Sweetgreen Chief Brand Officer Nathaniel Ru on the power of ‘intimacy at scale’

“Scale” is usually the word du jour when it comes to venture backed-startups. But for Sweetgreen Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer Nathaniel Ru , successful expansion is about making the experience “feel like you’re walking into your Sweetgreen, not just a Sweetgreen.” Doing that while growing the chain beyond its 120+ U.S. locations? That’s a concept Ru calls “intimacy at scale.”?

He says this philosophy was an “imperative from the early days” when the brand expanded beyond its first location in Washington, D.C.: “We kept asking ourselves: How are we going to keep the magic of a small business as we became a national brand?”

Sweetgreen, which recently confidentially filed for IPO , has attracted attention with its alternative approach to the fast-food category. Since founding the salad mecca more than a decade ago, Ru and his cofounders have emphasized the brand’s commitment to sustainably delivering and sourcing healthy fast food. It earned a reputation as a metropolitan millennial brand with its whimsical visual identity and omnipresence in big-city corporate America.?

But part of fostering “intimacy at scale” means taking a local approach to expansion and understanding what works in different places.?

“When we enter a new market or open a new restaurant, we make sure the store design is a reflection of the community it’s a part of,” he says. “Whether that means working with local architects, designers and artists, or selecting a different store format that works best for the community, we want to ensure we’re showing up in a thoughtful way.”?

He points to a recent partnership with artist Jen Stark who created a mural for Sweetgreen's newest Miami location. This feeling of community is connected to the brand’s emphasis on personal connection versus rapid expansion.

This approach also means pushing back against the frantic nature of the day-to-day of an executive’s life. Ru says he and his two co-founders have learned the power of knowing when to take a step back and think bigger.?

“It’s easy to concentrate on sales and growth, but losing the storytelling and emotion of your early days is a recipe for a transactional approach that won’t last.”?

Though they put emphasis on local, a universal aspect of Sweetgreen’s marketing strategy is finding ways to connect food and culture: They’ve partnered with revered chefs Dan Barber and David Chang, and most recently, the 23-year-old tennis pro Naomi Osaka.?

“We've always tried to make sure that our brand never felt prescriptive,” Ru says, noting that it's never been about dieting or weight loss. “It was really trying to make healthy food part of your lifestyle.”

Ru’s “intimacy at scale” is a strategy that takes time, but he says it's at the core of the brand.

“It's been 15 years, and it's still the beginning.”

Below, he shares more of his story.

1. What has had the most impact on your perspective as a marketer?

I’ve been fortunate to work with my two co-founders Jon and Nic for the last 15 years. Sweetgreen was our first job out of college, and to this day, the three of us still share one office. All of our wives joke that we prepared each other for marriage given how much time we’ve spent together. I credit them for being such great partners and important voices in helping me shape the brand.?

What’s worked for us over the years is finding the balance of doing vs. being. We each have our functional roles that include company strategy, managing projects and leading teams. However, as co-founders, we’ve realized how useful it is to carve out sacred time to re-connect to what’s important, and think creatively about the future of sweetgreen.

2. What’s changed the most about your job as a marketer over the course of your career?

The increased focus on health and wellness. This is a good thing! There’s a powerful shift happening in consumer behavior. People want to know more about where their food comes from, and the impact it has on the environment . My job has become much more focused on telling the stories behind the food, versus just marketing the food itself. Our marketing team has been going deeper into our supply chain working with farmers to show the journey from seed to sweetgreen.??

3. What’s the hardest part of a marketer’s job today?

Creating intimacy at scale . There are many cautionary tales about brands that grew massively, transforming into slow-moving corporate entities where quality takes a nosedive, products become more bland, and customers are no longer at the center. As marketers, we have to constantly embrace change and act as students of our communities.?

There is no blueprint for achieving intimacy at scale, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is making it a reality comes down to building meaningful connections and relationships with your internal and external customers. Sometimes it can be as simple as writing a handwritten thank you note. It’s easy for all of us to be heads-down and focused on a single campaign, and often we forget that this is a muscle we always need to work on.?

4. Tell us about the marketing campaign you’re most proud of working on in your career.

My goal leading the brand is to create experiences that connect food and culture together. The campaign I’m most proud of is actually one we just launched with world champion tennis player and longtime sweetgreen fan, Naomi Osaka . It was a pivotal moment because the world of food sponsorships between athletes and brands traditionally overflow with unhealthy options, but together we can shape how future generations think about the importance of what they eat.?

At just 23, Naomi is already one of the world’s top athletes. We see her as an incredible leader among her peers. She stands for what she believes in and never compromises on her values; she uses her platform to share, educate, and inspire, all with humility. We’re proud of Naomi for speaking up about the importance of mental health, and we look forward to supporting her throughout the year.? At sweetgreen we believe mental health is health.

5. What’s a marketing campaign you wish you’d thought of and why?

I’ve always enjoyed the American Express “My Life, My Card” campaign. It humanized each card member through powerful and often humorous creative. It gave you an honest look behind their lives, and what I loved most was the questionnaire that each cardmember personally answered in their own handwriting. My favorite was the Wes Anderson spot .

6. What’s your must read, watch or listen for all marketers?

When I’m looking for inspiration I always end up watching or rewatching old music documentaries and concert footage. Great musicians have a way of storytelling that is inherently pure. I think all marketers could absorb some of it. Some of my favorites are:

Funky Monks - A 90’s documentary following the Red Hot Chili Peppers and producer Rick Rubin making the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.??

Stop Making Sense - The famous Talking Heads live concert that combines music and genius choreography.?

Stones in Exile - follows The Rolling Stones in 1971 recording Exile On Main Street in Keith’s villa in south of France.

7. What’s an under the radar brand you’re watching and why?

Ghia! Our good friend Melanie recently launched a non-alcoholic aperitif called Ghia. I drink it almost daily. It’s a great product and well-branded for either non-drinkers or those who just don’t feel like another glass of wine. Millennials are opting more for lifestyles that include less alcohol, be it for mental or physical health. They recently also just launched Ghia Spritz .

8. Name a product you can’t live without (that doesn’t connect you to the internet) and tell us why.

Genmaicha Kettl Tea . I'm not a big coffee drinker so I always start my day with green tea. Sometimes two.

9. Finish this sentence. If I weren’t a marketer, I would be…

in the music businesses. I’ve always loved the creative process that comes from making music. Admittedly, it's why we threw the sweetlife festival for 6 years in DC.

10. Finish this sentence: The marketer I most want to see do this questionnaire is…

David Lee - Chief Creative Officer of Squarespace. Dave is a good friend and creative mentor for me. He’s responsible for some of the greatest advertising out there and sets the bar high for all of us!?

Thanks for being part of the?Marketer Must Read ?community! Don’t forget to?hit subscribe ?above or below to be notified weekly when the next issue comes out.