Sweetgreen knew it hit a nerve. Early trials of “Ripple Fries” returned the highest attach rate figures for a side in the fast casual’s 18-year history. CEO Jonathan Neman, without breaking out specifics, told investors after Q4 the results were “totally incremental,” meaning guests tacked on the product to create their version of a salad and fry pairing, versus swapping anything out.
Beyond sales, however, “Ripple Fries” represented a notable menu development at Sweetgreen for the simple reality the chain was suddenly offering, of all the quick-service staples, perhaps the one most aligned with “fast food” as a category. That and burgers. But Sweetgreen’s version hardly mirrored competitors or historic comparisons.
Neman labeled Ripple Fries a “permissible indulgence.” They’re made with five ingredients, including avocado oil. Sweetgreen claims to be the first national brand (it just hit 250 locations) to offer air-fried fries prepared without seed oils; the brand transitioned to better-for-you cooking oils last year in extra virgin and avocado. Ripple Fries are seasoned with a blend of salt and herbs and presented with a choice of two signature housemade sauces—Garlic Aioli and Pickle Ketchup.
Sweetgreen piloted Ripple Fries in Los Angeles and social media chatter quickly ignited, asking for a wider rollout. “This launch is another step forward in redefining what fast food can be,” Neman said.
QSR magazine caught up with Chad Brauze, sweetgreen’s head of culinary, to learn more about the inspiration, ideation, and execution of Ripple Fries, and where the brand’s innovation cycle heads next.
Take us to the start of the inspiration. Naturally, fries don’t need an introduction in this industry. But if sweetgreen was going to dive in, how was it going to make a product true to the brand?
We’ve always been about real food at Sweetgreen, and we wanted to bring that same philosophy to fries. We knew that if we were going to dive into the fry game, we had to do it in a way that stayed true to our values: fresh, simple, and made with high-quality ingredients. The reality is, Americans eat around 4.5 billion pounds of French fries every year, but many of the popular ones are loaded with ingredients and oils that don’t align with what we stand for. So, we kept it clean. Our Ripple Fries are air-fried with avocado oil and only five ingredients, which is pretty rare in this space. We’re really proud to be the first national brand to offer something that’s not only fresh and craveable but also better for you—all at scale.
The beauty, for me, of Ripple Fries is that it embodies exactly what we do at Sweetgreen. You take a very simple ingredient, a potato, and with a few ingredients, some culinary expertise, and some love turn it into something extraordinary. It really shows off how good everyday things can taste and how far you can take them with just a touch of work. It’s the same magic that we use to make things like our Green Goddess Ranch and our Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.
How long was the ideation process? And how many versions did you go through before landing on the winning formula?
We went through more than 100 versions and spent about a month alone playing with shapes. We tried all the traditional fry sizes, along with wedges, steak cut, rounds, gaufrettes, and even diced. Since air frying is important to us, we found a rippled slice works best as the undulating grooves help to catch the hot air flow and give our Ripple Fries a great crisp.
Thickness was also important as we really wanted to taste some of the interior potato and balance the flavor with a crispy, craveworthy exterior. We also spent a lot of time working through potato varieties. We tried sweet potatoes, red potatoes, purple potatoes, waxy potatoes, fingerlings—just about any potato that we could get our hands on before we finally decided on a specially sized russett. The starch to sugar ratio works really well in our application, and it is easy on our growers.
We also did a lot of work experimenting with air-frying in our ovens. After a ton of iteration, we finally settled on a really cool program that starts with a lot of hot, dry high-airspeed air to start the exterior coloration then slows down and adds a little bit of humidity to finish cooking the potato interior to a perfect fluffiness. We are really proud of our work!
Talk about the movement away from seed oils. How important is that ethos to sweetgreen’s culinary following last year’s transition?
Sweetgreen was built around offering our guests fresh, transparent food options, and that’s exactly what we’ve focused on in the Test Kitchen. After switching to cooking all our proteins, grains, and veggies with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, we wanted to go further and offer even more seed-oil free options. Our Ripple Fries, made with avocado oil, are a perfect example of that—creating a delicious, healthier alternative for fries, a menu item that’s highly processed and often made with ingredients you can’t pronounce. By innovating with clean, high-quality ingredients, we’re giving our customers something they can’t get anywhere else.
What has the customer response been like?
The response has been amazing! We’ve seen tons of love on social media, with viral reviews reaching millions of people. Customers are raving about the fries’ taste and texture, and the excitement around our two new sauces has been off the charts. It’s clear there’s a real craving for a better kind of fry, and we’re thrilled to be the ones offering it.
Tell us about the signature sauces.
One of the best features of our Ripple Fries is their unique shape, perfectly designed for dipping into our two new signature housemade sauces: Garlic Aioli and Pickle Ketchup. Both sauces are made with simple ingredients and without seed oils. The Garlic Aioli offers a creamy, flavorful base of mayonnaise that we’ve infused with fresh garlic and a squeeze of lemon for the perfect amount of zest. Our Pickle Ketchup is lightly sweetened with maple syrup, balanced with a tang of fresh dill.
Just overall, how do the Ripple Fries fit into sweetgreen’s larger mission and what kind of innovation can we expect ahead?
We’re always listening to our guests and finding new ways to reinvent fast food favorites with high-quality, seasonal ingredients. The response to Ripple Fries has been incredible, and right now, we’re having a lot of fun in the Test Kitchen—experimenting, innovating, and looking ahead to what’s next. We take inspiration from the seasons, spending time at farmers’ markets to source peak produce, and we’re excited to bring more of that to our menu. Plus, we’ve got a few exciting things coming soon, including a special collaboration that takes us back to our culinary roots. Stay tuned!
