Just Salad
Fast casual salad chain · 138+ locations · NYC, NJ, CT, FL, MD, IL, PA, MA, DC
Just Salad is B Corp-certified, with third-party-verified carbon labels on every menu item. It's still founder-run after 20 years, but now backed by $436M in institutional capital at a $1B valuation.
The Big Picture
Just Salad's environmental claims are independently checkable — B Corp certification, carbon labels on every menu item verified by Planet FWD, and a reusable-bowl program validated by an independent life-cycle assessment. Founder Nick Kenner has run it since 2006, though $436M in institutional capital — including a $200M round in 2025 at a $1B valuation — now funds and shapes the growth. The labor record is thinner than the eco record: a 2018 delivery-fee lawsuit was mostly dismissed, but a related tip-credit claim settled for $120,000 in 2022.
The Dirty Details
Ownership
StripesGrowth Equity
Stripes is a New York growth-equity firm founded in 2008 by Ken Fox, investing in consumer brands and software companies: its portfolio spans OpenAI, A24, Monday.com, and Vuori alongside the food brands Ferret tracks. The firm typically takes minority growth stakes, though it has taken majority control in some cases.
Assets under management: $7B (2025)
See all Stripes companies on FerretD1 CapitalHedge Fund
D1 Capital Partners is Dan Sundheim's New York investment firm, founded in 2018, managing tens of billions across public stocks and late-stage private companies, SpaceX among its largest private holdings. It typically takes non-controlling growth stakes, as it did in the two restaurant brands on Ferret.
Assets under management: ~$31B (2025)
See all D1 Capital companies on FerretWhat do these scores mean? Learn more.
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Company data last updated July 2026
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