L&L HAWAIIAN BARBECUE PARTNERS WITH BOTRISTA TO OFFER SIGNATURE BEVERAGES

The fast-growing brand popularizing Hawaiian cuisine across America strategically expands its menu with premium craft lemonades, smoothies and boba teas, meeting customer demand and adding incremental beverage sales for franchisees

HONOLULU, May 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, the popular Hawaii-based restaurant franchise with over 230 locations in the US and Japan, is expanding its craft beverage menu to include new signature offerings at select locations, thanks to its partnership with leading beverage platform, Botrista.

"At L&L, we are proud to bring the comfort food of Hawaii to our guests. Our new drink menu offers our guests trending drinks that complement the style and flavors of our menu," said Elisa Flores, CEO of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. "By partnering with Botrista, we are able to provide customers with exceptional beverages while also ensuring that our franchisees drive increased profitability."

The new menu features two signature drinks, Lilikoi Lemonade and Lilikoi Smoothie, alongside a selection of boba teas (classic, taro, matcha, strawberry) and fruit smoothies (taro, strawberry, pineapple-coconut).

Lilikoi Lemonade: Enjoy the flavors of Hawaii in this naturally sweet, tart & zesty lemonade refresher capable of offering a refreshing tropical experience.

Lilikoi Smoothie: Traditionally smooth, sweet and creamy - this Hawaiian staple is guaranteed to fill you up with the juicy flavors of the islands.

Founded in Honolulu 1952 as L&L Dairy, L & L Hawaiian Barbecue was recently recognized by Yelp as #21 on Yelp's List of Fast Growing Brands. With the global lemonade market projected to reach nearly $16B by 2032 and the boba tea market projected to hit $3.6 billion by 2028, there's immense potential for growth in the beverage sector. Introducing Botrista as a beverage partner for L&L's franchisee network is a strategic move, allowing the fast-growing chain to expand its drink offerings to meet this growing demand, while maintaining both quick preparation times and exceptional quality. With our select live locations, L&L is already at a run rate of 100K Botrista drinks sold per year.

"In today's competitive landscape, data-driven decision-making paired with culinary creativity is essential for restaurant brands that are focused on staying ahead of the latest consumer trends—and in turn, providing value to their franchisees," explains Sean Hsu, Botrista's Chief Executive Officer. "Our team worked closely with L&L team to develop a beverage menu that would both delight their guests and be easy for franchisees to implement." Using the BotristaPro, L&L franchisees can serve made-to-order craft drinks in under 20 seconds, at the touch of a button, within a five square foot space. 

"Our customers love the new drink options," said Tia Matautia, owner and operator of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Tumwater, WA. "We have become a destination not only for our food, but for our boba teas and other drinks as well. At the same time, our staff finds the drinks incredibly easy to prepare and the machine is simple to operate." 

The new beverage menu is available at participating locations. For additional information, visit http://hawaiianbarbecue.com or follow the company on Instagram or Facebook @llhawaiianbbq.

About L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
Founded in Honolulu as L&L Dairy in 1952, Eddie Flores, Jr. and Johnson Kam, both immigrants from China, acquired L&L in 1976. Together, they grew the business and it became one of the most popular and successful chains serving fresh plate lunches in generous portions and affordable prices. In 1999, the co-founders introduced the L&L brand of Hawaiian plate lunches to the continental United States and rebranded the franchise to what it is known today as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. Today, "Hawaiian Barbecue" is one of the fastest-growing categories due to its blend of ethnic flavors and representation of Hawaii's culture and cuisine. L&L Hawaiian Barbecue has 228 locations throughout the U.S. and Japan. For more information, visit hawaiianbarbecue.com.

About Botrista
Botrista's mission is to help restaurants become more profitable by enabling them to serve trending beverages without added complexity. Botrista offers an ever-changing selection of premium, made-to-order beverages from over 15 categories and 2,000 recipes—ready in under 20 seconds, with push of a button ease. From boba teas and iced coffee creations, to smoothies, refreshing blended lemonades, seasonal specialties, and more, Botrista is a full craft beverage platform that blends innovation with nature's flavors, providing its partners with a long-term solution to keeping up with consumer trends. Restaurants can expand and upgrade their drink offerings, boost profits, increase operational efficiency—and enhance guest satisfaction and loyalty. For more information visit https://botrista.com/.

SOURCE Botrista Inc.