Cyclospora fears lead consumers to lose their appetite for salads
A cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce has caused a significant decline in salad sales across major restaurant chains and grocery stores. Companies like Chopt and Sweetgreen are reporting lower traffic, while Salad and Go has filed for bankruptcy due to the impact.
Why it matters
The outbreak highlights the vulnerability of the fresh produce supply chain and the significant economic impact food safety crises have on the restaurant and retail sectors.
Warm weather usually drives salad sales, but consumers spooked by the ongoing cyclospora outbreaks are avoiding lettuce this summer.
Traffic to Chopt Creative Salad Co. locations fell 24% on July 18, right after the Food and Drug Administration announced the outbreak, according to Placer.ai data. Sweetgreen on Thursday said consumer concerns about the outbreak had about a 6 percentage point impact on same-store sales in July, and the company cut its full-year outlook . And earlier this week, upstart chain Salad and Go filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed all of its locations, saying the cyclospora outbreak had exacerbated its existing business challenges.
Grocery stores aren't immune either. Dollar sales of prepackaged salads plunged 14% during the four weeks ended July 25 compared with the year-ago period, according to NielsenIQ data.
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