After a year in 2021 that brought a 16.5 percent sales increase year-over-year domestically and a record $834,562 average unit volume (AUV) for the top 25 percent of franchised units in operation, Smoothie King announced a test of its new text-to-order platform. The global smoothie brand is rolling out the program in Chicago and Jacksonville, Florida, with the goal of offering a more modern guest experience while driving top-line digital sales for franchisees.
Through a partnership with HungerRush and its platform OrderAI, the world’s largest smoothie brand continues to demonstrate its willingness to invest in new technology to increase sales and profitability for its franchisees while making it easier than ever for guests to order and enjoy its world-class smoothies. Using a 4–5-digit code, Smoothie King customers in Chicago and Jacksonville can place and pay for their order with the nearest Smoothie King location via SMS text message and visit the store to pick up and enjoy their smoothie.
“At Smoothie King, we are 100 percent dedicated to two things—providing our guests with more ways to enjoy our smoothies, and increasing sales and profitability for our franchise owners,” says Chris Andrews, Chief Information Officer of Smoothie King. “The rollout of our text-to-order platform is just another way that our brand continues to innovate and stay one step ahead of our competition. We are the first to market in the [quick-service] space for this feature and look forward to launching it in markets across the country throughout the year.”
Through the use of Artificial Intelligence, OrderAI learns and understands Smoothie King’s menu and begins to track preferences and predict orders—ultimately increasing the likelihood that guests will order again. Once an order is placed via text message, it comes through like any other order at the store-level, reducing the amount of time employees spend fielding phone orders and improving order accuracy by an estimated 99 percent.
The text-to-order launch comes on the heels of big wins for the brand last year—many of which have been fueled by strong digital performance. These include the healthy rewards app, online ordering for pickup and delivery, multiple third-party delivery partners, and the introduction of tablet devices for drive-thru locations. The addition of the text-to-order function will only add to the store-level success and push the brand to new heights. As 2022 gets underway, Smoothie King’s focus remains on helping its franchisees attain higher unit volume and EBITDA.
