Okay, so Cava, the "healthy" fast-casual joint, is singing the same sad song as everyone else: the economy's screwed, and young people are broke. Big surprise. I swear, if I have to read one more earnings report blaming millennials and Gen Z for everything...
Cava's CFO, Tricia Tolivar, is quoted saying younger consumers are "impacted a bit more than others." Ya think? Maybe it's the crippling student loan debt, the nonexistent job market, or the fact that avocado toast is, like, $12 a pop. Give me a break.
McDonald's is pushing Snack Wraps to lure in the poors, while Cava's CEO, Brett Schulman, is all, "We're not going to get into that heavy discounting." Oh, so you're sticking with the "premium proteins" strategy, huh? Let them eat steak... if they can afford it.
Schulman says they're not a fast-food restaurant. Okay, buddy, whatever helps you sleep at night. You're selling glorified salads in a bowl. It ain't rocket science.
And then there's this gem: "We want to make sure we’re doing everything we [can] in that spirit to deliver for our guests in this time when they’re feeling pressures all around you.” Deliver what, exactly? A slightly less guilty conscience while they drain their bank accounts?
I'm seeing headlines about Cava shares tumbling. No one wants to pay $15 for a bowl of lettuce when rent's due. Cava cuts full-year forecast, in another warning sign for fast-casual restaurants
Chipotle's in the same boat, apparently. Their CEO, Scott Boatwright, whines about losing young customers to "grocery and food at home." The horror! People are actually cooking? What is this, the 1950s?
It's not about "losing them to the competition," genius. It's about people realizing they can make a week's worth of meals for the price of one overpriced burrito bowl.
The article mentions younger folks are skipping meals to save money. That's... not great. Are we seriously at the point where "healthy" fast-casual is a luxury item? I guess so. I mean, offcourse, the implications of this trend are far-reaching.
I guess, maybe, you could consider that Cava is still seeing growth from low-income customers because they haven't raised prices as much. So, good for them?
The whole "K-shaped economy" thing is just a fancy way of saying the rich are getting richer, and everyone else is screwed. It's not a recovery; it's a redistribution of wealth, straight up. McDonald’s and Cava earnings have one thing in common: The K-shaped economy has a vise grip on the lunchtime crowd
McDonald's and Cava are just canaries in the coal mine. They're seeing the effects of this inequality firsthand, and their solutions are... well, let's just say they're not exactly revolutionary.
Let's be real, this ain't about Cava's menu or their stock price or even whether you can find a "cava near me." This is about a generation being squeezed dry, and corporations pretending they care while still trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of them. It's depressing, ain't it?
