Robeks Expands Menu With Launch of Avocado, Almond Butter Toasts

Robeks, an LA-based health food franchise known for serving up smoothies, açaí bowls and other wellness boosters, has figured out the mystery of the avocado. Just as avocado provides a mouth-watering richness while managing to stay heart-healthy and light, Robeks has figured out how to offer a completely new category of menu offering without increasing overhead for franchisees.

Case in point: The brand’s new avocado and almond butter toasts. With two avocado toast options, the classic and the “everything bagel”, and an almond butter toast that combines yogurt, açaí and delicious groundnut butter, the new dishes bring Robeks into a whole new category of revenue.

Since 1996, fans of Robeks have left the store healthy and happy with a smoothie, juice or açaí bowls. Now the brand is making its first foray into hot foods and closing the gap in its offerings.

“Selling a food item like avocado toast just makes sense for Robeks,” David Rawnsley, the brand’s president and CFO said. “Everyone knows we do great juices and smoothies, but we wanted a food offering that complemented those items. Toast fits that bill because it’s a great add to a juice or smoothie, and it provides franchisees an opportunity to boost the check size of each guest.”

Rawnsley and the leaders of Robeks discovered the brand’s major opportunity to make smart entries into selling hot food by listening to its network of franchisees. Franchisees would often see a customer come in for a juice before grabbing a meal elsewhere. Now, that same customer can enjoy their juice with a premium toast designed to be enjoyed alongside the health food offerings.

“One of the great aspects of owning and operating a Robeks is simplicity. We didn’t want to complicate our simple operation,” said Rawnsley. “An avocado or almond butter toast is about as simple as it gets when it comes to a ‘made to order’ food item.”

As much as Robeks’ franchisees love serving their community healthy food with great service and a simple model, they’re in business to make money, too. According to Rawnsley, the new toast offerings have franchisees covered on that front as well.

“The premium toast products come with a recommended price of $6.99 which yields a great margin, given food costs are about 19%–21% of that,” he said. “In addition, the total investment to start the toast program for our franchisees is only $400.”

According to Mitch Baker, vice president of marketing, the avocado toast rollout fits closely with the brand’s mission: providing healthy options to power consumers through their lives.

“We had a void on the menu, and this was an easy add-on that really fits within the focus of our product offering,” Baker said. “If you look at the ingredients of the product, it’s fresh avocado, a premium sourdough bread and olive oil, which is obviously very healthy. On the almond butter toast, it’s our premium açaí puree and Greek yogurt as a very good probiotic. This is hot food the Robeks way, it’s not like we’re rolling out some chocolate-drizzled waffle.”

The new menu items show the brand will remain relevant over time. Avocado toast represents a millennial favorite and something they’ll gladly spend $22 dollars to have delivered.

“Today’s consumers have a great awareness of toasts in the marketplace, but it is nowhere near saturation,” said Baker. “As the toast trend continues, we’ll be the first national juice and smoothie brand to offer avocado toast to our customers.”

By planning out a smart way to increase the brand’s offerings into an exciting new sector with minimal complexity for store owners, Robeks has given the brand a fighting chance in a new segment and the ability to dominate for years to come.

“Toast is a great platform for future innovation,” said Baker. “As a franchisee, you’ve already got the bread and toasters. It’s a great platform to swap out toppings. Now we can continually innovate and serve our customers new and exciting ingredients without complicating the operation or acquiring additional equipment.”

But like any good plan for the future, Robeks’ new toast offerings are grounded in its past. Robeks is, first and foremost, a franchisee-centric company that values owner input. In evolving the toast concept, Robeks tested out the offering in several different stores and solicited input from franchisees and customers alike. Currently, Robeks is looking for more voices to join that conversation with a franchising push in more markets.

Founded in 1996, Robeks is an L.A.-based health food franchise that serves smoothies, açaí bowls and juices made from only the best fruits, fresh vegetables and natural ingredients.

Robeks appeals to a broad demographic of loyal fans by providing delicious, hand-crafted and nutritious meal alternatives, enhanced with a proprietary line of enrichments to deliver the right carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and herbs for powering up metabolism and overall wellness. Since starting to franchise in 2001, Robeks has earned a healthy portion of the booming bowl, fresh juice and smoothie franchise market, expanding to feature 83 franchise locations across the country. With a recent brand refresh and menu revamp, Robeks franchisees are in a better position than ever to create harmony between flavor and health.