Gen Z Ditches $30 ‘Slop Bowls’ for $8 Big Macs—Plot Twist!
KEY POINTS
- •Chipotle, Cava, Sweetgreen report fewer visits from 25-35 age group.
- •Younger customers face financial issues, cutting back on dining out.
- •Chipotle stock down 26%, Cava down 27%, Sweetgreen down 21%.
Welcome to 2025, where Chipotle, Cava, and Sweetgreen—America’s holy trinity of custom slop bowls priced between $19 and $29—are losing millennials and Gen Zers faster than you can say 'student loans and rent.' CEOs Scott Boatwright (Chipotle), Brett Schulman (Cava), and CFO Jamie McConnell (Sweetgreen) all moaned on recent earnings calls (Oct 29 & the following week) about 25-to-35-year-olds skipping their $10+ ‘healthy’ bowls for McDonald’s $8 Big Mac deals and Chili’s $10.99 ‘3 for Me’ combos. Stocks have taken a nosedive: Chipotle down 26%, Cava 27%, Sweetgreen 21%, because apparently, grocery shopping at home trumps avocado toast-priced ambition. Even Jefferies analyst Andrew Barish says just slashing prices won’t save these salad palaces—try innovation or a moodier lighting scheme instead.
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Gen Z trading their $29 fancy salads for $8 Big Macs proves one thing: You’re never too old to admit value means food that doesn’t require a financial bailout or a spreadsheet to justify.
When your biggest competitor is the grocery aisle and a Big Mac combo, maybe your overpriced slop bowl is the problem, not the Gen Z wallet.
Chipotle’s biggest competition is now the kitchen at home because apparently ‘dinner with spouse’ beats ‘build your own $12 chicken fillet fantasy.’ Spoiler: We’re all broke.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 11/7/2025 | Author: Aditi Bharade
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