Smoothie Franchise’s Low Overhead a Great Fit for New Entrepreneurs

A streamlined menu and minimal required equipment means an affordable, and adaptable, food franchise with low start-up costs for New Entrepreneurs

Many new entrepreneurs dream of opening a food business, but are soon hit with the reality of exorbitant start-up costs associated with a full kitchen, large dining area and staffing needs. The average cost to open a restaurant was $494,888, according to a survey of 700 restaurateurs conducted by RestaurantOwner.com. Contrast that with a Planet Smoothie® franchise, a scalable food business opportunity with a much lower entry point (the average total investment for a traditional Planet Smoothie store ranges from $120,150 to $329,250).

“Even small-scale restaurant franchises that are based on in-line models for food courts or strip malls have a lot of overhead,” explains John Wuycheck, Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. “They cook, so they need stoves and ovens and kitchen space. And that means they also need kitchen staff as well as front-line personnel. A Planet Smoothie franchise removes all that.”

Adaptable footprint means savings

Because a Planet Smoothie franchise can be a stand-alone site, folded into a strip mall or other retail center, and scaled down to fit in a nontraditional site such as a train station, convenience store or even a kiosk in a high-traffic office building, the brand adapts to the franchise owner’s growth plans.

“A Planet Smoothie franchise owner has a lot of choice from the outset,” John explains. “He or she can open a smaller, kiosk-style location, or a store in a traditional shopping-center setting. We are also aggressively pursuing non-traditional locations as well, such as busy commuter train stations, airports and other sites. Planet Smoothie is a very portable business model, and we are working to take full advantage of that.”

Minimal equipment means minimal overhead

Another benefit of Planet Smoothie for new entrepreneurs is that no full kitchen is required. Blenders are the primary equipment needed, and staffing is only needed to help customers at the counter.

“Larger restaurants or food-oriented franchise brands need kitchen prep staff, at the very least,” John says. “A Planet Smoothie franchise has counter staff who handle everything from greeting customers to taking orders, making smoothies, and then completing the sale. They are well-trained in every aspect of the business, so they can do it all. That makes them versatile and means an owner can do a lot with a small staff pool and salary base. It’s just one more way Planet Smoothie is an economical, easy to operate business opportunity.”

Planet Smoothie is a smoothie franchise that sets itself apart by offering great-tasting smoothies that use healthier, natural ingredients. In a side-by-side comparison, Planet Smoothie’s products generally have less sugar and fewer calories — a big competitive advantage as Americans actively seek out healthier options. Planet Smoothie is led by a veteran franchise team and dedicated brand support team as part of the Kahala Brands™ family.

Learn more about Planet Smoothie

To learn more about Planet Smoothie franchise options, please visit our website. Read the latest news on our blog, and delve into the options for ownership on our research pages.