Smoothie King Concludes 2023 With 11.5 Percent Same-Store Sales Increase and Largest Development Quarter in Seven Years

Smoothie King attributes development growth and market expansion, as well as menu innovation and a bolder, more disruptive marketing approach, as key contributing factors to the year’s growth. The company reported 189 new store commitments were added to the development pipeline in 2023, marking Q4 2023 as its largest signings quarter since 2017 with 39 franchise agreements and 20 area development commitments. New store commitments in 2023 included agreements in 47 DMAs and 29 states, four of which are new markets for Smoothie King: Utah, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

Expansion remained strong in Smoothie King’s home market of Dallas-Fort Worth, culminating in 15 new units in 2023 as well as new agreements signed in two terminals of the DFW Airport, marking the brand’s largest market of new deals for the year.

Smoothie King continued to see a meaningful increase in traffic in 2023, primarily driven by purposeful menu innovation and the launch of Smoothie Bowls, meeting the needs of guests, and fitting naturally into guests’ active lifestyles. Smoothie King’s eight new Smoothie Bowls can be found at its more than 1,100 locations nationwide. Smoothie Bowls are topped with whole fresh fruit and premium Purely Elizabeth™ granola, made with wholesome ingredients, non-GMO fruits and packed with flavor and nutrients.

The brand has sold more than 5.5 million Smoothie Bowls since introducing the product in April 2023.

“2023 was a monumental year for Smoothie King, marked by the highest sales period in our 50-year history in Q3 as well as one of our largest new development quarters in seven years during Q4,” said Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King. “As we look back on menu innovation from the year, we are incredibly proud to have become one of the country’s largest smoothie bowl destinations through the introduction of our eight Smoothie Bowls, allowing us to further the Clean Blends promise and our mission of inspiring a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Smoothie King has repeatedly been recognized as a top franchise opportunity, having recently been featured in the top 100 of Restaurant Business's and Nation's Restaurant News' 2023 Top 500 lists. The brand was just named the No. 1 most beloved limited-service brand among millennials in Technomic’s “2023 America’s Favorite Chains” study, and recently ranked number 15 in Entrepreneur magazine's highly competitive Franchise 500 ranking of the top franchise brands.

This year Smoothie King was also included in QSR magazine's “Best Franchise Deals” and annual “QSR 50 Contenders” list and was selected for Franchise Times' "Top 400 Franchises" list.

Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., the original U.S. smoothie franchise, is a privately held, Dallas-based franchise company with more than 1300 units worldwide. It was founded in 1973 with the mission to help others achieve better health in a delicious way through smoothies.

Today, it continues its mission to inspire a healthy and active lifestyle through its Clean Blends initiative, which focuses on great-tasting smoothies with more whole fruits and vegetables while removing artificial flavors, colors and preservatives and added sugars in many of its blends.

Smoothie King extends its vision to be an integral part of every health and fitness journey through partnerships with the Challenged Athletes Foundation®, the Smoothie King Center and the Dallas Cowboys as “The Official Smoothie of the Dallas Cowboys.” The franchise is ranked No. 1 by Entrepreneur magazine in the juice bar category for the 27 years, ranked No.19 overall on the "2021 Franchise 500" list and debuted on the "Inc. 5000" list in 2018. The company also offers retail products that include sports beverages, energy bars, vitamins, supplements and more.