Leading Smoothie Franchise Signs Multi-Unit Agreements with Veteran Franchisees from Established Brands
With more than 730 locations in the U.S. and plans to top 1,000 locations domestically by the end of 2017, Smoothie King continues to reign as the nation’s leading smoothie franchise. The purveyor of Smoothies With a Purpose closed out the first half of the year with 33 agreements signed for 73 new units, including franchisees from other established brands like Domino’s, Ruth’s Chris, Jimmy John’s, Five Guys, T-Mobile, Avis Rental and Sport Clips.
“Smoothie King is set to open a record number of locations this year in markets already familiar with the concept and in untapped areas,” said Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King. “This growth will propel us to our milestone 1,000 locations by 2017 and help further our mission of inspiring a healthy, active lifestyle across the U.S. and beyond.”
Growth isn’t limited to the U.S. for Smoothie King; the brand recently announced expansion plans for the Middle East, beginning with multiple locations in Dubai, through a partnership with Al Ghurair Retail. With locations open in Korea, Grand Cayman and Singapore, Smoothie King is poised for further international expansion with its fine-tuned business model and high-quality products. According to Dan Hannah, Vice President of Domestic and International Business Development, the company is eyeing development in Japan, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia and Brazil.
Smoothie King’s U.S. franchise development team is expecting to sign agreements for 36 new units and open 25 stores during the third quarter in new markets such as Austin; Madison, Wis.; Albany, Ga.; Herndon, Va.; and Tucson and Mesa, Ariz. New areas of focus for the development team include Denver, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago.
With the right products and strategies in place, the brand is on track to continue its industry dominance and provide guests around the globe with superior smoothies and service.
Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. is a privately held, New Orleans-area-based franchise company with more than 700 units worldwide. By creating each smoothie with a purpose, Smoothie King makes it simple and pleasurable for guests to achieve their individual health goals. The franchise also offers a number of healthy retail products, including sports beverages, energy bars, vitamins, supplements and more.
Smoothie King was founded in 1973 by Steve Kuhnau, whose mission was to help others achieve better health in a tasty way. In 1989, Smoothie King became the first smoothie franchise in the U.S. and currently operates in 33 states, the Caymans, Singapore and the Republic of Korea. In 2015, Smoothie King was ranked No. 1 by Entrepreneur magazine in the juice bar category for the 21st year and No. 79 overall on the 2015 Franchise 500 list. In 2014, Smoothie King partnered with the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association to launch the Smoothie King Center, a multi-use indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Visit www.smoothieking.com or www.smoothiekingfranchise.com; engage on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SmoothieKing; follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/smoothieking.
