Giardino Gourmet Salads extended its food promise of nutritional empowerment even further after announcing that all chicken purchased by the brand will be sustainably farmed and only 100 percent all-natural and free of antibiotics and hormones.
“We are constantly working to meet the changing needs of our customers while ensuring we deliver upon the taste, quality and value they have come to expect from Giardino Gourmet Salads,” says Kenny Lugo, founder and Giardino Gourmet Salads board member. “Offering a 100 percent all-natural chicken breast that is sustainably farmed and antibiotic and hormone free is the next step in our evolution as one of the quickest growing salad concepts in the fast casual restaurant space. Making the change was complex and required close collaboration with new suppliers and farms, most of which are family-owned, in order to meet the needs of our customers across South Florida and the Southeast.”
This announcement is the latest step forward for the brand that aims to redefine the salad experience. Giardino Gourmet Salads offers some of the largest varieties of salads in the marketplace—over 20 different combinations—including the ability to create your own “My Way” salad. Additionally, its signature mix of proteins, as well as homemade croutons, grain bowls, deli-style salad mixtures, wraps and soups help to set the brand apart from other salad offerings.
“At Giardino Gourmet Salads, we are committed to healthy, fresh high-quality salads, soups, wraps and grain bowls to keep our loyal guests coming back while encouraging new users to experience our brand,” says Jaime Mitrani, a Giardino Gourmet Salads multi-unit franchisee. “At the unit level, we’re thrilled with this shift to a 100 percent all-natural, hormone free and antibiotic free chicken. Our guests can really taste the difference and our commitment to ongoing menu innovation will only continue to improve our customer experience while driving sales across our franchise network.”
As Giardino Gourmet Salads continues to grow, it remains committed to simplifying operations across its franchised system, investing hundreds of hours to train and onboard team members, and remodeling its restaurants to engage customers and drive cohesion. These efforts have contributed to system-wide same store sales growth while introducing thousands to the brand.
“This is another major business milestone in our development as a brand,” adds Lugo. “We know our customers expect the very best chicken and I’m extremely proud we were able to make this shift without passing the cost along to our guests.”
