Smoothie King is committed to being an integral part of every health and fitness journey and is continually making strides to make nutrition-focused choices an easy and delicious option. Smoothie King franchisees can be confident they are fulfilling that purpose for each and every one of their guests.

In order to stay on the cutting edge of the industry and provide new options to guests, Smoothie King is announcing a new natural sweetener option, stevia-based sweeteners. Why now?

According to Wan Kim, Smoothie King CEO, the brand must embrace changes that help Smoothie King meet evolving consumer demand.

“It’s not because of what I like, but what our guests are asking for,” Kim explained.

Constantly innovating the menu with new and nutritious options can help Smoothie King franchisees continue to achieve the brand’s mission of inspiring people live a healthy and active lifestyle, as well as assist in driving in-store traffic.

The Skinny on Stevia

Stevia is a plant-based sweetener. It has been used for centuries in South America to sweeten teas and other beverages. Smoothie King has opted for this plant-based alternative because, unlike honey, maple syrup, agave or molasses, our stevia-based sweetener has zero calories per serving.

Swapping out raw sugar for our stevia-based sweetener can cut up to 100 calories. Guests can opt for it in smoothie blends like:

• Power Punch Plus
• Original High Protein Chocolate
• The Hulk
• Banana Berry Treat

What Your Sweet Tooth Does to the Scale

Weight loss programs often focus on cutting carbs and fats, but consumers are increasingly focused on the amount of unnecessary added sugar in their diets. Food labels are not required to a put a percent of daily value for sugar, masking its presence in many foods. For example, ketchup has 3.7 g per serving or around 11 percent of the daily suggested value in just one tablespoon. Smoothie King is devoted to offering nutritious alternatives for guests’ health and fitness journeys – and sweet tooth. This is demonstrated in the brand’s Cleaner Blending initiative, which sets the goal of removing all sugar added in the more than 50 Purpose Blends smoothies.

Sustained Growth

Smoothie King seeks to continue its growth by working with the right franchisees to bring the right products to their guests. Releasing new smoothies with better-for-you alternatives helps franchisees market their smoothies to new consumer groups.

The rise in demand for meal replacement smoothies requires Smoothie King to provide the most nutritious alternatives.

“I think Smoothie King can set a new bar for the way we think about food,” Kim said. “Our healthy and active lifestyle culture is something that people need right now, and I truly believe we can dominate the world in that category.”

With more of these products offered in convenience and grocery stores, customization is a key differentiator for Smoothie King. The brand offers a variety of fresh and IQF foods, supplements and other add-ins and replacements in store that can be difficult or costly to replicate at home. Adding our stevia-based sweetener allows for the continued expansion of nutritious and delicious options for all types of guests.

To learn more about this franchise opportunity, download our Franchise Kit here.