The Planet Smoothie Story

How an idea captured a trend and built it into the Planet Smoothie we know today!

The Planet Smoothie franchise began in Atlanta during the mid-1990s, when smoothies were first beginning to be seen as a food offering on their own, rather than part of an extended menu. Up until then, smoothies were almost completely associated with hardcore health fanatics — people who spent a lot of time at the gym and were fanatical about counting calories and macronutrients. Read the Planet Smoothie story here!

More Americans were looking to slim down and become healthier, a trend which continues through today, and smoothies became seen as a way to enhance a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing taste or convenience.

As more people discovered smoothies, the market exploded, and Planet Smoothie quickly spread throughout the Southeast, becoming a dominant brand across the Southeastern and Northeastern United States.

Planet Smoothie franchise network expands and evolves

The opportunity to rapidly expand Planet Smoothie excited a team of veteran franchise executives at Kahala Brands, which acquired Planet Smoothie in 2015. Under their leadership, Planet Smoothie has developed the capabilities and resources, such as improved supply chains, more purchasing power and a single operating system, to accelerate growth and drive stronger results for franchisees.

Planet Smoothie is on the move. The hunger for convenient, healthy and great-tasting food, with a transparent list of recognizable ingredients, continues to grow. According to the International Food Information Council’s annual Food and Health Report, 7 in 10 Americans snack at least once a day in addition to their main meals, with the highest category of snack food (30%) being fruit or fruit based snacks.

“It doesn’t matter what time I walk in, there’s at least one customer who knows me. We talk like we’ve known each other for years. I enjoy when they come in every day for that smoothie, and to see us and our team. I love that they want to come into our store, that we are providing that great customer service for them.”

— Tyrone Forbes, Franchise Owner, Eustis, FL

Also high on consumers’ wish list for foods and beverages is less sugar, more vegetables, and more protein. Planet Smoothie was ahead of the curve, having developed its own stevia-based sweetener. Classic Planet Smoothie menu items were also reformulated to use cocoa powder rather than chocolate syrup, which lowered calories, raised the number of antioxidants and still tastes great. Leafy greens joined the menu as an add-on option, and is now one of Planet Smoothie’s best selling add-ins.

Loved the Planet Smoothe story? Bring a Planet Smoothie franchise to your community today!

Planet Smoothie is a simple, easy-to-operate business that doesn’t require any prior food experience. The smoothie market is strong and growing, and Planet Smoothie stands out with a menu built around real fruit and other healthier ingredients. Planet Smoothie has been around for more than 20 years because we do one thing really well: we make delicious smoothies. Capture a piece of the strong and growing smoothie industry with a Planet Smoothie franchise.