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The healthy smoothie franchise shows no signs of slowing after a year of continuous growth.
Smoothie King, the health and fitness-focused smoothie franchise with 1,195 locations worldwide, is planning on opening 80 new U.S. locations before the year is up. This is alongside the 38 U.S. franchise agreements the brand has recently signed, and on top of the 31 domestic and 119 international new locations Smoothie King has already opened this year.
“Our franchise system continues to grow because of our brand’s mission and vision and how we help our franchisees fulfill those promises,” said Smoothie King CEO, Wan Kim. “As a result, we’re seeing more like-minded owners invest in our purpose-driven brand. Guests are going to be prioritizing their health and wellness even more going forward, and we fulfill those needs unlike any other concept.”
To support its franchisees at the beginning of the pandemic, Smoothie King completely waived both national advertising and technology fees for March and April, therefore allowing franchisees to retain 100 per cent of their cash flow.
The brand also recently announced that from August 5, it would encourage facial coverings at all locations in the U.S. This does not include drive-thru, curbside pick-up, or delivery orders.
“Our franchisees are family, and we understand how hard this time has been for them and their families,” Kim said. “We wanted to show them how much we appreciate their efforts over the last couple of months as they continued to help inspire guests to live healthy and active lifestyles. Without our dedicated franchisees, we cannot live out our mission and vision.”
Smoothie King’s ongoing growth isn’t limited to its U.S. portfolio, as the brand also opened 119 new stores in South Korea during the first seven months of 2020. These were predominantly in a new-store format, opened in EMart24 convenience stores.
“We are excited for this new store format in Korea and look forward to getting Smoothie King to more convenient locations throughout Korea,” said Kim. “We expect to see additional store growth in Korea through the balance of the year.”
Over the next five months, Smoothie King is looking to develop locations in Baltimore, Birmingham, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix.
