HB Protein Smoothies Signs Gulf Coast Deal with Corporate Executive Trading the 9-to-5 for Franchise Ownership

Hanford started in transportation in Pensacola in 2005 and spent the next two decades rising from terminal manager to area manager to vice president of operations. He said the corporate track had started to feel like a treadmill. “The corporate life is different these days. It’s a 24/7 job,” Hanford said. “I wanted to finish my career doing something I enjoy doing, and I wanted more control over what I do.”

Hanford spent three months researching franchise opportunities; he described that he hadn’t intended to look at food or restaurant opportunities. “It wasn’t anything I set out to look for. I wasn’t considering anything food or restaurant related,” he said.

“But the more I learned about the brand, the more it felt like the right fit for me.” He noted the low buildout cost, small footprint, and lean staffing model as factors in considering franchise ownership. “You don’t need a grill or a grease trap, and two or three people can run a store,” Hanford said.

“That keeps payroll down and makes the model scalable.”

Before signing, Hanford and his wife traveled to the brand’s Scottsdale headquarters to meet Daniel and Ethan Boone, founders of HB Protein Smoothies, and try the product for themselves. “The salted caramel is my favorite,” Hanford said. “Thirty-five grams of protein, 250 calories, and it tastes like ice cream. You have to try one to believe it.” Hanford has committed to three locations in the Pensacola area within three years, with a longer-term goal of ten or more stores stretching along the Gulf Coast toward Mobile, Alabama.

Morris credits much of his ability to take on new ventures to his wife, Barb, a cost accountant who has spent 30 years with the same company and will continue in that role. "I couldn't do any of this without her support," Morris said.

“John spent two decades building teams and running operations for someone else, and now he’s putting that experience into something that’s his,” said Daniel Boone. “We hear from a lot of people looking for a way out of the corporate grind, and John is a good example of what that path can look like with HB.”

“John is exactly the kind of operator we look for: someone with real operational chops who wanted more ownership over their career,” said Dan Rowe. “HB Protein Smoothies gives people like him a realistic, lower-cost way to make that move.”