The Waba Grill Difference

WaBa Grill is meeting the enormous demand for quick and affordable meals that support a healthy lifestyle

Americans are more focused on health and wellness than ever before, and for many, the most important part of getting and staying healthy is choosing the right food to eat.

It sounds easy, but choosing the right food can be a constant challenge. Our high-stress jobs,  our lack of work/life balance, and the demands of our lives means that many Americans often have to pick up a quick lunch in between meetings, or order lunch directly to our desks, or grab a quick dinner in-between picking the kids up from school and dropping them off at soccer practice.

In the fast casual segment, which is loaded with pizza, burgers, and chicken concepts, finding an option that is actually healthy, while also being fast, affordable and delicious can be like finding an oasis in the desert.

Enter WaBa Grill. Founded in 2006 on the idea that healthy food should be accessible to everyone, and in that time, WaBa Grill has won over millions of fans who want to be smart and eat healthy.

In 2021, despite all of the challenges of the pandemic, WaBa Grill experienced our strongest year on record, which signals that healthy fast casual is not a fad, and when given a choice to eat healthy, consumers will choose WaBa Grill time and time again.

“WaBa Grill allows you to eat healthy without feeling like you’re making a sacrifice,” says Afshin Compani, COO of WaBa Grill, “We serve rice bowls and salads that deliver on flavor and quality while allowing our customers to feel great about themselves and their choices. We use incredible, high-quality ingredients, and by focusing on exceptional food, our customers have rewarded us with strong system-wide sales increases over the last several years, including our best ever year on record, which was 2021. This year is ramping up to be even stronger, and there’s no signs of slowing down anytime soon.”

There’s nothing like WaBa Grill in the fast casual industry

The fast casual industry is not known for being healthy. Burgers, pizza, chicken, and Mexican concepts dominate the industry. While these brands offer food that is delicious, they don’t lend themselves to folks who are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, to feel good about their choices, or stick to a diet or weight loss goals.

WaBa Grill is a great alternative to the sea of unhealthy fast casual concepts that exist. Our focus on healthy eating begins with the way that we cook our food. We don’t use fryers, artificial flavors, and all of our ingredients are sourced for quality and freshness. Everything is cooked to order, and all of our meats are charbroiled to perfection.

In addition to the way we cook our food, the way that our food tastes is also different from other fast casual rice bowl concepts. Our menu is designed for simplicity, and we let the freshness of our ingredients shine. Our sauces, ranging from sweet to spicy, add in the ethnic, adventurous flavor profiles that delight our customers.

And finally, it’s our price point that truly makes WaBa Grill a home run. Healthy food options usually come with an expensive ticket, but with WaBa Grill, we make healthy food accessible by making it affordable. Our average meal costs less than $10, and because we offer family meals, our customers can take WaBa Grill home to their families after a long day of work and know that the meal will be healthy and high-quality.

“WaBa Grill is well ahead of consumer trends on healthy food, flavor profiles, price, and convenience,” says Erik Heckman, Procurement Director. “Our customers have told us time and time again that they will choose us over other fast casual concepts because they feel good about what they’re eating, the price-point, and because our food tastes fantastic. The sales increase that we’re experiencing is strong validation that we’re getting things right.”

Digital sales is driving demand

One of the silver linings of the post-pandemic world is that digital sales is here to stay. Consumers have more choice than ever before, not only in terms of what they want to eat, but where they want to eat it.

WaBa Grill franchise owners have benefited from the digital sales boom. In fact, 1 out of every 4 sales in our system is from digital sales, and we expect this number to increase in the years to come.

“WaBa Grill food travels extremely well, and that’s a big reason why we’re such a hit on the mobile delivery apps,” Compani says. “The fact that we can meet our customers where they are, literally, and be there for them when they want us, is a big advantage. Our mobile delivery sales are a big contributor to our franchise owners’ bottom line and profit-potential, and we’re in an excellent position to continue to grow mobile delivery sales.”

Ready to invest in a WaBa Grill franchise?

To learn more about investing in a WaBa Grill rice bowl franchise, simply fill out the inquiry form on this website and we will reach out to you to start a conversation.