Smoothie King Celebrates 750 Unit Mark

The New Orleans-based health-conscious smoothie brand is showing no signs of slowing down. With 750 units behind them, Smoothie King is gaining momentum to reach their goal of opening 1,000 new locations.

“We’re on pace and projected to open approximately 140 percent more locations by the end of this year compared to what we grew last year,” said Brad West, vice president of operations for Smoothie King. “We’ve seen incredible growth over the past few years, and we’re looking to break the 1,000 unit mark by 2017. A large part of our strategy is to take newer markets where we’ve seen success with a few locations or even just one, and building around those to increase brand presence and gain market share.”

Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King, purchased the entire Smoothie King franchise system in 2012. The brand’s tagline, “Smoothies With A Purpose.(r),” encompassed Kim’s feelings about the brand. He saw a giant opportunity to continue growing an established brand that stood behind a mission he personally believed in: To inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle.

“We’re finding that people all over the country align with our mission to help people in the community live healthier lives,” said West. “We want to be a part of everyone’s daily life and we’re seeing that this is doable in both warmer and cooler climate areas. Some of our most successful locations are in places with harsh winters, like St. Louis. Many of our locations are doing great things, like catering, to supplement business during the chilly, winter months.”

The Smoothie King brand has seen incredible success with their drive-thru locations. According to West, these locations are seeing roughly 20 to 30 percent higher sales compared to locations with no drive-thru.

“It’s clear that our drive-thru locations have made a difference, not only to franchisees, but to people in the community as well,” said West. “We’re able to offer people a superior, healthier option and drive-thru makes it that much more convenient for parents and other people on the go.”

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.