Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, a leading coffee franchise renowned for its premium sourcing of Hawaiian coffees and memorable cafés, announces one of its top-performing franchisees, Kristen Williams Haseotes, is the recipient of International Franchise Association’s (IFA) prestigious Franchisee of the Year Award. The annual recognition honors a select group of franchisees who have demonstrated excellence within the franchise community as an outstanding franchise establishment owner-operator.
The Franchisee of the Year Award, sponsored by IFA’s partner Paychex, recognizes leading franchise owners from IFA member brands whose outstanding performance and contributions help protect, enhance, and promote the franchise business model. Nominated by their parent company, individuals are selected for their service to their communities, fostering a strong and vibrant workforce, opening the doors for career growth and entrepreneurship, and supporting their fellow franchisees.
“Kristen and her amazing team are the very best representation of what Franchise Partnership is all about,” says Scott Snyder, CEO of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii. “The entire Naples, Florida team follows Kristen’s example in not only sharing a remarkable ‘Aloha’ experience with every customer exchange inside the store, but also models a ‘community-first’ role in helping others through Hurricane recovery and by creating meaningful give-back opportunities in their hometown. We are so proud to call them ‘ohana (family).”
As a successful real estate developer, the last thing on Haseotes’ mind was becoming a franchisee. But, when the opportunity to step into an ownership position at her favorite coffee shop presented itself, it was simply too appealing to pass up. Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii had been open and operating in Naples, FL for several years before Haseotes assumed ownership in 2019. Now, the store is among the top two performers in the entire system. She’s been able to double the store in size, nearly triple sales, and retain top talent – something that’s become extremely rare in today’s ‘great resignation’ era.
“It is an incredible honor to be recognized with this award and a true testament to the opportunity that lies within franchising,” says Haseotes. “Key to my success was finding a rock star general manager to support our vision. That’s where Dan Guimond comes into play, and I’d be remised not to give him credit for this achievement. Dan had been working at the store for eight years before becoming general manager in 2020. By giving him the right tools to succeed and empowering him to make key business decisions, he’s been hard at work building a culture that puts people-first.”
From the onset, Haseotes and Guimond understood that customers were the lifeblood of their business. They focused immensely on customer satisfaction – knowing it would lead to customer loyalty. Crucial contributors to the store’s strong performance are the culture, influence, energy, and passion that their team demonstrates in the community to the experience they deliver in the store.
“Franchisee of the Year recipients represent the best in franchising,” says Matthew Haller, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “This is the highest honor IFA awards to individual franchisees, and local business owners like Kristen exemplify the power of franchising and its positive contributions to communities around the world.”
As Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii’s franchisees receive high praise, the brand has also earned multiple awards and recognition for its impressive performance, recently ranking on QSR’s 2023 40/40 List as one of America’s hottest emerging fast casual brands, in addition to QSR’s Top 50 – 2022 Contenders as a brand to watch. Notably, CEO Scott Snyder was recognized by Automatic Merchandiser as a 2022 Pros to Know award winner for his accomplishments in moving the industry forward.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii closed out a record-breaking 2022, awarding 45 franchise agreements while opening eight new stores. Alongside this impressive development, the brand continues to achieve high performance marks with a 76% average unit volume increase compared to that of pre-COVID, 2019. These achievements have set the foundation for a remarkable 2023 as Bad Ass Coffee continues to prove itself as a standout, premium coffee franchise that’s winning by differentiating its brand experience.
