America's favorite slop bowl chains are in trouble. We tasted them to figure out why.

"Fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle, Sweetgreen, and Cava had been exceptions to the restaurant industry's slumping sales and diminished foot traffic as consumers curbed their spending over the better part of the last year. Those days seem to be over: $20 can now get you table service with your Triple Dipper at Chili's, and other casual and fast-food chains are ramping up their combo meal offerings. Doesn't that muck up the slop bowl's value proposition? Consumers seem to think so."

""If I'm going to spend an extra $4 or $5 to go to Chipotle or Cava versus McDonald's, that value still needs to be there - it just needs to be a different type of value," Jean-Pierre Lacroix,president of the brand strategy firm SLD, told Business Insider. "They need to find that balance and provide value while creating something unique that is memorable and shareable.""

"Four analysts and brand strategists who spoke to Business Insider said each restaurant is grappling with its value proposition. Gone are the days when consumers would frivolously swing for a larger-sized soda or an added side. Customers demand filling meals, healthy options, and affordable prices, with slop bowls no longer seen as the top dog in those categories. That raises the question: do the bowls themselves live up to the value promise that made each brand popular?"

Fast-casual chains such as Chipotle, Sweetgreen, and Cava previously outperformed the wider restaurant sector but now show slowing same-store sales as consumers cut spending. Casual and fast-food chains are offering inexpensive combo meals and table-service promotions, eroding the premium value of bowl formats. Consumers now prioritize filling portions, healthy choices, and affordability over extra add-ons. Sweetgreen saw a 7.6% same-store sales decline and Chipotle posted a 4% drop; Cava’s same-store growth slowed to 2.1% from 14.4%. Brands must balance perceived value and uniqueness to remain memorable. A comparison found Chipotle most filling and least expensive.

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