June 21, 2016
![Fresh over fried: Fast casual goes healthy Fresh over fried: Fast casual goes healthy](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/blt8f7cddec8e16076e/64ff217dd98f8bd2f88964a4/eatsa.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
While it’s clear there’s no shortage of restaurants targeting the natural clientele, it’s rare that they go all the way to organic. The Organic Coup is changing that, serving organic fried chicken in California and expanding, both in locations and in menu size, soon.
Eatsa has created what is likely the boldest business model in the restaurant industry and may offer direct competition for retail foodservice because of its emphasis on fast. It’s like an app-operated vending machine—meaning no servers—for healthy meals that use fresh ingredients. The menu is quinoa-centric, includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, and has flavors ranging from kale salads to curry to Mediterranean to teriyaki.
It looks at first like a standard salad bar, but Freshii also offers burritos, soups, frozen yogurt and juices—including 1-, 3- and 5-day cleanses—and has found a way to scale a model that was originally inspired by a bunch of healthy mom-and-pop delis offering similar things. The chain first opened in Toronto and is now in more than 75 cities in 15 countries.
Now a household name almost nationally, Native Foods Cafe is a go-to option for takeaway vegan meals that are not only relatively healthy, but also hearty and comfort-food-like. With a menu ranging from vegan nachos to a macro bowl, there’s something for just about everyone.
This Washington, DC-based chain is one that’s been called the next Chipotle, featuring salads, soups and grain bowls instead of burritos. The restaurant says it emphasizes local and organic ingredients, caters to both vegan and gluten-free crowds, and is designed to be affordable. Sweetgreen received $35 million in series F financing last June, with backing from a number of outside investors that reportedly include T. Rowe Price and AOL co-founder Steve Case.
This small chain, with locations in New York City (and, any day now, one in Boston), has a model that might come the closest to the elusive “next Chipotle” and also to what many retailers’ foodservice operations have offered—customization. The Digg Inn menu is an assortment of basics—roasted broccoli, brown rice, charred chicken—that you choose from to produce a bowl of your own design, made right in front of you. It has to be what you would get if a natural foods retail manager started running a Chipotle.
The California chain has more than 20 locations in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco, with more coming soon. Lemonade serves seasonal food that changes daily, with plenty of specialty-diet offerings. It caters to both the quick-serve lunch crowd and the parent looking for a healthy, ready-to-eat dinner to bring home to the family.
The California chain has more than 20 locations in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco, with more coming soon. Lemonade serves seasonal food that changes daily, with plenty of specialty-diet offerings. It caters to both the quick-serve lunch crowd and the parent looking for a healthy, ready-to-eat dinner to bring home to the family.
As more natural foods retailers try to capitalize on the seemingly insatiable demand for fast food that’s also healthy and nutritious by getting into foodservice or expanding their selection of grab-and-go items, so too are restaurants trying out ways to capture this lucrative market. The race has been on to find the “next Chipotle,” with restaurants employing different models to attract that ubiquitous rushed customer who doesn’t want to feel guilty about what a hurried lunch means for health. Here's a look at some of them.
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