Smoothie King Franchises Inc., a smoothie and nutritional lifestyle center, is targeting select cities throughout the Tar Heel State for franchise expansion. With more than 25 stores open in North Carolina, the smoothie chain plans to develop an additional 60 locations in Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro, Asheville, Fayetteville, and Wilmington among other surrounding cities across the state.
To fuel development, new franchisees who sign a multi-unit agreement to open three Smoothie King locations will receive at least 40 percent off their franchise fees for each store, as part of the company’s latest incentive program.
“Smoothie King has experienced accelerated growth over the past few years, which is why we’re continuing to focus our expansion efforts in communities across North Carolina where there is an increasing demand for our products,” says Smoothie King global CEO Wan Kim. “Based on the success of our franchisees in the market, we are confident our proven business model combined with our latest multi-unit development incentive program and ongoing support will provide local entrepreneurs with one of the best franchise opportunities in the smoothie segment.”
To drive expansion, the company's executive team will host a Discovery Day March 14 in Raleigh-Durham to share the benefits of owning a Smoothie King with potential franchisees.
Smoothie King, which has experienced four consecutive years of positive same-store sales, plans to add more than 900 new franchised and corporate locations domestically over the next four years. Even with more than 500 locations in the U.S., the brand still has extensive smoothie franchise opportunities available in North Carolina, as well as the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Northeast regions. Smoothie King also continues to expand internationally through both master franchise and corporate stores in South Korea, Singapore, and the Cayman Islands, and is focusing on identifying partners in several key countries in Asia and the Middle East.
Franchisees should possess a passion for the brand and be dedicated to serving the community. While restaurant experience is not required, the ideal candidate for the smoothie franchise should have an entrepreneurial spirit, as well as sales, marketing, restaurant, and/or retail experience.
