Toronto-based fast-casual brand Freshii is known for its health-forward offerings available across its 384 stores in 172 cities on multiple continents. The brand takes great pride in its ongoing innovation pipeline that uses a data-driven approach to help learn consumer habits and optimize offerings accordingly in order to grow sales.
To wit, in May, the brand launched Freshii Tacos, a new LTO category, across North America. The LTO ended up being one of Freshii’s best examples of its endless innovation to date, as the average check with a taco on it increased 52 percent. The average check with a taco on it was a robust $28.47. Freshii also found there was a 12 percent increase in beverage pairings on taco tickets versus non-taco tickets. These numbers not only show the brand’s dedication to closely tracking the success of its innovations, but how and why innovation is effective in driving top line sales for its franchisee partners.
Freshii also re-launched its smoothie platform in mid June across all North American stores. On average, 7.7 percent of total sales ended up being generated by smoothies at participating locations, which was 2 percent higher than what the brand achieved in 2019. Castillo explains that the growth was driven by new flavors as well as the introduction of a 24-ounce size to go along with its regular size of 12-ounce smoothies. This new, larger size represented an upsell opportunity for stores—accounting for about 36 percent of total smoothie sales—as did the ability to customize smoothies with add-ons like protein powder, collagen, and chia seeds.
“Innovation is a strategic pillar for Freshii,” says Veronica Castillo, vice president of marketing with Freshii. “We focus on core, beyond core, and daypart innovations. Our goal is to launch 4-to-5 exciting LTO’s throughout the year, focused on these types of innovation.”
Innovations, like tacos, smoothie, and plates, also help illustrate how the brand seeks to remain in-step with ever-evolving consumer demands, Castillo says, and to best position its franchisees as top performers in the category. For example, the brand expanded the menu during the pandemic to emphasize the dinner daypart. This was driven by market research and insights into 5 p.m. being “the new rush hour.”
“Our customers are at the core of our innovation pipeline, and we run in-depth research to ensure our customers will love what we bring to market,” Castillo says. “We focus on mass categories to deliver amazing flavors featuring healthy ingredients. Our recent launch of Freshii Tacos is the best example of us bringing this vision to life.”
New menu items and LTOs are rolled out alongside dedicated webinars that help franchisee partners understand exactly which items are coming to market. The line of communication between franchisees and executive leadership is part of Freshii’s ongoing dedication to transparency and timely feedback with and from its franchisee partners, Castillo says. The brand also boasts an internal Freshii electronic communications network that helps the franchisor seamlessly communicate with all of its partners regarding product rollouts and generally relevant information that will help keep operators informed so that they can have everything they need to grow sales.
The menu innovation is just one piece of what franchisees can expect when they partner with Freshii. According to the brand, every franchisee has access to real estate site selection support, training through the brand’s Freshii University, a reliable supply chain network, top-of-the-line tech solutions, and marketing support. On top of that, the brand—which also operates in consumer packaged goods (CPG) retail with grocery giants like Walmart, Air Canada, and more—has name-brand recognition that’s associated with the ever-increasing world of health and nutrition, which is a category with great growth potential.
Ultimately, the investment in its franchisees, along with this dedication to a data-driven approach to culinary innovation, helps Freshii carry out its ultimate goal of giving its guests healthy food that they will love and connect with.
“Freshii showcases better-for-you food trends in a mass-relevant way, delivering high-impact menu items to new and existing guests, whether they live in urban or suburban centers, in Canada or the U.S,” Castillo says. “Our mission at Freshii is to help citizens of the world live happier, healthier, and more energized lives by making healthy food convenient and affordable.”
To learn more about franchising with Freshii, visit the company’s website.
