Frequently Asked Questions

The Smoothie Factory brand has been in business since August 1996. We started in Carrollton, Texas, USA. Today, the Smoothie Factory brand operates under two separate companies; Domestic (North & South American) & International (outside North & South America).

The ongoing fee for a franchise store is the royalty fee and marketing fee and are based on the gross sales of the store(s). For a single store franchises, the royalty fee is 4% and the marketing fee is 1%. For a master franchise, the royalty fee is 1.5% and the marketing fee is 0%.

Contributions to the Marketing Fund are spent on advertising and promotional initiatives for the brand and your store. Generally, these are for large scale initiatives where we can leverage our purchasing power to lower advertising expenses for the franchise community within your market. The contribution of the Marketing Fund is invaluable towards the strengthening of the brand.

Yes. We gave a proven system of operations and ongoing support based on over 25 years of experience in the industry. Unlike many other food concepts, there is mandatory cooking, frying, or ventilation systems necessary.

The term of a single store franchise agreement is ten (10) years with an option to renew for an additional ten (10) years at no additional cost. The term of a master franchise agreement is thirty (30) years with an option to renew for an additional thirty (30) years at no additional cost. The term starts from the execution of the Franchise Agreement.

Smoothie Factory provides extensive training programs for our franchise partners. For each single store franchise, we provide an 11 day training program that covers all aspects of store operations. The training is performed within your city in order to reach and train more employees and reduce initial costs for our franchise partners. There is no limit on participants from your organization. The first 4 days are dedicated towards reviewing the Operations Manual and is a classroom style setting while the next 2 days are dedicated to store setup and pre-opening training. The final 5 days are dedicated to post opening training.

Your profitability or return on investment depends on many factors including operating and occupancy costs, financing terms, core menu offerings selected, and most important, your ability to operate the business effectively.
For exact profitability of existing stores, we suggest you speak directly with other Smoothie Factory franchise partners who are willing to share their information with you. Once we have received your Franchise Request Form, have completed a Confidentiality Agreement, we can provide contact information.

The size of the lease space is often dictated by the desired venue, rental rates, desired seating, and menu offerings. Typically, the size of our kiosk locations range between 25s-35sm and are most often located in malls. The size of our traditional locations typically range between 70sm-120sm and are most often street level locations with seating. You can Smoothie Factory stores in neighborhoods, malls, airports, and college campuses.

The number of employees needed to operate your store will depend on your hours of operations and sales volume. Generally, a new store operating full day will require 1 full time manager and 6-8 employees while a mature store operating full day, with higher sales volume, will generally require 1 full time manager and 10-12 employees.

Yes. Site selection is critical to the success of your Smoothie Factory store especially in new markets where the brand is first being introduced. The Smoothie Factory Development Team will work with you and a leasing agent to review our standard site criteria document (Identifying a Great Smoothie Factory Site) and market trade areas for development of your Smoothie Factory store.

The franchise fee for a single store is USD$50,000 and $25,000 for every additional store. The franchise fee for a master franchise will depend on the territory selected and your store development schedule. Our Director of Franchise Development will provide you this information.

On average, this takes between 3-4 months once a site is finalized.

Founded by an Olympic athlete, Smoothie Factory understands the nutritional value and health benefits of real whole foods. We take pride in our ingredients and give our guests the best quality in every smoothie, juice, juice cleanse, frozen yogurt, superfood bowl, healthy lite foods, and popsicles.

For example, our smoothies are made with real fruits (without concentrates and syrups) and are 100% frozen yogurt, sorbet, and sherbet free. Frozen yogurt, sorbet, sherbets, and other fillers are often added to smoothies to enhance the flavor, add bulk, and are less costly than real fruits. Instead of these artificial additives, every smoothie we offer is packed with 2+ servings of real fruit! The proof is the richer colors, added fiber, nutrients, and more authentic fruit flavor.

An ideal location will have a population density of at least 10,000, 80,000, and 120,000 people within a 1.5km, 5km, and 8km radius respectively. The location should have a high traffic count and medium household income. The exact desired demographics for each market is detailed in our Site Selection Criteria document.

No. Our company does not solicit or receive rebates from any vendors, suppliers, or distributors that you purchase from. Accepting rebates would unnecessarily drive up costs for our franchise partners. In addition, we have this language incorporated into our Franchise Agreements so it does not change in the future.

Our ongoing support sets Smoothie Factory apart from other brands. Our support team helps franchise partners track key performances indicators, solve operational challenges, and boost performance. In addition, we constantly collaborate on new product offerings that will be best received in each market.

Without the franchise fee included, kiosk locations (25sm-35sm), generally range from USD$65,000 – $120,000 depending on the kiosk size, market, menu offerings, and associated equipment. For traditional locations (70sm-120sm), generally the cost ranges from USD$110,000 – USD$160,000.