Sweetgreen's Sweetpass Loyalty Program Teardown

Sweetgreen built its brand around fresh food as a main course, not a side dish, and picked up real traction with millennial and Gen Z customers — including celebrity endorsements from athletes like Devin Booker. Even with lines out the door, the company knew loyalty required active engagement, and piloted “sweetpass” before launching a refreshed program in 2023.

From tiers to challenges

Sweetgreen replaced its original tiered system with a gamified rewards and challenges model. To participate, customers create an account and download the app — there’s no path into the program without it. Challenges ask customers to hit a spend amount, visit a certain number of times, or buy specific items, and completing one triggers a checkout pop-up confirming the reward, trackable from the app’s challenges page.

The app as the hub

More than half of Sweetgreen’s transactions already happen digitally, and the company is pushing that number higher. The app carries exclusive menu items, personalized promotions, and both delivery and pickup ordering — it’s the only place challenges and rewards actually live.

Rewards and promotions

Rewards expire and only redeem through app or website orders. Sweetgreen layers several standing incentives on top of the challenge system:

• Referral program — $7 credit once a referred friend completes their first qualifying order
• First-time orders — $5 credit on a $7.95+ purchase
• QR code linking — $5 in-store credit for linking a card
• New locations — $5 credit at select newly opened restaurants
• Free delivery — waived delivery fees at select locations (service fee still applies)
• Spend threshold — $5 credit on orders of $25+ before tax and fees
• Catering — 25% off through Outpost partners

Purchase history also drives targeted offers, like free-delivery nudges aimed specifically at customers who haven’t tried that option yet.

What’s next

Sweetgreen continues experimenting beyond the core program, including drive-thru service at its Illinois “Sweetland” location — a sign the company sees loyalty and format innovation as connected, not separate, bets.