--- title: "Tropical Smoothie Cafe® Kicks Off Successful Summer Season with Returning Fan-Favorite LTO, Robust Marketing Drivers and Industry Awards" url: https://burnaze.com/article/4e241670-9967-4ba6-8e1b-ea728f7718df source: "Franchising.com" original_url: https://www.franchising.com/news/20240731_tropical_smoothie_cafe_kicks_off_successful_summer_season_with_returning_fa.html category: "Restaurants" industry: "Restaurants" topics: ["Marketing"] published: 2024-07-31T12:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T18:42:58.942Z image: https://imgs.franchising.com/brands/social/tropicalsmoothie.jpg --- # Tropical Smoothie Cafe® Kicks Off Successful Summer Season with Returning Fan-Favorite LTO, Robust Marketing Drivers and Industry Awards **TL;DR:** Tropical Smoothie Cafe kicks off summer with fan-favorite LTOs and industry awards, including several notable awards for its marketing team and recognition as a leader in the QSR space. The brand has over 1,450 locations in 44 states and offers a product mix of 60% smoothies and 40% food. *originally published in Franchising.com on 2024-07-31. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/news/20240731_tropical_smoothie_cafe_kicks_off_successful_summer_season_with_returning_fa.html).* ## Key facts - Tropical Smoothie Cafe has 1,500+ locations - The brand offers 60% smoothies and 40% food - Tropical Smoothie Cafe ranked #51 on Technomic's Top 500 Chains ## Story ## Summer Menu Offerings The mocktail smoothies, which originally debuted with the Watermelon Mojito Smoothie in 2014, signify the return to summer each year for Tropical Smoothie Cafe guests. The mocktails have quickly become beloved additions to the brand’s limited time offerings, and smoothie lovers are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for new additions to the mocktail roster in the future. This May, Tropical Smoothie Cafe invited guests to celebrate its annual National Flip Flop Day®, a holiday created by the brand to celebrate the kickoff to summer. Guests who visited participating Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations with their favorite pair of flip flops enjoyed a taste of Tropic Time™ by receiving a free 12 oz. Island Punch Mocktail Smoothie. The holiday mobilized fans nationwide, resulting in nearly 500,000 guests across the country receiving free smoothies. The brand also celebrated National Smoothie Day on June 21, gifting Tropic Rewards® members a free 24 oz. smoothie of their choice with the purchase of a Tropic Bowl or food item all day long. “At Tropical Smoothie Cafe, our goal is for every guest to incorporate a five-minute vacation into their day,” said Deborah von Kutzleben, Chief Marketing Officer for Tropical Smoothie Cafe, LLC. “Fun holidays like National Flip Flop Day where we embrace the carefree kickoff to summer or new and exciting menu offerings like Tropic Bowls are perfect ways for us to provide this everyday getaway to guests nationwide.” ## Industry Awards and Recognition Tropical Smoothie Cafe has been recognized yet again as a leader in the QSR space, receiving several notable awards so far this year. The brand’s marketing team took home several big wins at the Franchise Customer Experience Conference in June. Tropical Smoothie Cafe won the top spot for its partnership with No Kid Hungry in the “Best Cause Marketing Campaign” category, and also won the overall “Marketing and Branding” award for the entire conference. Tropical Smoothie Cafe was featured on Technomic’s Top 500 Chains award list which highlights the 500 largest restaurant chains in the United States based on systemwide sales, with Tropical Smoothie Cafe landing at #51. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a national fast-casual restaurant brand built on a mission to Inspire Better®, a commitment that starts with our better-for-you food and smoothies and extends to inspiring better in the communities we serve. Born on a beach in 1997, today Tropical Smoothie Cafe has more than 1,450 locations in 44 states. For the fourth year in a row, the brand was ranked #1 in the Smoothie/Juice Category by Entrepreneur Franchisee 500. For 11 consecutive years the brand has received the Franchise Times Fast and Serious award, and in 2024 the brand’s FUND Score was 905, one of the top scores for franchise concepts analyzed by FRANdata. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a healthier, quick-casual restaurant brand with 1,500+ locations in 44 states. One of its key differentiators is what the brand offers on the menu—a product mix of 60% smoothies and 40% food. ## Entities - Franchising.com (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - Entrepreneur (publication) - Technomic (company) - Tropical Smoothie Cafe (company) - FRANdata (company) - No Kid Hungry (company) - summer menu (topic) - industry awards (topic) - marketing campaigns (topic) - limited time offerings (topic) - qsr space (topic) --- Originally reported by Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/news/20240731_tropical_smoothie_cafe_kicks_off_successful_summer_season_with_returning_fa.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/4e241670-9967-4ba6-8e1b-ea728f7718df).