Just Salad is taking a revolutionary step in the fast-casual dining category by featuring SIMPLi’s Regenerative Organic Certified® White Quinoa on their new summer menu
New York, NY | June 16, 2022 –Just Salad, a fast-casual restaurant concept with a mission to make everyday health and sustainability possible, today launches its summer menu, featuring SIMPLi Regenerative Organic Certified® White Quinoa in two new dishes, making it the first multi-location restaurant to offer a Regenerative Organic Certified® ingredient at this scale.
SIMPLi is the first brand to achieve for its quinoa and beans in South America. Combining the best practices from Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade, Regenerative Organic Certified® is a new certification for businesses and products that meets the highest standards in the world for their three pillars: soil health, animal welfare, and farmworker and social fairness.SIMPLi’s Regenerative Organic Certified® White Quinoa sourced directly from farming communities in Peru, will appear in Just Salad’s new summer menu items: the Honey Crispy Chicken Salad and the Golden Summer Salad, plus the year-round menu item: the Earth Bowl.
Adding SIMPLi’s White Quinoa is likely to reduce the carbon footprint of Just Salad’s menu versus the use of conventionally grown quinoa. Similarly, by working with farmers that use regenerative organic agricultural practices, SIMPLi has optimized its operation to limit the carbon footprint of its products, including their white quinoa. According to the USDA, up to 15 tons of carbon per acre per year can stay locked in the earth as long as regenerative practices are maintained.
“Regenerative Organic Certified is quickly gaining momentum as more farms get certified and more brands source ingredients," says Elizabeth Whitlow, Executive Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance. "Just Salad and SIMPLi exemplify how food-based companies can join forces to use delicious, nutrient-dense ingredients at scale that actively regenerate the land, sequester carbon, and conserve resources as they are grown."
Just Salad’s new seasonal Honey Crispy Chicken Salad is made with extra crisp romaine, spinach and red cabbage, oven-crispy chicken, crumbled feta, SIMPLi’s Regenerative Organic Certified® White Quinoa, sliced grape tomatoes, roasted corn, crispy onions, sliced carrots, and honey mustard vinaigrette.
Just Salad’s new summer menu also features the Golden Summer Salad made with extra crisp romaine and arugula, golden beets, blood oranges, SIMPLi’s White Quinoa, chopped almonds, creamy goat cheese, mint leaves, fresh dill, and lemon basil vinaigrette.
As a year-round Climatarian menu item, the Earth Bowl includes arugula and shredded kale, SIMPLi’s Regenerative Organic Certified® White Quinoa, Violife® creamy vegan feta, hand-cut beets, roasted sweet potatoes, sliced apples, chopped almonds, and balsamic vinaigrette. SIMPLi’s White Quinoa will also be available as an add-on ingredient to any Just Salad meal.
Rodale Institute’s founder, J.I. Rodale, pioneered the belief that healthy soil creates healthy food, which leads to healthy people. Rodale Institute’s Farming Systems Trial is the longest-running side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional grain cropping systems in North America, finding that organic systems use 45% less energy, release 40% fewer carbon emissions, and have the potential to produce yields up to 40% higher in times of drought than conventional systems.
The launch of these Regenerative Organic Certified® menu items represents the collective action of Just Salad and SIMPLi taking steps towards scaling regenerative and organic ingredients to inspire a more equitable and restorative food industry. Both brands are sustainability leaders in the food space, representing a partnership with aligned missions. By supporting farmers in their transition from conventional farming to USDA Organic Certified and Regenerative Organic Certified® farming practices, SIMPLi is committed to bringing consumers ethically sourced, high-quality, single-origin ingredients from around the world. Similarly, Just Salad believes in making everyday health and everyday sustainability possible.
Just Salad’s summer menu items can be found here.
For more information on SIMPLi’s ROC White Quinoa, visit https://eatsimpli.com/blogs/simpli-informed/simpli-is-roc™
ABOUT SIMPLi
Co-founded by Sarela Herrada and Matt Cohen in 2020 and headquartered in Baltimore, MD, SIMPLi is a minority-owned and woman-owned company that works directly with farming communities around the world to source authentic, single-origin ingredients and bring them directly to consumers through local, regional, and national foodservice brands and retailers. A Fair For Life Certified and Regenerative Organic Certified® company, SIMPLi is on a mission to transform our flawed food system into one that is good for you, for the planet, and for producers.
ABOUT JUST SALAD
Just Salad is a fast-casual restaurant concept with a mission to make everyday health and sustainability possible. The brand serves craveable, accessible, plant-centric meals made with homemade dressings, prepped-daily produce and fresh, flavorful ingredients. Guests can choose from over 15 chef-designed salads, wraps, warm bowls, avocado toast, soups and smoothies. Empowering customers to “Eat with Purpose,” Just Salad is home to the world’s largest restaurant reusable program and the first U.S. restaurant chain to carbon label its menu and offer a Climatarian menu category. The company was founded in 2006 and has over 50 locations across New York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Dubai.
ABOUT REGENERATIVE ORGANIC CERTIFIED®
The Regenerative Organic Certified® is a new certification for products that meet the highest standards in the world for their three pillars: soil health, animal welfare, and farmworker and social fairness. The Regenerative Organic Certified® standard also includes Fair Trade certification, guaranteeing price premiums for farmers and ensuring worker welfare and community development funds.
MEDIA CONTACTS
SIMPLi | Quoted PR
Alexis Fraser, alexis@quotedpr.com
Just Salad
Nicole Natoli, nnatoli@justsalad.com
