No Restaurant Experience Required to Run a Planet Smoothie Franchise
Streamlined systems and minimal required equipment translates into an ideal franchise for first-time food business owners
New entrepreneurs who have always dreamed of running a food business, as well as experienced entrepreneurs wanting to expand their business portfolio, may hesitate to invest in a food business if they have no restaurant experience. A Planet Smoothie® franchise provides the perfect foray into the food business because of its ease of operations — no restaurant experience is required!
“Many people avoid a food-related business because of all the equipment that must be purchased, the staffing issues around a kitchen and other issues,” says John Wuycheck, Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. “A Planet Smoothie franchise avoids all of that — if you can operate a blender, then you’ve pretty much mastered the equipment required to operate your business.”
The result is a business that appeals to owners from many backgrounds. Take, for example, Birmingham, Alabama, multi-unit owners Clay and Penny Campbell. The Campbells were in the music ministry for more than 30 years before investing in Planet Smoothie.
“We love the ease of just two blenders and 15 ingredients. We didn’t want something that would involve a large number of employees and handling a lot of different kinds of food; that would have been too much for us,” Clay says.
Streamlined front and back-office systems take the stress off owners
The Planet Smoothie franchise model operates smoothly thanks to considerable time and effort by parent company Kahala Brands™ to create systems for ease and efficiency.
“We create all recipes for the menu boards in-house, and franchise owners and their staff are trained on how to make every smoothie,” Wuycheck says. “And when we introduce a new item or add-in, we provide training so that everyone knows what they are, how to make them, and how to upsell them to customers to help maximize ticket totals and revenue.”
The same goes for back-office systems, which are uniform across all of Planet Smoothie. Everything from inventory control to ordering is done the same way in each Planet Smoothie franchise location, which means owners can rely on one another for tips and support, as well as on the corporate support team, if issues arise.
Training and support help owners start off strong
In Atlanta, TuRhonda Freeman took over a food-court franchise in 2013 and has since opened a second location. The former hotel executive says that the onboarding she received made switching careers simple.
“Planet Smoothie is a simple business to operate,” Freeman says. “I knew how to supervise people, and the training helped me learn the back-office systems as well as the customer-service side. Once I had the recipes and products down, it was really easy to run the franchise.”
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 smoothies 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.