Chopt Creative Salad Company partnered with Google for a series of food experiences across the company’s campuses to explore the future of plant-based meals.
Google began testing a “veggie lab” called Relish in California in April with Chopt, and enthusiasm was so strong among employees that Google will be developing a second concept in 2018.
“Like Chopt, Google believes that a more balanced, plant-forward diet will not only enhance the wellbeing of its employees but also be better for the environment and the world at large,” says Chopt co-founder Colin McCabe. “This shared vision, combined with Chopt’s expertise in crafting exciting plant-based offerings, enabled the team to truly reimagine what vegetables can and should be.”
Chopt is also testing a vegetable-focused menu, such as vegetable gyros and noodles, at a kiosk called “The Box” at Google’s New York campus that opened in late September. The goal of the kiosk is to challenge the preconceived notions of vegetables and demonstrate how exciting a plant-based diet can be, McCabe says.
“Getting people to include more vegetables in their diet is at the core of our mission at Chopt. It wasn’t long ago when salads were relegated to the side of the plate,” he says. “Our passion for plant-based eating comes from the impact that we know our work will have. By putting vegetables first, we have the chance to build healthier people and communities, stronger local economies, and a more sustainable world in general.”
Chopt has expanded to more than 35 restaurants in New York, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina since it first opened in New York in 2001, and McCabe says the brand is excited about what it has accomplished so far, but it is just getting started.
“We believe there are three revolutions occurring in the world today: energy, technology, and food,” Chopt co-founder Tony Shure says in a statement. “These are big issues and tackling them forces us to constantly challenge the status quo to discover what is truly possible. In Google, we found an eager innovation partner who not only shared our world view but also our passion for facing this challenge head on.”
By Alex Dixon
