stockrowWhat it does
CAVA Group operates fast-casual restaurants serving Mediterranean-inspired food. Guests can order a chef-curated meal or build their own bowl or pita from a selection of ingredients. The menu accommodates a range of dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
The company also makes dips, spreads and certain dressing bases centrally for use in its restaurants. It sells dips, spreads and prepared dressings in grocery stores as consumer packaged goods, or CPG. Its manufacturing activities therefore support both restaurant meals and products sold for customers to take home.
CAVA was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Brett Schulman is its chief executive officer. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, the company operated restaurants across multiple states and the District of Columbia.
Guests can eat in a restaurant, collect a digital order or use delivery. Some locations offer drive-thru pickup, and CAVA is testing catering. Its website, app and loyalty program connect guests with its restaurants and offers. Each restaurant has a walk-the-line ordering setup and a separate preparation line for digital orders.
The company owns its CAVA restaurants. It also operates production facilities that make components of its menu, giving it a role in preparing food before it reaches individual restaurants.
How it makes money
CAVA earns revenue primarily by selling food and beverages at its restaurants. It also sells packaged dips, spreads and dressings through its CPG business. Restaurant sales depend on the number of locations open, guest traffic, menu prices and the mix of items customers buy.
In fiscal 2025, restaurant revenue was $1.2 billion; CAVA revenue increased in the second quarter of 2026.
Restaurant revenue represented 99.1% of revenue in fiscal 2025. CPG revenue and other was $10.4 million in the same year. CAVA’s two operating segments are CAVA, which includes its company-owned restaurants, and CAVA Foods, which produces food for the restaurants and includes the CPG business. CAVA is the company’s one reportable segment; CPG operations are included in Other.
Customers pay when they order rather than through a subscription. CAVA’s points-based loyalty program is designed to encourage repeat visits: guests earn and bank points, redeem them across the menu and can progress through status tiers. The company uses the program and its digital channels to personalize communications and offers.
Orders come through restaurant counters as well as the app, website and third-party marketplaces. Digital orders accounted for a portion of restaurant revenue in fiscal 2025. CAVA charges higher prices for delivery orders to account for fees and commissions paid to delivery partners.
At the restaurant level, food, beverages, packaging, labor, occupancy and other operating expenses are deducted from revenue to measure restaurant-level profit. That measure excludes corporate expenses, depreciation and amortization, and pre-opening costs, so it is not the same as profit for the whole company.
| Product or service | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant revenue | $1.2 billion | 99.1% | 22.5% |
| CPG revenue and other | $10.4 million | 0.88% | 9.94% |
Customers and how it sells
CAVA serves guests across age groups, genders and income brackets. Its customers include a strong Millennial contingent and a growing Gen Z contingent. The menu offers both curated meals and customizable bowls and pitas, with options for different dietary preferences.
Customers can dine in, order for digital pickup or use delivery. Drive-thru pickup is available at select restaurants, and catering is being tested in select markets. CAVA also reaches grocery shoppers through its packaged dips, spreads and dressings. Its loyalty program gives restaurant guests points and redemption options, while the website and app support digital ordering.
At the end of the second quarter of 2026, CAVA had locations across multiple states and the District of Columbia. It was reported on 28 October 2026 that the company had opened its first Wisconsin restaurant in Greenfield.
CAVA’s restaurant designs accommodate both walk-the-line ordering and digital pickup. At December 28, 2025, select locations offered drive-thru pickup. The company also operates digital kitchens in select markets as centralized production hubs.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAVA Revenue | $1.2 billion | 100.0% | 22.5% |
Suppliers and costs
CAVA sources ingredients through a network of grower, rancher and producer partners. It reviews suppliers’ food-safety and quality programs and visits certain sites. The company also produces its own dips, spreads and some dressing bases for restaurants and packaged goods.
It operates production facilities in Laurel, Maryland, and Verona, Virginia, plus a distribution facility in Edison, New Jersey, used primarily for CPG distribution in the Northeast. CAVA has signed a lease to expand the Laurel facility and expects its production facilities to support additional restaurants as well as the CPG business.
Food, beverage and packaging costs include manufacturing and production-facility expenses. They vary with sales volume, product mix, commodity costs and inflation. Labor includes restaurant wages, benefits and payroll taxes; occupancy includes rent and other property-related costs. Delivery fees, utilities, maintenance and marketing are among other operating expenses.
In the second quarter of 2026, food, beverage and packaging costs rose as a share of CAVA revenue. The company expects those costs to rise as a percentage of revenue for the rest of the year because of fuel surcharges and the rollout of pre-marinated chicken.
- Revenue$1.2B
- Cost of revenue−$654.6M
- Selling, general and administrative−$137.5M
- Other operating costs−$332.3M
- Operating income$55.3M
Competitive position
CAVA competes for restaurant customers with national, regional and local restaurants, including fast-casual and traditional fast-food operators. It also competes with grocery stores, meal subscription services and delivery kitchens. Its packaged-food business competes with other producers of dips, spreads and pantry and food items.
Competition in restaurants involves taste, price, food quality, brand reputation, digital engagement, service and location. In packaged food, shelf space, ingredients, convenience, packaging and promotions also matter. CAVA expects competition for channel access to increase as it expands geographically and develops digital channels. It also recognizes the risk that competitors may copy its model, menu or marketing.
It was reported on 29 October 2026 that CAVA’s early-November report would show whether Chipotle had drawn visits away from CAVA.
CAVA uses trademarks, patents, trade secrets and other protections for its intellectual property. Its loyalty program and digital channels support personalized communication, while its production facilities make signature menu components centrally.
Our reading: The brand and loyalty program provide some differentiation and ways to encourage repeat visits, but guests have many alternative places to eat. Our reading: Central manufacturing can support consistent products, although CAVA’s own account of potential imitators limits the protection that the concept alone provides.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Chipotle | Restaurant visits | Medium |
Growth opportunities
Opening restaurants is a central part of CAVA’s growth strategy. The company opened net new CAVA restaurants in fiscal 2025, including locations in new markets. It believes there is an opportunity to expand its restaurant count in the United States by 2032.
In the second quarter of 2026, CAVA opened net new restaurants. It expects further net new CAVA restaurant openings for full-year 2026. The company also plans to enter Las Vegas in 2026 and the Bay Area in 2027.
Sales at existing restaurants are another growth driver. Same Restaurant Sales increased in fiscal 2025, with contributions from guest traffic, menu price and product mix. In the second quarter of 2026, same-restaurant sales increased, driven by traffic growth.
CAVA is also expanding its menu and testing additional ways to reach customers. It launched Pomegranate Glazed Salmon nationwide in the second quarter of 2026 and completed a market test of roasted garlic shrimp. It plans a second catering market test alongside its existing Houston test to assess production capacity and demand.
To support expansion, the company is developing restaurant leaders and investing in manufacturing capacity. It is also rolling out pre-marinated chicken to simplify restaurant preparation.
- $500.1MFY2021
- $564.1MFY2022
- $728.7MFY2023
- $963.7MFY2024
- $1.2BFY2025
- $0.05FY2026 guidance
Structural risks
-
Competition and demand: CAVA operates in a highly competitive industry. Economic conditions and changes in guest behavior could affect restaurant sales, while competitors may imitate its concept or menu.
-
Opening and staffing restaurants: Expansion requires suitable locations, acceptable leases, permits, construction and trained employees. Longer permitting or inspection cycles, labor shortages and difficulty hiring or retaining staff can affect openings and operations.
-
Food safety and supply: CAVA does not control its suppliers’ and distributors’ businesses, and perishable food may be contaminated or arrive in unsuitable condition. Near the end of the second quarter of 2026, broad consumer concerns about fresh produce following a Cyclospora outbreak caused near-term sales impacts, even though CAVA did not source leafy greens from Mexico or serve iceberg lettuce.
-
Costs and pricing: Commodity costs, tariffs and wages can rise. CAVA may be unable to offset higher supply costs with price increases without adversely affecting guest spending.
-
Technology and regulation: Security breaches involving payment processing, the app or confidential information could affect the business. Changes in food, employment and other regulations, or failure to comply with them, could also have an adverse impact.
Bottom line
Our reading
CAVA is principally a company-owned restaurant business, with packaged foods and central manufacturing supporting its menu and brand. Its expansion depends on finding sites and developing staff while maintaining demand at existing locations. The business also remains exposed to food-safety concerns, ingredient and labor costs, and competition for customers.