Smoothie King Sets the Bar High in the Smoothie Industry with Strong Third Quarter Results

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., the premier smoothie and nutritional lifestyle center, reported strong results in the third quarter of 2014, including positive same-store sales of 8.41 percent and the signing of 22 franchise agreements to develop more than 100 stores across the country.

Smoothie King opened 14 new stores in the third quarter and signed its largest franchise agreements of the year, including one with SmoothieLand, LLC, to develop 50 locations along the East Coast from South Carolina to Washington, D.C.; a 13-store agreement with franchisee Dave McMahon to open units in Greater Houston; and a 10-store deal with Jeff and Paula Conway and David Halpern to open locations in Charleston, S.C. The brand signed an additional 19 franchise agreements in the third quarter to open 33 stores over the next several years.

"Smoothie King has experienced incredible momentum in 2014 and, as the brand owner, it's rewarding for me to see this type of record-setting success," said Smoothie King Global CEO Wan Kim. "This summer, we welcomed more than 1,000 attendees to our annual conference and signed nearly two dozen franchise deals in just the third quarter. This proves that the decisions we've made — from rebranding our 41-year-old company to building a strong leadership team and acquiring the naming rights for the Smoothie King Center, home of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans — have driven our success, making them worth the investment I've made in the brand."

Smoothie King's strong results come on the heels of several milestone announcements at the end of September, including the brand's 700^th store opening and a new partnership with Revel Systems to launch the world's largest iPad POS deployment. Also in the third quarter, Smoothie King partnered with Sunwarrior^®, a leader in the vegan protein landscape, to introduce a new vegan line of meal replacement smoothies using Sunwarrior's^® all natural raw, plant-based protein. The two flavors are Mango Kale and Dark Chocolate Banana. Smoothie King is also offering a limited-time Pumpkin Spice Smoothie — featuring an all-natural pumpkin spice puree and loaded with vitamin C, Echinacea and green tea — available through Nov. 17.

"In the seven years I've been a Smoothie King franchisee in Bradenton, Fla., I've never seen such incredible growth and new product development," said David Cotrone, Sr., who — along with his wife, Dawn, and son, David Cotrone, Jr. — received Smoothie King's Franchisee of the Year Award at the company's annual conference this year. "I'm proud to be part of a brand so committed to making living a healthier, more active lifestyle delicious and nutritious for its guests. I am excited to continue to grow along with Smoothie King and see where 2015 takes us."

Even with more than 500 locations in the U.S., the brand still has extensive smoothie franchise opportunities across the country. Smoothie King has an aggressive growth strategy to add more than 900 new franchised and corporate stores domestically over the next four years and is currently targeting expansion in Arizona, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Internationally, Smoothie King has plans to develop 500 new franchised and corporate locations in target markets such as Singapore, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates over the next five years.

As part of its aggressive growth strategy, Smoothie King is targeting multi-unit owners and operators in the food and beverage or retail industry. To attract this audience, Smoothie King began offering reduced royalties and free equipment to franchisees that sign an area development agreement for a minimum of three stores. Through its reduced royalty incentive, franchisees will receive:

• In the first year of operation, a 50-percent reduction on their royalty fees, paying just 3 percent.
• In year two, franchisees will pay royalties of 4.5 percent.
• In year three, royalties are charged at the full rate of 6 percent.

Additionally, franchisees will receive an entire blender equipment package, which includes five Vita-Mix Quiet One^® blenders, for each of their first three stores.

To learn more about the benefits of owning a Smoothie King, or for more information, please visit www.smoothiekingfranchise.com or contact Natalie Johnson at [email protected]. For information about international franchise opportunities, please e-mail [email protected].

About Smoothie King Franchises Inc.
Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. is a privately held, New Orleans-area-based franchise company with more than 700 units worldwide. By creating each smoothie with a purpose, Smoothie King makes it simple and pleasurable for guests to achieve their individual health goals. The franchise also offers a number of healthy retail products, including sports beverages, energy bars, vitamin supplements and more.

Smoothie King was founded in 1973 by Steve Kuhnau, whose mission was to help others achieve better health in a tasty way. In 1989, Smoothie King became the first franchised smoothie bar/health food store in the U.S. and currently operates in 33 states, the Caymans, Singapore and the Republic of Korea. In 2014, Smoothie King was ranked No. 1 by Entrepreneur magazine in the juice bar category for the 20th year and No. 86 overall on the 2014 Franchise 500 list. In 2014, Smoothie King partnered with the New Orleans Pelicans to launch the Smoothie King Center, a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Visit www.smoothieking.com or www.smoothiekingfranchise.com; engage on Facebook www.facebook.com/SmoothieKing; follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/smoothieking.

Media Contact:
Ashley Rodriguez
Fish Consulting
(571) 312-6174
[email protected]

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SOURCE Smoothie King