We hit a number of milestones in 2018, and we are looking forward to continue building on our unprecedented growth, momentum and innovation well into the future.
Here’s a closer look back at all we accomplished in 2018, all contributing to the strength of our product and franchise opportunity:
Franchise Growth
We were the fastest-growing franchise in our category, opening our 1,000th Smoothie King location in Dallas. This location was one of more than 100 locations we opened over the course of the year – more than any prior single year in our brand’s history. Our impressive expansion was underscored by equally noteworthy same-store and system-wide sales, reaching a more than 10-percent increase in system-wide sales across the U.S.
Constant Innovation with Clean Blends
2018 also marked the launch of our Clean Blends initiative, which evolved over the course of five years, 15,000 hours and 150 recipe reformulations. As part of the initiative, we added more whole fruits and vegetables to our smoothies, while rolling out more no sugar-added blends to the menu.
We also eliminated:
- Artificial flavors, artificial colors and artificial preservatives
- GMO fruits and vegetables
- Gluten
- Hydrogenated oils
- NSF banned substances
- Trans fats
- High-fructose corn syrup
Awards and Accolades
In 2018, Entrepreneur magazine ranked us the No. 1 franchise in the smoothie and juice bar franchise category, making it the 26th consecutive year we accomplished this feat. We were also featured among the top 25 overall franchise brands in Entrepreneur’s annual Franchise 500 list. In addition to our prestigious Entrepreneur rankings, Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim was named a Golden Chain award winner by Nation’s Restaurant News. This is one of the most coveted awards in the restaurant franchise industry.
From record-breaking growth to continuous innovation, we continue to set the standard for the smoothie industry.