MAD Greens
Menu Transformation
Leaves of change.
After 20 years as a beloved Denver-based salad chain, MAD Greens was ready for its next evolution: a scalable, profitable, and highly franchiseable concept with long-term staying power. But while the brand had a loyal following, its legacy menu wasn’t resonating with younger consumers—a critical audience for long-term growth. To set the stage for the next 20 years, TCE helped MAD Greens reimagine its menu to reflect modern tastes, dining behaviors, and health priorities—without losing the brand’s heart.
The Opportunity.
Turning over a new leaf.
The salad category had grown up, but MAD Greens’s menu had not yet followed. Outdated names like the “Ty Cobb,” basic veggies, and dated flavors no longer met consumer expectations. Today’s younger guests demand bold flavors, craveable experiences, and premium ingredients. The opportunity was clear: bring MAD Greens’s legacy of creativity & whimsy into the present, while future-proofing the menu for scale.
Branching out.
TCE partnered closely with MAD Greens’s culinary and operations teams to modernize the menu while protecting brand equity. Using TCE’s menu engineering framework, we:
Reduced menu redundancy to create room for bold new profiles across salads, bowls, and wraps.
Expanded and elevated the “warm bowls” category to drive incremental occasions.
Created a rotating lineup of innovative LTOs to reinforce cultural relevance.
Upgraded the pantry to support a more premium position while improving labor efficiency.
Removed low-impact SKUs and high-prep categories, allowing labor to shift toward key drivers: fresh lettuce, premium produce, housemade dressings, and in-house proteins.
Results taking root.
Even before full rollout, MAD Greens began implementing key recommendations across test stores, including moving to hand-chopped romaine and simplifying kitchen workflows.
On August 20th, MAD Greens began a three part menu transformation roll out that will touch every category on the menu.
Phase 1 (Aug 20, 2025): Introduce fresh flavors and new builds while leaving top-sellers intact
Modern fresh sides to drive check and bundlings: Whipped Feta Dip, Mediterranean & Sriracha Hummus, Focaccia Bread (with croutons), Green Goddess Pasta Salad
New, differentiated wraps to better deliver on the handheld occasion: Spicy Street Corn, Picnic Pesto, Green Machine. Hero (low-carb) tortilla test in Austin TX.
Replace low-selling, less relevant salads with new twists on the classics: Orchard & Caesar Crunch
Labor-driving Juice program replaced with two Evolution bottled juices
Phase 2 (Late Oct 2025): introduce optimized proteins and new warm steak to highlight an evolved warm bowls category.
New warm bowls platform: Harvest Grain & MADiterranean.
New herb-marinated cold chicken and warm steak menu options across salads, wraps, bowls (e.g. Cowboy Cookout Salad, Steak Fajita Wrap, Heart & Seoul Bowl)
New kids menu items
Phase 3 (Feb 2026): Evolve the core salad menu.
Introduce new salad builds: Blue Moon Steak, Rainbow Noodle.
Final core menu streamlined, remove and replace all character driven names with flavor-driven names.
Consolidate packaging into a value-driven, 40oz salad bowl.
Full new menu rollout complete
MAD Greens is poised for growth, equipped with a modernized menu that stays true to its roots—while setting a bold course for the future.
