Honeygrow Expands To 31 Locations Proving The Appeal Of Meals Under 800 Calories


The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported in March 2020 that 42% of Americans were considered obese, carrying 20% or more above normal weight, which can lead to a variety of diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain kinds of cancer. It also proves that many Americans consume too many calories.

Honeygrow, a fast-growing, fast-casual eatery, that serves meals with most entrees of 700 to 800 calories, aims to do something about that. After debuting in 2012 in Philadelphia, Honeygrow has expanded to 31 locations across seven states, mostly in the Northeast, including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. All are company-owned and none is franchised.

Justin Rosenberg, the 40-year-old CEO and founder of Philadelphia, Pa.-based Honeygrow, was inspired by his own health and fitness experience. He had high blood pressure and high blood sugar and weighed 240 pounds and said “I was eating that extra slice of pizza and cake.”

When his wife was pregnant (they now have three children), his primary care physician asked him, “Do you want to walk down the aisle when your daughter gets married?” Rosenberg vowed to change his eating habits (he’s now at 185 pounds).

A fast-casual eatery Honeygrow is catching on with consumers who want tasty food with lower-calorie offerings.

His goal in launching Honeygrow was to create a “menu that was health-oriented but craveable.” He poohpoohed many of his competitors (politely not naming them) who offer “bowl concepts that I find repulsive and boring.” For example, he still helps prepare new menu items and has been working on a new pesto dish, but hasn’t gotten the blend right yet.

He noted that his overall mission “wasn’t to be low-calorie. It was a wholesome food concept, high-quality, in the form of stir-fry and salads, and then let’s try to keep it under 700 or 800-calorie.” They don’t deep-fry any dishes.

Rosenberg was working as a financial analyst with PREIT, a real-estate investment trust, but took the train to Washington, D.C. on weekends in 2010 and 2011 to learn the ins and outs of the restaurant business by working in a friend’s eatery. He started “in the back of the house,” preparing desserts, then salads, and handling the busy dinner rush.

By 2012, he opened his initial Honeygrow in Philadelphia. He tried to raise capital from 93 angel investors and venture capitalists (he tracked each one on a spreadsheet) and was rejected, but the 94th ones, David Robkin and Brook Lenfest, invested one million dollars to get the first location off the ground.

And then Rosenberg had a series of rounds of investments and has managed to raise $80 million in total investment from a variety of sources including the Miller Investment Management.

It has opted to run all company-owned locations and not franchise, which “allows us to have more control over the restaurants,” he asserted. It has discussed franchising in the future, but so far, is not actively pursuing it.

So far the concept has been working in metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Hoboken and suburban locales as well. He said its city locations are busiest at lunch and suburban outposts thrive at dinner and on weekends.

The key to Honeygrow’s menu, is “great ingredients, such as fresh-made egg white noodles and whole wheat noodles,” he noted. He works with Sun Noodles, a craft noodle marker, to ensure that the whole wheat noodles contain 17 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein. Rosenberg said it changes the notion that “carbs are bad because they are high in protein and fiber.”

But not all dishes served at Honeygrow fall below the 800 calories limit. Rosenberg noted that “each dish can be customized so the calories can go up and down based on choices like the protein, veggies, cheese or other toppings.” Though even its new buffalo-chicken stir fry dish comes in a bit over 700 calories.

He acknowledged that the most popular dish ordered is creating your own stir-fry, where guests won’t know exactly how many calories they’re ordering.

Rosenberg says that ingredients are fresh and loaded with veggies. The proteins are lean and the chicken, shrimp and steak are roasted but not fried, and it also offers turkey meatballs and roasted tofu.

He described its target audience as “someone interested in healthy eating and convenience. They want comforting craveable food that is fast and delicious.” Craveable must be one of its goals because he repeated that word twice.

Patrons, for example, can add bacon to any salad, which is known as being high in nitrates and not particularly healthy.

Reaction to the Honeygrow in Brooklyn on Yelp was mixed. Igor felt that the food was affordable but lacked soul and he didn’t think the staff was friendly. Its manager Nicole replied that it has been working hard to improve its customer service.

Ebony, however, liked the sesame with garlic and whole wheat noodles stir-fry, and the garlic butter chicken. She called it her “go-to spot in the area.”

By the end of 2023, Rosenberg expects to open a dozen more locations, still in its core seven states, amounting to about 43 by year’s end, all company-owned.

Rosenberg said the three keys to its future success are: 1) People and creating a culture where top performers can develop their skills and move up, 2) Discipline in operating and not growing too fast or overspending, 3) “Exceeding expectations of our customers, that’s the most critical thing,” he said.



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