seasonal digital exclusives and curated “collections” relevant to each customer.

Our Supply Chain

We have built a differentiated, end-to-end supply chain that begins with more than 200 domestic food partners, such as farmers and bakers, and culminates in delicious, high-quality food for our customers. Consistent with our Food Ethos, we prioritize ingredients that are certified organic, regenerative, or locally sourced, and meet strict and humane animal welfare and seafood standards. We build direct relationships with our farmers and growers and we are proud to showcase them on the walls of every restaurant and spotlight them on our digital platform. Our national supply chain is organized into regional distribution networks that align retail proximity with cultivation, while also making it easy to leverage existing relationships as we enter new markets in that region.

Quality Control and Food Safety

At sweetgreen, we refer to food safety as our “license to operate.” For sweetgreen, food safety starts with our food supply. All of our suppliers provide appropriate food safety certification and third-party audits as part of the onboarding process. After onboarding, we work closely with our suppliers to ensure they adhere to our product quality specifications. We also follow a Comprehensive Food Safety Plan(“CFSP”), which includes our Approved Supplier Program, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Program, guidelines for restaurant design, construction and maintenance, new product commercialization processes, and crisis management. As part of our CFSP, we have a set of “sweet clean standards” in each of our restaurants, which are guides for operators to ensure our approach to food safety is consistent and scalable across our restaurant fleet. Food safety is an integral element of our field leadership bonus plan; our operators do not receive certain bonuses unless they meet our food safety thresholds for the relevant period. On top of our CFSP sits a system of verification, audits, and monitoring to ensure our food safety is not compromised.

Our Real Estate

We opened 31 domestic, company-owned restaurants in fiscal year 2021 and plan to approximately double our current footprint of restaurants over the next three to five years with a goal of operating 1,000 restaurants by the end of the decade. As we continue to expand, we are confident that our compelling restaurant-level economics will continue to work across geographies and market types.

We utilize a rigorous, data-driven real estate selection process to identify new restaurant sites with both high anticipated foot traffic and proximity to workplaces and residences that support our multi-channel approach. We have incorporated additional capacity, including secondary lines, in the majority of our restaurants so they can flex to handle fluctuations in order volumes.

We are constantly testing new restaurant design concepts to densify our markets and to bring sweetgreen into a wider variety of neighborhoods. We have thoughtfully designed all of our restaurants to both reflect the culture and feel of our local communities and to support our multiple digital channels. For instance, we recently added exterior pick-up windows as well as curbside pick-up at several locations. We continue to explore other design features and real estate formats, such as smaller format digital-only fulfillment restaurants and drive-thru and drive-up ordering concepts in more suburban markets.

Our Technology

Our Customer-Facing Digital Platform

We have a five-channel model that is designed to make it easy for our customers to order sweetgreen how they want, whenever they want.

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Pick-Up. Customers place their order through our mobile app or website and pick it up from their chosen sweetgreen location at the time most convenient for them.

Native Delivery. We launched our Native Delivery Channel in January 2020, and believe it offers a superior customer experience to our Marketplace Channel, with lower menu item pricing than our Marketplace Channel, greater delivery radii than our Marketplace Channel in many locations, enhanced customization features, exclusive access to our seasonal menu items and ingredients, and online exclusives and promotions.

Outpost. Our Outpost Channel enables office workers, hospital workers, or building residents to get their custom sweetgreen order delivered directly to an outpost station at their location during a dedicated time window each day, with lower customer fees than our delivery channels. As of the end of fiscal year 2021, we had 481 live Outpost locations.

In-Store. Despite a strategic focus on our Owned Digital Channels, our In-Store Channel is core to our platform and serves as a critical path to attract new customers via our iconic physical locations. Customers can pay digitally using the “scan-to-pay” feature on our mobile app, which can provide customers access to certain digital-only promotions.

Marketplace. Our Marketplace Channel often serves as an effective means to reach new digital customers who have not used our native mobile app or website before. We then aim to convert Marketplace customers to our digital platform.

For fiscal year 2021, 46.1% of our revenue was from our Owned Digital Channels. When including orders placed on our Marketplace Channel, this digital share increases to 67.4% of our fiscal year 2021 revenue.The convenience of our multi-channel approach, combined with our ability to offer personalized content and recommendations, results in a highly engaged cohort of habitual sweetgreen customers. Not only are our owned digital users our most frequent customers, but the average order value (which is the dollar value of an order exclusive of taxes and any fees paid by the customer) for orders placed on our Owned Digital Channels is significantly higher than Non-Digital orders placed through our In-Store Channel.

Proprietary Technology Powers our Operations at Scale

In addition to our customer-facing digital platform, we have also invested in technology to support our back of house operations and simplify the work of our team members. These investments include leveraging systems that manage daily inventory in our restaurants to ensure freshness, guides prep work, optimizes our meal assembly process, and manages our team members’ output to enhance our order fulfillment times.

Our Marketing Strategy

Our brand is designed to inspire consumers to live healthier lives without compromising their values. Our goal is to connect food and culture to amplify our mission both in our restaurants and on our digital platform. We use a carefully crafted combination of brand, retail and performance marketing to build awareness and generate sales. In October 2021, we were named as one of Fast Company’s Brands That Matter, which recognized companies and nonprofits that have had an undeniable impact on business and culture.

Since inception, we have collaborated with some of the world’s best chefs, athletes, musicians and thought leaders in our communities to help us amplify the power of healthy food. During fiscal year 2021 we announced our partnership with Naomi Osaka. Naomi is sweetgreen’s first ever national athlete ambassador and youngest investor. Together, our goal is to shift the paradigm of food sponsorships and create a positive impact on how the next generation connects to healthy eating.

In order to drive customers from awareness to consideration to conversion, we have invested in robust customer relationship management capabilities and paid media strategies across search, social media, and search engine optimization, as well as implemented mobile push notifications through our app. Our investment in a sophisticated marketing technology stack enables us to better understand our customers—how they first discover sweetgreen, what they order, and what makes them return.We also use our restaurants, which are the face of our brand and a powerful acquisition tool for new customers, as a canvas to execute national brand

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campaigns, seasonal menu launches, and local promotions to maintain the direct relationship with our customers.

Our People.

Our Team and Culture

Our approach to team and culture is consistent with one of our core values of “Win, Win, Win”. We believe that obsessing over the team member experience is a “win” for our team members, our customers, and our company. We benefit from the ability to attract and retain the best talent, and from having team members that are motivated to deliver an exceptional experience to our customers. We hire team members who are passionate about our purpose and strive to maintain a friendly, fun, and positive work environment. We pay competitive wages and believe we offer best-in-class benefits relative to the industry, including medical, dental, and vision insurance for eligible employees and their spouses or domestic partners, 401K matching, paid time off, paid parental leave, and equity incentives for our Head Coaches. In October 2021, we were ranked 18th by Newsweek in their Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces rankings.

Our Restaurant Team Structure and the Pathway to Opportunity

We believe we have designed a transparent and structured career learning path. By providing opportunities for advancement, professional development, and ultimately leadership, we have been able to promote high-performing talent and by extension scale our sweetgreen culture. At sweetgreen, the best leaders come from within—we develop a talent-rich pipeline by having a clear promotional track for team members to become a Head Coach (our title for a store manager) within as few as three years.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to holding ourselves accountable to have gender and ethnic representation at all levels of our organization. Specifically, we have an internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) council and have an associated set of DEI-related goals that have been embedded into our leadership principles. We also require annual DEI training for all Senior Leaders, People Managers, Individual Contributors, and Field Leadership. In July 2021, we were named in Mogul’s Top 100 Workplaces with the Greatest Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives.

Employees

As of December 26, 2021, we had a total of 4,877 employees, 363 of whom worked at our sweetgreen Support Center and 4,514 of whom worked in our restaurants.

Our Impact

Our mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food also extends to our goal of building a healthier and more equitable society. Below are just a few select examples of the many ways in which we contribute to our local communities:

•Donations from New Restaurant Openings: For every meal sold on the opening day of each of our new restaurants, we provide a meal-for-meal donation to a local food access non-profit partner to help alleviate food insecurity in the community. These opening day donations, which typically amount to around 600 meals on average per new restaurant, are the beginning of a long-term relationship with our local communities.

•Impact Outpost: Connecting Hospitals to Real Food: At the onset of COVID-19, we pivoted our entire Outpost operation to deliver free sweetgreen meals to frontline healthcare heroes. We also partnered with Chef Jose Andres’ non-profit, World Central Kitchen, to create the Impact Outpost Fund to provide even more meals to hospital workers and medical personnel. From April 2020 through August 2020, we raised over $2.5 million and provided close to 400,000 meals to frontline hospital heroes via our Impact Outpost program.

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•Increasing Access to Real Food: We have provided funding over the last several years to various non-profits to expand access to real food by supporting programs that double SNAP benefits, also known as Food Stamps, at farmers’ markets. We have partnered with organizations across the nation, including SEE-LA (Los Angeles, CA), Green City Market (Chicago, IL), Freshfarm (Washington, D.C.), About Fresh (Boston, MA), and Urban Harvest (Houston, TX).

Competition

We face significant competition from restaurants in the fast-casual dining and traditional fast-food segments of the restaurant industry. These segments are highly competitive with respect to, among other things, taste, price, food quality and presentation, service, location, and the ambience and condition of each restaurant. Our competition includes a variety of locally owned restaurants and national and regional chains offering dine-in, carry-out, delivery, and catering services. Many of our competitors have existed longer and have a more established market presence with substantially greater financial, marketing, personnel, and other resources than we do, and as a result, these competitors may be better positioned to succeed in the highly competitive restaurant industry. Among our competitors are a number of multi-unit, multi-market, fast-food, or fast-casual restaurant concepts, some of which are expanding nationally, including companies like Chipotle, McDonald's, Panera Bread, and Shake Shack, as well as other quick service salad and health food concepts.

As we expand into new geographic markets and further develop our digital channels (including our Owned Digital Channels), we will face competition from these restaurants as well as new competitors that strive to compete with our market segments, particularly as many of our competitors have increased their digital presence to better navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, including by enabling delivery and take-out through their digital applications. In particular, we will face increasing competition from delivery kitchens, food aggregators and food delivery marketplaces (such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, and others), grocery stores (particularly those that focus on freshly prepared and organic food), and other companies that are enabling the delivery of food to customers, including delivery marketplaces that we partner with to deliver sweetgreen food to customers. These food delivery marketplaces own the customer data for sweetgreen orders placed on such marketplaces and may use such customer data to encourage these customers to order from other restaurants on their marketplaces. Competition from food aggregators and food delivery marketplaces has also increased in recent years, particularly with the significant increase in restaurants that previously focused on dine-in service and have increased their reliance on take-out or delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, and competition is expected to continue to increase. Any of these competitors may have, among other things, greater operational or financial resources, lower operating costs, better locations, better facilities, better management, better digital technology, increased automation and production efficiency, more effective marketing, and more efficient operations. Additionally, we face the risk that new or existing competitors will copy, and potentially improve upon, our business model, menu options, technology, presentation, or ambience, among other things.

Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property

We protect our intellectual property primarily through a combination of trademarks, domain names, copyrights, and trade secrets. Since our inception, we have undertaken to strategically and proactively develop our trademark portfolio by registering our trademarks and service marks in the United States and various strategic foreign jurisdictions. Domestically, we registered our core marks (“sweetgreen,” “SG,” and the sweetgreen logo) and certain other marks, such as “SG Outpost” and “sweetgreen Outpost.” Internationally, we currently have registered our core sweetgreen and SG marks, along with selected other marks, in foreign jurisdictions including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. These marks are registered in multiple international trademark classes, including for restaurant services and related goods and services. We are currently pursuing additional trademark and trade dress registrations in the United States and abroad and will continue to pursue additional trademark registrations to the extent we believe they would be beneficial and cost-effective. Additionally, as a result of the acquisition of Spyce, we have two issued patents and five patent applications pending in the United States, and one issued patent in the People’s Republic of China. We intend to pursue additional patent protection (including in respect of Spyce’s automation technology) to the extent we believe it would be beneficial and cost-effective. We have obtained a registration of the sweetgreen.com domain name as well.

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We have procedures in place to monitor for potential infringement of our intellectual property, and it is our policy to take appropriate action to enforce our intellectual property, taking into account the strength of our claim, likelihood of success, cost, and overall business priorities.

Government Regulation

We are subject to various federal, state, and local regulations, including those relating to building and zoning requirements, public health and safety and the preparation and sale of food. The development and operation of restaurants depends to a significant extent on the selection and acquisition of suitable sites, which are subject to zoning, land use, environmental, traffic, and other regulations and requirements. Our restaurants are also subject to state and local licensing and regulation by health, sanitation, food and occupational safety, and other agencies, which regulation has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We may experience material difficulties or failures in obtaining the necessary licenses, approvals or permits for our restaurants, which could delay planned restaurant openings or affect the operations at our existing restaurants. In addition, stringent and varied requirements of local regulators with respect to zoning, land use, and environmental factors could delay or prevent development of new restaurants in particular locations.

Our operations are subject to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act, which governs worker health and safety, as well as rules and regulations regarding COVID-19, the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs such matters as minimum wages and overtime, and a variety of similar federal, state and local laws (such as fair work week laws, immigration laws, various wage & hour laws, termination and discharge laws, and state occupational safety regulations) that govern these and other employment law matters. We may also be subject to lawsuits or investigations from our current or former employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters, and we have been a party to a number of such matters in the past. These lawsuits and investigations require significant resources from our senior management and can result in material fines, penalties and/or settlements, some or all of which may not be covered by insurance, as well as significant remediation efforts that may be costly and time consuming, and which we may not implement effectively.

We are also subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) and similar state laws that give civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the context of employment, public accommodations and other areas, including our restaurants, website, and smartphone applications. In the past, we have settled various lawsuits related to our alleged ADA non-compliance, which resulted in accommodations to our website, smartphone applications and physical restaurant locations.

Seasonality

Our revenue fluctuates as a result of seasonal factors. Historically, our revenue is lower in the first and fourth quarters of the year due, in part, to the holiday season and the fact that fewer people eat out during periods of inclement weather (the winter months) than during periods of mild to warm weather (the spring, summer, and fall months). In addition, a core part of our menu, salads, has proven to be more popular among consumers in the warmer months.

Privacy, Data Protection, and Data Security

Because our business and platform involve the collection, use, storage, and transmission of personal information, we are subject to numerous laws, regulations, industry standards, and other obligations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security. Such laws, regulations, and industry standards may include Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and all regulations promulgated thereunder, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. We are also affected by the policies of third-party application stores on which our mobile application depends. Our compliance with our obligations related to privacy, data protection, and data security is important to improving user experience on the platform and building user trust. Countries around the world have adopted or are proposing similar laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, and data security, and we may become subject to them as we expand our operations into new geographic markets. For example, if we expand our operations to Europe, we would

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become subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (2002/58/EC), and the data protection laws of the member states of the European Union, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, as applicable.

Corporate Information

We were founded in November 2006 and incorporated in October 2009 in Delaware. Our principal executive offices, which we refer to as our sweetgreen Support Center, are located at 3101 W. Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90018, and our telephone number is (323) 990-7040. Our website address is www.sweetgreen.com. We completed our initial public offering, or our IPO, in November 2021, and our Class A common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SG”.

Available Information

sweetgreen’s Annual Report on Form 10-K reports, along with all other reports and amendments filed with or furnished to the SEC, are publicly available free of charge on the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.sweetgreen.com or at www.sec.gov as soon as reasonably practicable after these materials are filed with or furnished to the SEC. We also use our website as a tool to disclose important information about the company and comply with our disclosure obligations under Regulation Fair Disclosure. Our corporate governance guidelines, code of business conduct and ethics and Board committee charters are also posted on the Investor Relations section of sweetgreen website. The information on our website (or any webpages referenced in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) is not part of this or any other report sweetgreen files with, or furnishes to, the SEC.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks described below in addition to the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations section and the consolidated financial statements and related notes. If any of the risks and uncertainties described below actually occur or continue to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations, and the trading price of our Class A common stock could be materially and adversely affected. The risks and uncertainties described below are those that we have identified as material but are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Our business is also subject to general risks and uncertainties that affect many other companies, including, but not limited to, overall economic and industry conditions and additional risks not currently known to us or that we presently deem immaterial may arise or become material and may negatively impact our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations or the trading price of our common stock.

Risks Related to Our Business, Our Brand and Our Industry

We operate in a highly competitive industry. If we are not able to compete effectively, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

As we expand into new geographic markets and further develop our digital channels (including our Owned Digital Channels), we will face competition from these restaurants as well as new competitors that strive to compete with our market segments, particularly as many of our competitors have increased their digital presence over the last few years, including by enabling delivery and take-out through their digital applications. In particular, we will face increasing competition from delivery kitchens, food aggregators and food delivery marketplaces (such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, and others), grocery stores (particularly those that focus on freshly prepared and organic food), and other companies that are enabling the delivery of food to customers, including delivery marketplaces that we partner with to deliver sweetgreen food to customers. These food delivery marketplaces own the customer data for sweetgreen orders placed on such marketplaces and may use such customer data to encourage these customers to order from other restaurants on their marketplaces. Competition from food aggregators and food delivery marketplaces has also increased in recent years, particularly with the significant increase in restaurants that previously focused on dine-in service and have increased their reliance on take-out or delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, and competition is expected to continue to increase. Any of these competitors may have, among other things, greater operational or financial resources, lower operating costs, better locations, better facilities, better management, better digital technology, increased automation and production efficiency, more effective marketing, and more efficient operations. Additionally, we face the risk that new or existing competitors will copy, and potentially improve upon, our business model, menu options, technology, presentation, or ambience, among other things.

Any inability to successfully compete with the restaurants or other food companies in our markets and other restaurant segments will place downward pressure on our customer traffic and/or pricing and may prevent us from increasing or sustaining our growth rate or revenue and reaching profitability. Customer tastes, nutritional and dietary trends, methods of ordering, traffic patterns and the type, number, and location of competing restaurants, and ability to timely and effectively deliver food often affect the restaurant business, and our competitors may react more efficiently and effectively to those conditions. In addition, many of our restaurant competitors offer lower-priced menu options, meal packages, loyalty or promotional programs, or offer breakfast, whereas we currently offer only lunch and dinner. Our sales could decline due to changes in popular tastes, “fad” food regimens, and media attention on new restaurants. We cannot make any assurances regarding our ability to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or our ability to adapt our

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menu offerings to trends in eating habits. Because of the ample competition in our industry, if our menu does not continue to innovate and provide premier quality food, we may lose customers as a result of a lack of variety or quality. In addition, both fast-food and fast-casual dining segments have implemented deep discounting strategies to attract customers, while in fiscal year 2021 we suspended our loyalty program, focused on more targeted promotions, and increased the menu prices of certain items. If we are unable to continue to compete effectively, our traffic, sales, and restaurant contribution could decline, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Pandemics or disease outbreaks, such as the recent outbreak of COVID-19, have disrupted, and may continue to disrupt, our business, and have adversely affected our operations and results of operations.

Pandemics or disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with the spread of the Omicron variant, have made and may make it more difficult to staff our restaurants and could cause a temporary inability to obtain supplies and increase commodity costs. Additionally, many of the markets in which we operate, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, currently have in effect, or previously had, mandates that require our team members be vaccinated for COVID in order to operate indoor dining. Additional markets may also impose similar mandates. Compliance with these mandates is challenging, costly and requires significant management attention and oversight. There is no guarantee that we will be able to comply with these mandates in any jurisdiction, which could result in fines or temporary closures of our restaurants. In addition, we may potentially suffer significant employee layoffs, staffing shortages and related restaurant closures if not enough of our employees are vaccinated, customer frustration if our employees and/or other guests are not vaccinated and/or required to wear masks, as well as increased labor costs as a result of having to check vaccination statuses, all of which could have a material and adverse impact on sales and negatively impact our brand. To date, we have had significant challenges with our team members submitting proof of COVID-19 vaccinations. For example, we required that all employees in our New York City stores provided proof of full vaccination in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 in order to permit us to reopen indoor dining in that market, and as a result we had to terminate a number of employees. In response to these mandates, we may, in certain circumstances, need to either close certain of our indoor dining rooms and shift back to outdoor dining (if available and if weather permits) and an off-premises dining operating model or terminate employees who have not submitted proof of vaccination status and check our customers’ vaccination status and corresponding identification (such as driver’s license or passport). If we choose to close our indoor dining rooms, sales from our In-Store Channel would likely suffer significantly.

We have also had to incur significant additional costs to ensure the setup and maintenance of our restaurants comply with any regulations, which have changed frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic and may continue to change. The COVID-19 pandemic may also adversely affect our ability to implement our growth plans, recruit new team members, and cause delays in construction, permitting, or opening of new restaurants, as well as have an adverse impact on our overall ability to successfully execute our plans to enter into new markets. These and any additional changes may adversely affect our business or results of operations in the future, and may impact our liquidity or financial condition, particularly if these changes are in place for a significant amount of time.

In addition, our operations have been further disrupted when employees are suspected of having, or test positive for, COVID-19 or other illnesses (or are suspected to have been exposed to or a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19) since this has required us to quarantine some or all those employees for a period of time and at times, close and disinfect the impacted restaurant facilities. The number of our employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 increased significantly with the spread of the Omicron variant, which has resulted in staffing shortages in many of our restaurants and, at times, the reduction of operating hours and/or the temporary closures of certain of our Pickup and Delivery Channels in certain restaurants, which has had and may continue to have a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, in addition to the COVID-19-related sick leave that we previously adopted voluntarily, many jurisdictions, such as New York and California, have required that companies provide mandatory supplemental sick leave for COVID-19-related leave, including to care for a sick family member and to receive (and recover from) a COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, we are required by local and state regulations to report employees who have contracted or been exposed to the virus. Additional regulation or requirements with respect to the compensation of our employees could also have an adverse effect on our business.

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Furthermore, viruses such as COVID-19 may be transmitted through human contact and airborne delivery, and the risk of contracting such viruses could continue to cause customers or employees to avoid gathering in public places, which has had, and could further have, adverse effects on our restaurant customer traffic or the ability to adequately staff restaurants. Even if a virus or other disease does not spread significantly within a specific area, the perceived risk of infection or health risk in such area may adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, different jurisdictions have seen varying levels of outbreaks or resurgences in outbreaks particularly during the spread of the Omicron variant, and corresponding differences in government responses, which may make it difficult for us to plan or forecast an appropriate response.

The ability of local and national authorities to contain COVID-19 and limit the spread of infections will continue to impact our business operations. The United States may fail to fully contain COVID-19 or suffer resurgences in COVID-19. For example, the Delta and Omicron variants and measures taken to contain them have required, and may continue to require, us to make significant changes to how we operate and have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations for an uncertain period of time.

Changes in economic conditions and the customer behavior trends they drive, including long-term customer behavior trends following the COVID-19 pandemic, which are uncertain, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The restaurant industry depends on customer discretionary spending. The United States in general, or the specific markets in which we operate, may suffer from depressed economic activity, recessionary economic cycles, inflation, higher fuel or energy costs, low customer confidence, high levels of unemployment, reduced home values, increases in home foreclosures, investment losses, personal bankruptcies, reduced access to credit or other economic factors that may affect customer discretionary spending. Consumer preferences tend to shift to lower-cost alternatives during recessionary periods and other periods in which disposable income is adversely affected, including as a result of inflation. Traffic in our restaurants and the volume of pickup or our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels could decline if customers choose to reduce the amount they spend on meals or choose to spend more on food from grocery stores as opposed to our ordering from our restaurants. Negative economic conditions might cause customers to make long-term or permanent changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including as it relates to dining out, picking up, or ordering delivery. For example, our customers may choose to order from us less frequently, purchase meals at a lower-priced competitor or order through a delivery marketplace, such as Uber Eats or DoorDash, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. COVID-19, and most recently as a result of the spread of the Delta and Omicron variants, had a negative impact on our assumptions for future near-term restaurant level cash flows, which resulted in elevated impairment charges in fiscal year 2021. Prolonged negative trends in sales, including as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, could cause us in the future to, among other things, reduce the number and frequency of new restaurant openings, close restaurants or delay remodeling our existing restaurants, or recognize further asset impairment charges.

The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures have also had an adverse impact on global economic conditions, which have had an adverse effect on our business and financial condition. Our sales and results of operations may be affected by uncertain or changing economic and market conditions arising in connection with and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including prolonged periods of high unemployment, inflation, deflation, prolonged weak customer demand, a decrease in customer discretionary spending, political instability, prolonged periods of corporate employees working from home or other changes. The significance of the operational and financial impact to us will depend on how long and widespread the disruptions caused by COVID-19, and the corresponding response to contain the virus and treat those affected by it, prove to be.

Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, our in-restaurant foot traffic has significantly declined, our Outpost Channel has significantly diminished, and our Native Delivery and Marketplace Channels have significantly increased. Recently, we have seen a further reduction in in-restaurant foot traffic as a result of the spread of the Omicron variant. Post-pandemic long-term customer behavior trends are uncertain for all of our channels and the duration of such trends is unknown. In particular, it is uncertain whether workers will return to offices in urban centers, such as midtown Manhattan or downtown Chicago, on a consistent basis, and even if they do, whether they will have a more flexible work schedule, which could reduce our revenues at our urban

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locations. If the shift toward remote work continues even after the COVID-19 pandemic has abated or ended and workers do not return to offices in urban centers, or work from those locations less frequently, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected for an uncertain period of time, even if customers otherwise resume pre-pandemic levels of discretionary spending. As a result, we may make the decision to temporarily or permanently close certain of our impacted locations.

Our future growth depends significantly on our ability to open new restaurants and is subject to many unpredictable factors.

One of the key means of achieving our growth strategy for the foreseeable future will be through opening new restaurants and operating those restaurants on a profitable basis. In fiscal year 2020, we had 15 Net New Restaurant Openings, and in fiscal year 2021 we had 31 Net New Restaurant Openings, with a plan to approximately double our current footprint of restaurants over the next three to five years. In the past, we have experienced delays in opening a significant number of our restaurants due to, among other things, construction and permitting delays in new developments. Such delays could happen again in future restaurant openings, especially if the COVID-19 pandemic continues, which has significantly impacted our ability to complete construction of our new restaurants and also our ability to receive the necessary permits to open new restaurants.

Additionally, due to recent significant staffing and hiring issues in the restaurant industry throughout the country, we may not have sufficient staffing or labor in order to open our new restaurants on schedule, or at full capacity. For example, a restaurant we recently opened in a suburban market has only operated for lunch during the week since opening and is not yet operating dinner shifts. Delays or failures in opening new restaurants, or in launching new restaurant formats (including walk-up, drive-in, or drive-thru formats or store formats incorporating automation technology), could cost significant company resources (including lost sales and additional labor and marketing costs) and have an adverse effect on our growth strategy and our business, financial condition, and results of operations. As we operate more restaurants, our rate of expansion relative to the size of our restaurant base could decline.

Our long-term success is highly dependent on our ability to effectively identify and secure appropriate sites for new restaurants.

One of our challenges is locating and securing an adequate supply of suitable new restaurant sites, both in new geographic markets and in our existing geographic markets where we may already be located at the most desirable restaurant sites. Competition for those sites is intense, and other restaurant and retail concepts that compete for those sites may have economic models that permit them to bid more aggressively for sites than we can. There is no guarantee that a sufficient number of suitable sites will be available in desirable areas or on terms that are acceptable to us in order to achieve our growth plan or meet our economic objectives in new or existing geographic markets. Our ability to identify, secure, and open new restaurant sites also depends on other factors, many of which are likely to be more challenging if the COVID-19 pandemic continues, including:

•identifying and securing an appropriate site and selecting the best restaurant format for that given site and market (including determining whether to test new restaurant formats, including any formats incorporating automation technology), which includes maximizing the effectiveness of our multi-channel approach, the size of the site, traffic patterns, local retail and business attractions and infrastructure that will drive high levels of customer traffic and sales, proximity of potential restaurant sites to existing restaurants, and anticipated commercial, residential and infrastructure development near the potential restaurant site, and many of these factors are uncertain as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic;

•negotiating leases with acceptable terms;

•receiving timely delivery of leased premises to us from our landlords and the punctual commencement of our build-out construction activities;

•obtaining tenant improvement allowances from our landlords;

•analyzing financial conditions affecting developers and potential landlords, such as ability of landlords and developers to receive development financing, the effects of macro-economic

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conditions, and the credit market, which could lead to these parties delaying or canceling development projects (or renovations of existing projects), in turn reducing the number of appropriate restaurant sites available;

•managing construction and development costs of new restaurants, particularly in competitive markets;

•obtaining construction materials and labor at acceptable costs, particularly with the recent increase in inflation;

•maintaining qualified real estate and construction resources to source and manage construction of new sites;

•securing required governmental approvals, permits and licenses (including construction, certificates of occupancy and other permits) in a timely manner and responding effectively to any changes in local, state or federal laws and regulations;

•avoiding the impact of inclement weather, natural disasters and other calamities; and

•identifying, hiring, and training qualified employees in each local market.

Given the numerous factors involved, we may not be able to successfully identify and secure a sufficient number of attractive restaurant sites in existing, adjacent or new markets, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. And, for those locations where we are able to secure an attractive restaurant site, our progress in opening new restaurants may occur at an uneven rate. If we do not open new restaurants in the future according to our current plans, the delay could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our expansion into new markets may present increased risks.

We have opened and plan to continue opening restaurants in markets where we have little or no operating experience. In particular, our restaurants have historically been heavily concentrated in large urban areas (such as New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, and the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia metropolitan areas), and we do not currently have any restaurants in any markets outside of the United States. Restaurants we open in new markets may take longer to reach expected sales and profit levels on a consistent basis and may have higher construction, product, hiring and training, occupancy, or operating costs than restaurants we open in existing markets, thereby affecting our overall profitability. New markets may have competitive conditions, or customer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are more difficult to predict or satisfy than our existing markets, particularly as we expand outside of large metropolitan areas and into more suburban and residential areas, as well as more diverse geographic markets. We may also need to make greater investments than we originally planned in advertising and promotional activity in new markets to build brand awareness and attract new customers, particularly if we don’t have high brand awareness in such markets. In addition, because we try to locally source as much of our supply chain as practicable, we may have difficulty sourcing our ingredients from local suppliers and distributors that are in close proximity to our new markets and that meet our quality standards and are appropriate for our distribution model and Food Ethos. Because of the local nature of our supply chain, our costs of goods may increase significantly in a new market and supply chain availability may be limited by the climate and the grower network in a specific market. We may find it more difficult in new markets to hire, motivate and keep qualified employees who share our vision, passion and culture. We may also incur higher costs from entering new markets if, for example, we assign regional managers to manage comparatively fewer restaurants than in more developed markets, if our local supply chain only supplies ingredients for comparatively fewer restaurants or if we need to comply with new labor and employment regulations in such market. As a result, these new restaurants may be less successful or may not achieve desired growth rates or sales targets as quickly as our existing restaurants across our multiple channels. We may not be able to successfully develop critical market presence for our brand in new geographical markets as we may be unable to find and secure attractive locations, build name recognition or attract enough new customers. Inability to fully implement, or failure to successfully execute, our plans to enter new markets could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In the event we expand our operations outside of the United States, any such expansion may require partnering with and becoming reliant upon a third party, via a partnership, licensing agreement, joint venture, or other contractual relationship.

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New restaurants, once opened, may not be profitable, and the increases in Average Unit Volume that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of future results, and new restaurants may negatively impact sales at our existing restaurants.

If our new restaurants do not perform as planned, our business and future prospects could be harmed. In addition, an inability of our new restaurants to achieve our expected Average Unit Volumes, Same-Store Sales Change, or Restaurant-Level Profit Margin would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We may find that our restaurant concept has limited appeal in new markets, or we may experience a decline in the popularity of our restaurant concept in the markets in which we already operate. Newly opened restaurants in our current markets or our future markets may not be successful, or our Average Unit Volume may not increase at historical rates, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Further, the customer target area of our restaurants varies by location, depending on a number of factors, including population density, other local retail and business attractions, area demographics, and geography. The opening of a new restaurant in or near markets in which we already have restaurants could adversely impact sales at existing restaurants, particularly in markets where we have a highly concentrated number of restaurants, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, and the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia metropolitan area. Existing restaurants could also make it more difficult to build our customer base for a new restaurant in the same market. When we open new restaurants we do not believe that such new restaurants will adversely affect sales at our existing restaurants, but we may selectively open new restaurants in and around areas of existing restaurants that are operating at or near capacity to effectively serve our customers. Sales cannibalization among our restaurants may become significant in the future as we continue to expand our operations and could affect our sales growth, in particular if the delivery radius of an existing restaurant overlaps with that of a new restaurant, which could, in turn, adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Additionally, our restaurants and locations must be able to support growth of not only our In-Store and Pick-Up Channels, but also orders through our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels. While we attempt to select our locations to maximize all of our channels, we may not be effective in doing so (particularly as a result of the potential long-term change in customer behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic), which could lead certain restaurants to be under capacity and other restaurants to be at, or over, capacity. We may also prioritize the development of hybrid restaurants that have larger capacity for supporting our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels or the development of new restaurant formats, such as walk-up, drive-in, or drive-thru formats or store concepts incorporating automation technology. We do not have significant experience in operating such hybrid locations or such new restaurant formats (including any store formats incorporating automation technology), and we may not be able to operate them as efficiently as we operate our restaurants.

Our success depends substantially on the value of our brand and failure to preserve its value or changes in customer recognition of our brand, including due to negative publicity, could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We believe we have built an excellent reputation for the quality of our products, our focus on connecting people with real food, delivery of a consistently positive customer experience, and our social impact programs. To be successful in the future, we believe we must preserve, grow, and leverage the value of our brand across all channels.

Brand value is based in part on customer perceptions on a variety of subjective qualities. Business incidents, whether isolated or recurring and whether originating from us or our business partners, from any of our third-party spokespersons that represent the brand, or even from unrelated food services businesses, if customers associate those businesses with our own operations, that erode customer trust can significantly reduce brand value, potentially trigger boycotts of our restaurants or result in civil or criminal liability and can have a negative impact on our financial results. Such incidents include actual or perceived breaches of data privacy, claims by current or former employees, particularly claims of discrimination or harassment, contaminated or unsafe food, including allergens, product recalls, store employees or other food handlers infected with communicable diseases, including COVID-19, failure to follow proper safety protocols, customer complaints, or other potential incidents discussed in this risk factors section.

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Additionally, any public statements, including social media posts, from any members of our senior management team or board of directors that are perceived negatively or other than as intended by the media or our customers could have a material and adverse impact on our brand. For example, in a December 2018 podcast, our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Neman, stated, in response to a question of whether the company was profitable, that “we are.” For the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018, we had a net loss of $31.1 million. Although Mr. Neman was referring in this response to operating profitability for the third quarter of fiscal year 2018 rather than net income profitability under GAAP requirements, listeners of the podcast, or readers of subsequent articles that reprinted this statement may have construed this statement to be referring to GAAP profitability. In addition, in January of 2020, we were quoted in an article by the New York Times that revenue for fiscal year 2019 “topped $300 million.” For the fiscal year ended December 29, 2019, we had revenue of $274.2 million. Accordingly, this quote did not precisely reflect our revenues for fiscal year 2019. While we believe all investors in our financings since the date of these public communications had complete and accurate information in which to make an investment decision, some investors may have given undue reliance on these public communications. Although we would vigorously contest any claim that a violation of the Securities Act occurred as a result of these public communications, we cannot assure you that such investors, or regulatory authorities, could not make such claims and/or that such sales of securities around the time of these communications could not subject the company to rescission claims. Any such claims could have an adverse effect on the company. The impact of such incidents may be exacerbated if they receive considerable publicity, including rapidly through social or digital media (including for malicious reasons), or result in litigation or other legal consequences.

Customer demand for our products and our reputation could diminish significantly if we, our employees, delivery partners, or other business partners fail to preserve the quality of our products, do not provide orders in a timely fashion, act or are perceived to act in an unethical, illegal, racially biased, unequal, or socially irresponsible manner, including with respect to the sourcing, content, or sale of our products, service and treatment of customers at our restaurants, or the use of customer data for general or direct marketing or other purposes. Additionally, if we fail to comply with laws and regulations, publicly take controversial positions or actions, or fail to deliver a consistently positive customer experience in each of our markets, including by failing to invest in the right balance of wages and benefits to attract and retain employees that represent the brand well, our brand value may be diminished, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We have also invested in technology to support our back of house operations and simplify the work of our team members. If our customers react negatively to these operational changes (in particular the use of automation in our restaurants), our brand value may be diminished, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, our future results depend on various factors, including local market acceptance of our restaurants and customer recognition of the quality of our food and operations. Although we have received national and regional recognition for the high quality of our food and operations, we cannot guarantee that we will continue to receive similar recognition in future periods. Failure to receive continued national and regional recognition may impact customer recognition of our brand, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Food safety and foodborne illness concerns could have an adverse effect on our business.

We cannot guarantee that our internal procedures and training will be fully effective in preventing all food safety issues at our restaurants, including any occurrences of foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, Cyclospora, E. coli, and hepatitis A. Moreover, our internal team may fail to report unsafe or unsanitary conditions in accordance with our internal procedures. The ingredients we handle in our restaurants (such as leafy greens and raw chicken) are among the highest risk foods when it comes to food safety and foodborne illness. In addition, we freshly prepare many of our menu items at our restaurants, which may put us at even greater risk for foodborne illness and food contamination outbreaks than some of our competitors who use processed foods or commissaries to prepare their food. The risk of foodborne illness may also increase whenever our menu items are served outside of our control, including orders through our Pick-Up, Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels, particularly if such food is not delivered or consumed within the 30-minute period that we recommend to our customers. In the event of a potential food safety incident, the protocols and procedures that we have in place, and the public statements we make, to respond to such an incident may not be sufficient and any disruption to these protocols, procedures and public statements could also adversely impact the safety of our customers and our reputation.

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Additionally, we rely on third-party distributors, making it difficult to monitor food safety compliance and increasing the risk that foodborne illness would affect multiple locations rather than a single restaurant. Some foodborne illness incidents could be caused by third-party distributors, suppliers, or transporters outside of our control (who may provide substitute products, which may not be of equal quality and may cause tracing issues), but we may not have appropriate contractual recourse against such third parties, and any insurance maintained by our distributors and/or suppliers may not be sufficient to cover the cost of a potential claim.

New illnesses resistant to our current precautions may develop in the future, or diseases with long incubation periods could arise, both of which could give rise to claims or allegations on a retroactive basis. One or more instances of foodborne illness in any of our restaurants or markets or related to food products we sell could negatively affect our restaurant revenue nationwide if highly publicized on national media outlets or through social media and could also have a negative impact on our brand, which could be incredibly difficult to restore. This risk exists even if it were later determined that the illness was wrongly attributed to us or one of our restaurants. A number of other restaurant chains have experienced incidents related to foodborne illnesses that have had an adverse effect on their brand and operations. In addition, our business may be adversely affected by recalls of products in cases where foodborne illnesses have been detected elsewhere. For example, in November 2019, we undertook voluntary recalls of romaine lettuce following notifications by the Center for Disease Control regarding possible links of E. coli infection to romaine lettuce produced in a certain region in the United States. The occurrence of a similar incident at one or more of our restaurants, or negative publicity or public speculation about an incident, even if such publicity or speculation were to prove unfounded, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Further, in August 2019, we received significant negative publicity because, at the time, our molded fiber bowls contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), which are chemicals associated with certain adverse health effects in humans, even though such substances are approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In addition, products containing PFAS may not be 100% compostable as required pursuant to BPI compostability certification. Although we have recently transitioned to alternative bowls that do not contain more than trace amounts of PFAS, these alternatives could present other health or food safety risks. The inability to continue to source alternative bowls, or any negative publicity or public speculation around such prior incident or similar future incidents, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have incurred significant losses since inception. We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly in the foreseeable future, as we grow our business, increase our new restaurant openings, and invest into new technology, and we may not achieve profitability.

We have incurred significant losses since inception, and we anticipate that our operating expenses and capital expenditures will increase substantially in the foreseeable future, in particular, as we continue to: open new restaurants within existing and new markets; launch new restaurant formats; offer promotions; invest in our multiple product channels, including our Owned Digital Channels, and our Marketplace Channel, and other corporate infrastructure at our sweetgreen Support Center; expand marketing channels and operations; hire additional employees and increase other general and administrative costs; add new products and offerings; and develop, enhance or invest in technologies to help grow our business, including our acquisition of Spyce Food Co. (“Spyce”) and any other investments to automate portions of our ingredient preparation and menu item assembly as well as investments to improve our smartphone application. Additionally, our restaurants require costly ongoing maintenance and renovations, and we may need to temporarily close our restaurants while we perform maintenance and renovations, which could further affect our results of operations. As a result, our net losses may increase while we continue our planned expansion. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue levels and decrease proportionate expenses in future periods to achieve profitability in many of our largest markets, and even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability. These efforts may prove more expensive than we anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue sufficiently to offset expenses. Many of our efforts to generate revenue, particularly our investment in our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels are new and unproven, and any failure to adequately increase revenue or contain the related costs of these channels could prevent us from attaining or increasing profitability, particularly if these channels are not as successful as we forecast. For example, orders through our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels are susceptible to delivery delays, or orders being cancelled by couriers, which are largely as a result of our reliance on third-party fulfillment services and are outside of our control. Additionally, due to the fact that our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels require the payment of

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third-party delivery fees in order to fulfill deliveries, sales through these channels have historically had lower margins than our In-Store and Pick-Up Channels, particularly in California. If we are unable to operate our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels effectively and achieve scale, or if these lower margin channels increase as a total percent of company sales relative to higher margin ordering channels, we may not be able to achieve profitability in the near term or at all.

If we are not able to hire, train, reward, and retain a qualified workforce and/or if we are not able to appropriately optimize our workforce or effectively manage our growth in our restaurants, our growth plan and profitability could be adversely affected.

We rely on our restaurant-level employees to consistently provide high-quality food and positive experiences to our customers, which we refer to as the “sweet touch.” In addition, our ability to continue to open new restaurants depends on our ability to recruit, train and retain high-quality restaurant team members to manage, lead and work in our restaurants. Maintaining appropriate staffing in our existing restaurants and hiring and training staff for our new restaurants requires precise workforce planning, which has become more complex due to recent significant staffing and hiring issues in the restaurant industry throughout the country, as well as laws related to wage and hour violations or predictive scheduling (“fair workweek”) in many of our markets and New York City’s “just cause” termination legislation applicable to our industry, which went into effect in July 2021. Additionally, we have historically had higher turnover rates, including with respect to our restaurant operations leadership, than the accommodation and food services industry as a whole. Moreover, our team member turnover for our non-leadership positions increased significantly in the second half of fiscal year 2021, which we believe was consistent with the significant staffing and hiring challenges throughout the industry. We believe our high turnover rate is caused by a number of factors, including that our restaurants tend to be very busy during peak lunch and dinner hours, and that our restaurant employees perform a significant amount of prep work in our restaurants. We have taken, and will continue to take, a number of steps in order to reduce our turnover, but we cannot be certain that our turnover rates will decrease, and they may remain above industry averages in the future. If we fail to appropriately plan our workforce and/or fail to reduce our turnover at our restaurants, it could adversely impact guest satisfaction, operational efficiency, and restaurant profitability.

Moreover, to optimize our organizational structure, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business, we have previously implemented reductions in workforce at our sweetgreen Support Center and may in the future implement other reductions in workforce or restructurings. Any reduction in workforce or restructuring may yield unintended consequences and costs, such as attrition beyond the intended reduction in workforce, delay in development of critical technology or business optimization programs due to gaps in knowledge transfer and new employee ramp up time, the distraction of employees, and reduced employee morale, and could adversely affect our reputation as an employer, which could make it more difficult for us to hire new employees in the future and increase the risk that we may not achieve the anticipated benefits from the reduction in workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in aggressive competition for talent, wage inflation, and pressure to improve benefits and workplace conditions to remain competitive, both in our restaurants and in our sweetgreen Support Center. If we fail to recruit and retain restaurant team members or corporate employees in a timely or efficient manner or experience higher employee turnover levels in either our restaurants or sweetgreen Support Center, our ability to open new restaurants and grow sales at existing restaurants may be adversely affected, and we may experience higher than projected labor costs. In addition, if we fail to adequately monitor and proactively respond to employee dissatisfaction or complaints, it could lead to poor employee satisfaction, higher turnover, litigation, and unionization efforts, which have started to become more prevalent in the hospitality industry.

Increases in labor costs, labor shortages, and any difficulties in attracting, motivating, and retaining well-qualified employees could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Labor is a significant component in the cost of operating our restaurants. If we face labor shortages, particularly due to recent labor shortages in the restaurant industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased labor costs because of increased competition for employees and inflation, higher employee turnover rates, inefficiency in scheduling our employees, increases in the federal, state, or local minimum wage, or other employee benefits costs (including costs associated with health insurance coverage), our operating expenses could increase and our growth could be negatively impacted. Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate, and retain a sufficient number of well-qualified restaurant operators and management

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personnel, as well as a sufficient number of other qualified employees, including customer service and kitchen staff, to align with our expansion plans and multi-channel approach. In the event we cannot sufficiently staff our restaurants, we may from time to time have to temporarily close some of our channels (including potentially certain of our Owned Digital Channels) or close for certain portions of the day and/or days of the week. Because of the busy nature of our restaurants, it is critical that we have a high level of labor productivity and if we do not maintain high engagement or deployment in our restaurants (including in new restaurants and in new markets), it could have an adverse effect on our business. As described above, we have historically had turnover rates that are higher than industry average. Our ability to recruit and retain restaurant employees, particularly as a result of recent significant labor shortages in the restaurant industry, may delay the planned openings of new restaurants, limit the operations of our existing restaurants or result in higher employee turnover in existing restaurants, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For example, a restaurant we recently opened in a suburban market has only operated for lunch during the week since opening and is not yet operating dinner shifts. Competition for these employees could require us to pay higher wages, which could result in higher labor costs.

Although none of our employees are currently covered under collective bargaining agreements, if any of our restaurants were to become unionized and collective bargaining agreement terms were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and lead to significant management distraction. In addition, a labor dispute involving some or all of our employees may harm our reputation, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenue, and resolution of disputes may increase our costs. If we are unable to continue to recruit and retain sufficiently qualified individuals, our business and our growth could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to introduce new or upgraded products, menu items, services, channels, or features that our customers recognize as valuable, we may fail to attract additional customers to use and continue using our mobile and website ordering platforms. Our efforts to develop new and upgraded products, menu items, services, channels, and features on our smartphone and website ordering platforms could require us to incur significant costs.

To continue to attract and retain digital customers, we will need to continue to invest in the development of new products, menu items, services, channels, and features that add value for customers, and that differentiate us from our competitors. For example, in fiscal year 2021, we launched our native application delivery in our Android smartphone application and completed the acquisition of Spyce to allow us to serve our food with even better quality, consistency, and efficiency in our restaurants via automation; in fiscal year 2020, we launched our native application delivery in our iOS smartphone application and through website ordering; and in fiscal year 2018, we launched our Outpost Channel whereby we deliver salads in bulk to commercial or other locations with no delivery fee. We also frequently launch seasonal and exclusive bowls, as well as digital exclusive items and menu collections throughout the year to attract and retain customers. The success of such new products, menu items, services, channels, and features depend on several factors, including the timely completion, introduction and market acceptance of such products, menu items, services, channels, or features. If our customers do not recognize the value of our new products, menu items, services, channels or features, they may choose not to use our online and mobile ordering platforms, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Developing and delivering these new or upgraded products, menu items, services, channels, or features may increase our expenses, as this process is costly and we may experience difficulties in developing and delivering these new or upgraded products, menu items, services, channels, or features, which may prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability. Moreover, any such new or upgraded products, menu items, services, channels, or features may not work as intended, provide the intended level of functionality or provide intended value to our customers. In particular, our planned investment in developing automation technology after our acquisition of Spyce could cost more and could take longer to develop than we initially expect. Efforts to enhance and improve the ease of use, responsiveness, functionality and features of our existing websites and applications have inherent risks, and we may not be able to manage these product developments and enhancements successfully. If we are unable to continue to develop new or upgraded products, menu items, services, channels, or features, our customers may choose not to order through our online and mobile platforms in favor of other restaurants or delivery marketplaces, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results operations. Our competitors may have larger or more experienced engineering teams as well as more resources to dedicate to developing or upgrading digital

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ordering platforms via third-party engineering partners, which may make such competitors’ products or services more attractive to customers.

We may choose to license or otherwise integrate applications, content and data from third parties into our online and mobile ordering platforms. The introduction of these improvements imposes costs on our business, requires the use of our resources, and makes us reliant on third parties who may have different objectives than we do. For example, certain third-party software integrated into our applications may not prioritize features that we otherwise view as critical to improving our overall technology. We may be unable to continue to access these technologies and content on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

Changes in food and supply costs or failure to receive frequent deliveries of food ingredients and other supplies could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food and supply costs, and our ability to maintain our menu depends in part on our ability to acquire ingredients that meet our specifications from our suppliers. Shortages or interruptions in the availability of certain supplies caused by unanticipated demand, our inability to accurately forecast our supply needs, problems in production or distribution (including any imbalances and freight supply and demand), food contamination, inclement weather, the COVID-19 pandemic, or other conditions could adversely affect the availability and cost of food and supplies or the quality of our ingredients (including requiring distributors to provide substitute products, which may not be of equal quality), which could harm our operations and expose us to risk. We have a localized set of suppliers, and typically rely on a single regional distributor for each of our fresh food products and another single regional distributor for dry goods in each geographical market where we operate, which may make our supply chain inherently more difficult to manage than if we partnered with national distributors, which is the approach of many of our competitors. In addition, we partner with small and medium-sized farmers that have lower inventory levels and experience supply disruptions that place our business at risk. This may further limit our ability to grow and scale, and in some situations serve our customers on a daily basis. Additionally, our farmers may not maintain food safety certifications, which may increase our risk in the event of a food safety incident. We have a developed a process to monitor food safety certifications and standards of our farmers and we do not generally source products from farmers that do not have a comprehensive a food safety plan. We periodically audit our farmers’ compliance with our food safety standards, and in the event of material noncompliance with our standards (which occurred with one of our largest chicken suppliers in fiscal year 2020), our policy is to pause our relationship with such farmer until they become compliant.

Any increase in the prices, or lack of availability, of the food products most critical to our menu due to natural forces like weather or climate change, due to companies offering more competitive terms to our local farmers, inflation or other reasons could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The markets for some of the ingredients we use, such as avocado, are particularly volatile due to factors such as limited supply sources, crop yield, seasonal shifts, climate conditions, industry demand, including as a result of food safety concerns, product recalls and government regulation. Material increases in the prices of the ingredients most critical to our menu could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations or cause us to consider changes to our product delivery strategy and adjustments to our menu pricing.

Our ability to maintain consistent price and quality throughout our restaurants depends in part upon our ability to acquire specified food products and supplies in sufficient quantities from our suppliers and distributors at a reasonable cost. Because of the way our supply chain is structured, finding a substitute product that meets our culinary requirements in any one geographical market where we operate, particularly with respect to our fresh food products, may be difficult. We do not control the businesses of our suppliers or distributors, and our efforts to specify and monitor the standards under which they perform may not be successful.

If any of our distributors or suppliers performs inadequately or is unable to grow and scale with our business, or our distribution or supply relationships are disrupted for any reason, there could be an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Currently, we typically have shorter-term contracts for the purchase or distribution of most of our food products and supplies. As a result, we may not be able to anticipate or react to changing food or supply costs by adjusting our purchasing practices or menu prices, which could cause our results of operations to deteriorate. Generally, our agreements range from one to three years, depending on the outlook for prices of the particular ingredient. In some cases, we have minimum

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purchase obligations. We have tried to increase, where practical, the number of suppliers for our ingredients, which we believe can help mitigate pricing volatility, and we follow industry news, trade issues, exchange rates, foreign demand, weather, crises, and other world events that may affect our ingredient prices. In the event of a dispute with a distributor or supplier, we may not have adequate contractual recourse, and any insurance maintained by our distributors and/or suppliers may not be sufficient to cover the cost of a potential claim. If we cannot replace or engage distributors or suppliers who meet our specifications in a short period of time, that could increase our expenses and cause shortages of food and other items at our restaurants such as packaging or paper products, which could cause a restaurant to remove items from its menu. If that were to happen, affected restaurants could experience significant reductions in sales during the shortage or thereafter, if customers change their dining habits as a result. In addition, we may choose not to, or may be unable to, pass along commodity price increases to customers. These potential changes in food and supply costs could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Furthermore, certain food items are perishable, and we have limited control over whether these items will be delivered to us in appropriate condition for use in our restaurants. If any of our vendors or other suppliers are unable to fulfill their obligations to our standards, including if we do not accurately forecast our needs (which has been historically challenging when there have been events outside of our control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic), or if we are unable to find replacement providers in the event of a supply or service disruption, we could encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs to secure adequate supplies or, alternatively, receive lower-quality substituted products, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, unanticipated store closures may result in our donation of an excess supply of perishable products, which may also have an adverse effect on our financial condition. As we expand into new markets, because of the local nature of our supply chain and our commitment to our Food Ethos, we may be unable to find vendors to meet our supply specifications or service needs as we expand. We could likewise encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs to secure adequate supplies, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify or negotiate additional or alternative sources on terms that are commercially reasonable to us, if at all. If our suppliers or distributors are unable to fulfill their obligations under their contracts or we are unable to identify alternative sources, we could encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs, each of which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Similarly, if we are unable to accurately forecast demand, we may end up with overages of custom and/or perishable products, which may result in food waste and in us paying suppliers or farmers for products that we do not end up using.

Our reliance on third parties could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We use various third-party vendors to provide, support and maintain most of our management information systems and technology, including key elements of our applications, and we also outsource certain accounting, payroll and human resource functions to business process service providers. We also use third-party vendors for delivery and customer account management. The failure of any of these vendors to fulfill their obligations could disrupt our operations. For example, we use DoorDash as our preferred third-party delivery partner to power our Native Delivery Channel, and if DoorDash, or any future third-party delivery partner fails to fulfill its obligations or delivers unsatisfactory delivery service, for instance, by delivering orders late, by not having sufficient couriers to fulfill our orders, or by having a system outage, the risks of which may be increased during our transition to DoorDash on our Native Delivery Channel, we will not be able to provide the proper delivery services to our customers through our native application, which is likely to lead to customer dissatisfaction and higher refunds or credits. We, and many of our third party vendors, also rely on Amazon Web Services to operate our digital channels, and in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021, Amazon Web Services had an outage that disabled all of our digital channels for nearly an entire day, having a material impact on our business. Additionally, we partner with LevelUp for account management for customers who have signed up on our smartphone application, including processing payments through our smartphone application. If LevelUp or any future third-party payment processing or account management partner, experiences any significant downtime, is unable to provide certain of its services or has a data security incident, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Additionally, any changes we may make to the services we obtain from our vendors, or from any new vendors we employ, may disrupt our operations. These disruptions could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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Additionally, we, our advertisers and our partners are subject to or affected by the technical requirements, terms of service, and policies of the third-party operating system platforms and application stores on which our mobile application depends, including those operated by Apple and Google. The operators of these platforms and application stores have broad discretion to impose technical requirements and change or interpret their policies in a manner unfavorable to us and our partners, such as by imposing fees associated with access to their platforms, restricting how we collect, use, and share data, and limiting our ability to track users. For example, Apple recently announced restrictions that could adversely affect our advertising and marketing strategies by requiring iOS mobile applications to obtain a user’s opt-in consent to track them for advertising purposes. If we do not comply with the requirements, terms, or policies of the platforms and application stores where we offer our mobile application, we could lose access to users and our business would be harmed.

Failure to manage our growth effectively could harm our business and results of operations.

Our growth plan includes opening a number of new restaurants, investing in a significant amount of technology to make our operations more efficient, and growing headcount at our sweetgreen Support Center to support our growth. Our existing restaurant management systems and other technology, financial and management controls, leadership team and information systems may be inadequate to support our planned expansion and investments, which may negatively impact the quality of service provided to our customers. Managing our growth effectively will require us to continue to enhance these systems, procedures and controls and to hire, train and retain managers and team members. We may not respond quickly enough to the changing demands that our expansion will impose on our management, restaurant teams and existing infrastructure, which could harm our customer experience, and in turn, our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may not persuade customers of the benefits of paying our prices for higher-quality food.

Our success depends in large part on our ability to persuade customers that food made with higher-quality, locally sourced ingredients is worth the prices they will pay at our restaurants relative to prices offered by some of our competitors. We may not successfully educate customers about the quality of our food, and customers may not care even if they do understand our approach. That could require us to increase our pricing, or change our advertising or promotional strategies, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations or the brand identity that we have tried to create. We have increased our pricing several times in the past few years (including in 2021 and 2022) and may increase prices further in the future due to the increased costs of labor or ingredients or other factors, which could negatively affect the loyalty of our existing customers and cause them to reduce their spending with us or impact our ability to acquire new customers, particularly as we expand our footprint into new geographies where customers might have greater price sensitivity. If customers are not persuaded that we offer a good value for their money, we may not be able to grow or maintain our customer base, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Changes in commodity and other operating costs, particularly due to climate change, could adversely affect our results of operations.

The profitability of our restaurants depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in commodity costs, including food, paper, supplies, fuel, utilities and distribution, and other operating costs. Additionally, the commodity markets, including markets for key produce items, such as kale and avocado, will likely continue to increase over time and may also become volatile due to climate change and climate conditions, all of which are beyond our control and, in many instances, extreme and unpredictable (such as more frequent and/or severe fires and hurricanes). We can only partially address future price risk due to climate change through hedging and other activities, and therefore increases in commodity costs, particularly due to climate change, could have an adverse impact on our ability to achieve or maintain profitability. There can be no assurance that future cost increases can be offset by increased menu prices or that increased menu prices will be fully absorbed by our guests without any resulting change to their visit frequencies or purchasing patterns. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will generate revenue growth in an amount sufficient to offset inflationary or other cost pressures, particularly with the high rates of inflation in 2021 and 2022.

The profitability of our restaurants is also adversely affected by increases in the price of utilities, such as natural gas, electric and water, whether as a result of inflation, shortages or interruptions in supply, or otherwise.

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Our ability to respond to increased costs by increasing prices or by implementing alternative processes or products will depend on our ability to anticipate and react to such increases and other more general economic and demographic conditions, as well as the responses of our competitors and guests. All of these things may be difficult to predict and beyond our control. In this manner, increased costs could adversely affect our results of operations.

We depend on our senior management team and other key employees, and the loss of one or more key personnel or an inability to attract, hire, integrate and retain highly skilled personnel could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our key executives, including our founders, Jonathan Neman, Nathaniel Ru, and Nicolas Jammet, and, to date, we have not implemented a robust or defined succession plan in the event of any key executive departures. We also rely on our leadership team in setting our strategic direction and culture, operating our business, identifying, recruiting and training key personnel, identifying expansion opportunities, arranging necessary financing and general and administrative functions.

We have had significant changes in our senior management historically, and, from time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. The loss of one or more of our executive officers, in particular our founders, or other key employees could seriously harm our ability to successfully implement our business strategy and could impede the achievement of our growth objectives, including with respect to scaling the number of our restaurants and expansion into new markets and restaurant formats, improving our operations and advancing technological developments of our website and mobile application, which would have an adverse effect on our business. The replacement of one or more of our executive officers or other key employees would involve significant time and expense and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.

To continue to execute our growth strategy, we also must identify, hire, and retain highly skilled personnel. In particular, in connection with increasing our store count as well as our expansion into new revenue channels and new restaurant formats that rely on online ordering platforms and focus on the digital customer, such as our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels, we must identify, hire and retain highly skilled software engineers, the hiring of which is competitive, and for which we may not be successful. In addition, we undertook two separate reductions in force at our sweetgreen Support Center in March 2020 and October 2020, both of which impacted many departments, including our engineering and digital growth teams, and we may take similar actions in the future. Failure to retain or identify, hire, and motivate necessary key personnel could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Failure to maintain our corporate culture could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We believe that a critical component of our success has been our corporate culture and the internal advancement of our corporate values. We have invested substantial time and resources in building our team, both at our sweetgreen Support Center and within our restaurants. In the future, we may find it difficult to maintain the innovation, teamwork, passion, and focus on execution that we believe are important aspects of our corporate culture. For example, reductions in force at our sweetgreen Support Center during fiscal year 2020 and the general impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including our more flexible work-from-home policy as our corporate employees return to our office (the timing of which is uncertain), have negatively impacted and may continue to negatively impact our corporate culture and company morale. We may also choose or be required to implement mask and/or vaccination requirements in connection with our return-to-office plans, which may negatively impact our corporate culture. As we have grown and increased our focus on simplifying our operations at scale and targeting the digital customer, we have also hired leaders from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences and have historically had a significant amount of management turnover. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively affect our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. If we cannot maintain our corporate culture as we grow, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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Our marketing strategies and channels will evolve and our programs may or may not be successful.

We incur significant costs and expend other resources in our marketing efforts to attract and retain customers. Our strategy includes public relations, digital and social media, targeted promotions (including free delivery), and in-store messaging, which require less marketing spend as compared to traditional marketing programs. As the number of restaurants increases, as our Native Delivery, Outpost, and Marketplace Channels expand and as we grow into new markets, we expect to increase our investment in advertising and consider additional promotional activities. Accordingly, in the future, we will incur greater marketing expenditures, resulting in greater financial risk and a greater impact on our company. Further, changes in customers’ expectations of privacy and limits to our ability to track users of our mobile application for advertising purposes, such as resulting from Apple’s requirement for iOS mobile applications to obtain a user’s opt-in consent before tracking them for advertising purposes, could decrease the effectiveness of our current marketing strategies and increase our marketing costs, as we may not be able to efficiently use targeted advertisements and may need to increase our marketing expenditures to maintain our current level of customer acquisition. We rely heavily on social media for many of our marketing efforts. If customer sentiment towards social media changes or a new medium of communication becomes more mainstream, we may be required to fundamentally change our current marketing strategies which could require us to incur significantly more costs. Some of our marketing initiatives may not be successful, resulting in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenues. Additionally, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which enable them to spend significantly more on marketing and advertising than we are able to at this time. Many factors, including operating costs, constraints, or changes and our current and future competitors’ pricing and marketing strategies, could significantly affect our pricing strategies. In fiscal year 2021, we suspended our loyalty program, instead focusing on more targeted promotions, and modified our existing pricing, but these actions may not ultimately be successful in attracting and retaining customers. Further, our customers’ price sensitivity may vary by geographic location, and as we expand, our marketing strategies or pricing methodologies may not enable us to compete effectively in these locations. Should our competitors increase spending on marketing and advertising or our marketing funds decrease for any reason, if our marketing strategies or pricing methodologies change, or should our marketing strategies or pricing methodologies be less effective than those of our competitors, it could result in an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

New information or attitudes regarding diet and health could result in changes in regulations and customer consumption habits, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Regulations and customer eating habits may change as a result of new information or attitudes regarding diet and health. For example, a growing number of people are consuming plant-based meat substitutes, which we currently do not offer on our menu. Such changes may include responses to scientific studies on the health effects of particular food items or federal, state, and local regulations that impact the ingredients and nutritional content of the food and beverages we offer. The success of our restaurant operations is dependent, in part, upon our ability to effectively respond to changes in any customer attitudes or health regulations and our ability to adapt our menu offerings to trends in food consumption, especially fast-moving trends. If customer health regulations or customer eating habits change significantly, we may choose or be required to modify or delete certain menu items, which may adversely affect the attractiveness of our restaurants to new or returning customers. Changes in customer eating habits can occur rapidly, often in response to published research or study information, which puts additional pressure on us to adapt quickly. To the extent we are unwilling or unable to respond with appropriate changes to our menu offerings in an efficient manner, it could adversely affect customer demand and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Government regulation and customer eating habits may impact our business as a result of changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the adverse health effects of consuming certain menu offerings. These changes have resulted in, and may continue to result in, laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings, and they have resulted, and may continue to result in, laws and regulations affecting permissible ingredients and menu offerings. A number of counties, cities and states, including California, have enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose to customers certain nutritional information, or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants, which laws may be different or inconsistent with requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “PPACA”), which establishes a uniform, federal

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requirement for certain restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus. Specifically, the PPACA requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations operating under the same name and offering substantially the same menus to publish the total number of calories of standard menu items on menus and menu boards, along with a statement that puts this calorie information in the context of a total daily calorie intake. These labeling laws may also change customer consumption habits in a way that adversely impacts our sales. Additionally, an unfavorable report on, or reaction to, our menu ingredients, the size of our portions, or the nutritional content of our menu items could negatively influence the demand for our menu offerings and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may not be able to effectively respond to changes in customer health perceptions, comply with further nutrient content disclosure requirements or adapt our menu offerings to trends in eating habits, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our focus on environmental sustainability and social initiatives may increase our costs, and our inability to meet our sustainability goals could harm our reputation and adversely impact our financial results.

There has been increasing public focus by investors, environmental activists, the media, and governmental and nongovernmental organizations on a variety of environmental, social, and other sustainability matters. With respect to the restaurant industry, concerns have been expressed regarding energy management, water management, food and packaging waste management, food safety, nutritional content, labor practices, and supply chain and management food sourcing. Through our mission, we have committed to supporting small and mid-size growers who are farming sustainably, to creating transparency around what’s in our food and where it came from, and to creating more accessibility to healthy, real food for more people. In connection therewith, we have announced our commitment to become carbon neutral, which involves reducing our carbon footprint by 50% and meaningfully offsetting where reduction is not yet possible, by 2027. Achieving this commitment, as well as any other environmental, social, and governance initiatives we may pursue, could be costly to implement, and we may not be successful. If we are not effective in addressing environmental, social, and other governance matters affecting our industry, setting and meeting relevant sustainability goals, diversity, equity, and inclusion targets, or fulfilling our mission or sustainability plans, our brand image may suffer. For example, we have recently transitioned to alternative bowls that do not contain more than trace amounts of PFAS. We may experience increased costs in order to execute upon our sustainability goals and measure achievement of those goals, which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

We may require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available on reasonable terms or at all.

We intend to continue to make significant investments to support our business growth, including with respect to investments in expansion of our restaurant footprint and our multiple distribution channels, the introduction of new store formats and technology to enhance our operating efficiency, each of which might require additional funds to respond to business challenges or opportunities. For example, we may need to open additional restaurants, develop new products and menu items or enhance our products and menu items, and enhance our operating infrastructure. In particular, our planned investment in developing automation technology after our acquisition of Spyce could cost more and could take longer to develop than we initially expect, which could require additional capital. Additionally, if our operating losses continue as a result of a slower-than-anticipated recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic or other factors, we may need to raise additional capital sooner than anticipated. Accordingly, we might need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. In addition, we might not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.

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We operate our restaurants in leased properties subject to long-term, non-cancelable leases. If we are unable to secure new leases on favorable terms, terminate unfavorable leases, or renew or extend favorable leases, our profitability may suffer.

We operate our restaurants in leased facilities. Payments under our restaurant leases account for a significant portion of our operating expenses, and we expect the new restaurants we open in the future will also be leased. It is becoming increasingly challenging to locate and secure favorable lease facilities for new restaurants as competition for restaurant sites in our target markets is intense. Development and leasing costs are increasing, particularly for urban locations. These factors could negatively impact our ability to manage our occupancy costs, which may adversely impact our profitability. In addition, any of these factors may be exacerbated by economic factors, which may result in an increased demand for developers and contractors that could drive up our construction and leasing costs. Also, as we open and operate more restaurants, our rate of expansion relative to the size of our existing restaurant base will decline, making it increasingly difficult to achieve levels of sales and profitability growth that we achieved in prior years.

We are obligated under long-term, non-cancelable leases for almost all of our restaurants and our sweetgreen Support Center. Our restaurant leases generally require us to pay a proportionate share of real estate taxes, insurance, common area maintenance charges and other operating costs. Certain of our restaurant leases also provide for contingent rental payments based on sales thresholds. Additional sites that we lease are likely to be subject to similar long-term non-cancelable leases. While we were successful in negotiating certain rent abatements with some of our landlords as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, if an existing or future restaurant is not profitable and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease (or negotiate a buyout with the landlord) including, among other things, paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. In addition, as each of our leases expires, we may fail to negotiate renewals, either on commercially acceptable terms or at all, which could cause us to pay increased occupancy costs or to close restaurants in desirable locations. These potential increased occupancy costs and closed restaurants could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Furthermore, if we are unable to renew existing leases in key metropolitan areas where we operate or such leases are terminated, any inability to operate in such metropolitan area, as well as the publicity concerning any such termination or non-renewal, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

A significant portion of our restaurants are located in large urban areas, and if our operations in these geographies are negatively affected, our financial results and future prospects would be adversely affected.

A significant portion of our restaurants are located in densely populated urban locations, such as midtown New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, and the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia metropolitan areas. For fiscal years 2021 and 2020, approximately 33% and 32%, respectively, of our revenue was generated from our restaurants located in the New York City metropolitan area. As a result, adverse economic or other conditions in any of these areas could have an adverse effect on our overall results of operations. In addition, given our geographic concentrations, negative publicity regarding any of our restaurants in these areas could have an adverse effect on our business and operations, as could other regional occurrences such as local strikes, terrorist attacks, increases in energy prices, inclement weather, or natural or man-made disasters.

As a result of our geographic concentration, our business and financial results are susceptible to economic, social, weather, and regulatory conditions or other circumstances in each of these densely populated urban areas, and any regional occurrences in the markets in which we operate, such as local strikes, terrorist attacks, increases in energy prices, health-related incidents, adverse weather conditions, tornadoes, earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, floods, droughts, fires or other natural or man-made disasters, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our financial results in these urban locations far more negatively than our suburban locations, and as of the end of fiscal year 2021, our AUVs for our urban locations were still materially lower than our AUVs for our urban locations as of the end of fiscal year 2019. Furthemore, the long-term change in behavior as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a sustained decline in the desirability of living, working, and congregating in the densely populated urban areas in which we operate. Additionally, during the 2020 presidential election and 2021 inauguration, we had prolonged store closures in the Washington, D.C./Virginia/Maryland metropolitan areas, which had an adverse impact on our restaurant revenues and profitability. Any short-term or long-term shifts in the travel patterns of customers away from

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densely populated urban areas could have an adverse impact on our future results of operations in these areas. An economic downturn, increased competition, or regulatory obstacles in any of these key markets would adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations to a much greater degree than would the occurrence of such events in other areas. In addition, any changes to local laws or regulations within these key metropolitan markets that affect our ability to operate or increase our operating expenses in these markets would have an adverse effect on our business.

In addition, adverse weather conditions, particularly in the winter months in some of our largest markets such as New York City, Boston, the Washington, D.C./Virginia/Maryland metropolitan region and Chicago, or unexpected adverse weather conditions in markets such as Georgia, Texas or Florida, may also impact customer traffic at our restaurants, and, in more severe cases, cause temporary restaurant closures, sometimes for prolonged periods, which could have an adverse impact on our revenues. Many of our restaurants have outdoor seating, and the effects of adverse weather may impact the use of these areas and may negatively impact our revenue. As a result of adverse weather conditions, temporary or prolonged restaurant closures may occur and customer traffic may decline due to the actual or perceived effects of future weather-related events.

Acquisitions could be difficult to identify, pose integration challenges, divert the attention of management, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value, and adversely affect our results of operations and expansion prospects.

We have in the past and may in the future make acquisitions of other companies, technologies, or products. Competition within our industry for acquisitions of businesses, technologies in areas such as automation and logistics (such as our recent acquisition of Spyce), and assets (including retail spaces) may become intense, and we have limited experience in acquisitions. As such, even if we are able to identify a target for acquisition, we may not be able to complete the acquisition on commercially reasonable terms, or such target may be acquired by another company including, potentially, one of our competitors. Negotiations for such potential acquisitions may result in diversion of management time and significant out-of-pocket costs. If we do complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals, and any acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by customers, employees, or investors or result in the incurrence of significant other liabilities. We may expend significant cash or incur substantial debt to finance such acquisitions, which indebtedness may restrict our business or require the use of available cash to make interest and principal payments. In addition, we may finance or otherwise complete acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, which may result in further dilution of our existing stockholders. For example, we spent significant time and resources and issued a significant amount of equity securities to acquire Spyce, and expect to spend significant additional resources on developing Spyce’s automation technology and integrating the Spyce technology into our restaurants, and doing so may take more time or use more resources, than we expect, and we may not be successful at all in realizing our goals in the transaction. Additionally, the time and resources we spend toward developing Spyce’s automation technology and integrating the Spyce technology into our restaurants may be a significant distraction in successfully growing the rest of our business. If we fail to evaluate and execute acquisitions successfully or fail to successfully address any of these risks, our results of operations and expansion prospects may be harmed.

We are a party to a secured credit agreement, which contains certain affirmative and negative covenants that may restrict our current and future operations and could adversely affect our ability to execute business needs.

Our credit agreement with EagleBank (as amended, the “2020 Credit Agreement”) contains certain affirmative and negative covenants applicable to us and our subsidiaries, including, among other things, restrictions on indebtedness, liens, investments, mergers, dispositions, dividends and other distributions, and transactions with affiliates. The obligations under the 2020 Credit Agreement are guaranteed by our existing and future material subsidiaries and secured by substantially all of our and our subsidiary guarantor’s assets, other than certain excluded assets. The terms of our 2020 Credit Agreement may restrict our current and future operations and could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs in the means or manner desired. In addition, complying with these covenants may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy, invest in our growth strategy and compete against companies who are not subject to such restrictions. The 2020 Credit Agreement also contains a financial covenant that requires us to maintain minimum liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents plus available amount under the revolving credit facility of the 2020 Credit Agreement, in an amount of not less than the trailing 90 day cash burn during a

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calendar quarter. We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow or sales to meet the financial covenant or pay any principal or interest under the 2020 Credit Agreement.

If we are unable to comply with our payment requirements or any other covenants, it could result in an event of default under the 2020 Credit Agreement and our lender may accelerate our obligations under our 2020 Credit Agreement and foreclose upon the collateral, or we may be forced to sell assets, restructure our indebtedness, or seek additional equity capital, which would dilute our stockholders’ interests. In addition, such a default or acceleration may result in the acceleration of any future indebtedness to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. If this occurs, we might not be able to repay our debt or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if new financing is available, it may not be on terms that are acceptable to us.

Further, interest on any outstanding balances under the 2020 Credit Agreement is calculated based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). On July 27, 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates LIBOR, announced that it will no longer require banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. Further, on March 5, 2021, the Intercontinental Exchange Benchmark Administration, the FCA-regulated and authorized administrator of LIBOR, announced, and the FCA confirmed, that one week and two-month USD LIBOR settings will cease on December 31, 2021, and that the USD LIBOR panel for all other tenors will cease on June 30, 2023. The 2020 Credit Agreement provides for the discontinuation of U.S. dollar LIBOR by including provisions broadly consistent with the “hardwired” approach recommended by the Alternative Rates Reference Committee convened by the Federal Reserve Board. The “hardwired” approach provides for (i) a transition to a benchmark based on the secured overnight funds rate (“SOFR”) or another benchmark determined after giving regard to any recommendation by the Federal Reserve Board and any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for syndicated credit facilities and (ii) certain spread adjustments and other changes necessary to implement such replacement benchmark. The transition to a replacement benchmark is triggered by the earliest to occur of several events, including the cessation of publication of U.S. dollar LIBOR and the public announcement by the regulatory supervisor of the administrator of U.S. dollar LIBOR that U.S. dollar LIBOR is no longer representative. No modification has yet been made to the interest rate under the 2020 Credit Agreement, but changes will be required in the future. We currently anticipate that the new benchmark will be based on SOFR. The shift to SOFR from LIBOR will be complex and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results from operations and could cause the market value of our Class A common stock to decline.

Risks Related to Legal and Governmental Regulation

Governmental regulation may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to various federal, state, and local regulations, including those relating to building and zoning requirements and those relating to the preparation and sale of food and, in certain locations, those relating to the sale of alcoholic beverages, including “dram shop” statutes. The development and operation of restaurants depends to a significant extent on the selection and acquisition of suitable sites, which are subject to zoning, land use, environmental, traffic, and other regulations and requirements. Our restaurants are also subject to state and local licensing and regulation by health, sanitation, food and occupational safety, and other agencies, which regulation has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We may experience difficulties or failures in obtaining the necessary licenses, approvals, or permits for our restaurants, which could delay planned restaurant openings (and has become significantly more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic) or affect the operations at our existing restaurants. In addition, stringent and varied requirements of local regulators with respect to zoning, land use, and environmental factors could delay or prevent development of new restaurants in particular locations.

Our operations are subject to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act, which governs worker health and safety, as well as rules and regulations regarding COVID-19, the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs such matters as minimum wages and overtime, and a variety of similar federal, state and local labor and employment laws (such as fair work week laws, various wage & hour laws, termination and discharge laws, and state occupational safety regulations) that govern these and other employment law matters. We may also be subject to lawsuits or investigations from our current or former employees in our restaurants or in the sweetgreen Support Center, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination, and similar matters, and

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we have been a party to a number of such matters in the past. These lawsuits and investigations require significant resources from our senior management and can result in fines, penalties and/or settlements, some or all of which may not be covered by insurance. These lawsuits and investigations can also result in significant remediation efforts that may be costly and time consuming, and which we may not implement effectively. We have made payments to settle these types of lawsuits and/or investigations in the past, and additional lawsuits or investigations could have an adverse effect on our business, brand and reputation, financial condition, and results of operations. Additional federal, state, and local proposals related to paid sick leave or similar matters, particularly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could, if implemented, also have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are also subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) and similar state laws that give civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the context of employment (particularly in connection with accommodations for COVID-19 vaccination mandates), public accommodations and other areas, including our restaurants, website, and smartphone applications. In the past, we have settled various lawsuits related to our alleged ADA non-compliance, which resulted in accommodations to our website, smartphone applications, and physical restaurant locations. We may face additional litigation in the future or have to further modify our digital platforms (including any digital kiosks that we may implement in our restaurants) by providing auxiliary aids to disabled persons, or restaurants by adding access ramps or redesigning certain interior layouts or architectural fixtures to provide service to or make reasonable accommodations for disabled persons. The expenses associated with these modifications could be material, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to adjust our business practices appropriately to limit additional claims in the future.

We operate in a highly regulated industry, and we strive to implement industry best practices to ensure food and customer safety whether or not required by government regulation, including with respect to hand washing and sanitation of our restaurants as well as the prepping, handling, and maintaining of many of our perishable food items. In the event we fail to maintain such best practices, or do not comply with any required government regulation, it could lead to incidents related to foodborne illnesses that could have an adverse effect on their brand and operations. Local, state, and federal regulatory requirements are always evolving, and we anticipate compliance with these requirements may increase our costs and present challenges and risk to our company.

The impact of current laws and regulations, including vaccination mandates for restaurants operating indoor dining, the effect of future changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements (including the requirement to provide for reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities), and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or our inability to respond effectively to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could increase our compliance and other costs of doing business and, therefore, have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Failure to comply with the laws and regulatory requirements of federal, state, and local authorities could result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines, and civil and criminal liability. In addition, certain laws, including the ADA, could require us to expend significant funds to make modifications to our restaurants if we failed to comply with applicable standards. Compliance with the aforementioned laws and regulations can be costly and can increase our exposure to litigation or governmental investigations or proceedings, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Changes in employment laws may increase our labor costs and impact our results of operations.

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SG · 10-K · period ended 2021-12-26

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

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SG · 10-K · period ended 2021-12-26

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

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