Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee Named Entrepreneur’s No. 1 Emerging Franchise in the U.S.

Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee has been named the #1 New and Emerging Franchise in the United States by Entrepreneur Magazine, while both Travelin’ Tom’s and sister brand Kona Ice have each been recognized as Top Franchises for Culture by Franchise Business Review (FBR) — an award determined entirely by independent surveys of actual franchise owners. Across thousands of data points, franchisees ranked both organizations exceptionally high in leadership trust, community alignment, and core values.

The dual recognition is no coincidence. Operating from a shared headquarters in Florence, KY, Travelin’ Tom’s was built from the ground up on the same operational infrastructure, community philosophy, and franchisee support network that Kona Ice spent nearly two decades developing across thousands of units. That foundation has allowed Travelin’ Tom’s to scale with a speed and consistency rarely seen in emerging franchise concepts.

“When we started Travelin’ Tom’s, we weren’t just trying to build a great mobile coffee truck—we were trying to see if we could catch lightning in a bottle twice by bringing that exact same culture of joy, giving back, and franchisee-first support that we spent nearly two decades building at Kona Ice,” said Tony Lamb, Founder and CEO of both brands. “To see the franchise community name Travelin’ Tom’s as the number one emerging brand in the country, while validating the culture across our entire corporate family, is just incredibly validating. It shows that when you put your people and your community first, the growth naturally follows.”

Both concepts operate without the overhead, real estate delays, or rent costs of brick-and-mortar storefronts, giving franchisees a highly scalable, multi-brand mobile portfolio with one of the most established support networks in mobile food and beverage franchising. For multi-unit operators, the compatibility between the two brands creates a rare opportunity to grow across two distinct concepts backed by a single, proven corporate culture.