Cava CFO Tricia Tolivar on Customer Retention, Menu Innovation, and Automation

Cava's Strategy for Customer Retention

• 🎯 Cava aims to deliver great value and amazing cuisine with wonderful hospitality to ensure customers keep returning.
• 💡 The company believes that by consistently providing value, they can attract customers even during uncertain economic times.

Menu Innovation and New Offerings

• 🚀 Cava is preparing for a slowing economy by focusing on consumer innovation, with new items like chicken shawarma and cinnamon sugar pita chips planned for release.
• ✨ A recent collaboration with a former employee to create a therapeutic plushie has generated significant buzz and demonstrated Cava's ability to be culturally relevant.

Pricing Strategy and Value Proposition

• 💰 Cava has kept menu price increases significantly below CPI over the past five years, raising prices by only 15% compared to a 23% CPI increase.
• 📈 For 2025, menu pricing is planned to increase by less than 2%, demonstrating a commitment to providing strong, everyday value to guests.
• 🇦🇺 Cava is absorbing tariff impacts on imported items like Australian beef and Greek olives, with no plans to pass these costs onto consumers for the remainder of 2025.

Operational Efficiency and Automation

• 🛠️ Cava is implementing kitchen display systems in over 200 restaurants to improve order accuracy and efficiency for team members.
• 🤖 An investment in a company called Hyphen aims to automate the digital make line for preparing bowls and pitas, enhancing restaurant efficiency.
• 🤝 Cava emphasizes that technology is used to enhance the human experience, not replace it, particularly in customer-facing roles.

Marketing and Growth Plans

• 🌟 Cava partnered with athlete Gabby Thomas in Q1 2025 for an authentic campaign highlighting their food and specific menu items like spicy lamb meatballs.
• 📈 The company plans robust growth, expecting to open 68 to 70 new restaurants in the current year, with their design and construction team effectively navigating tariff impacts on construction costs.