Smoothie King
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| Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. | |
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1973 in Kenner, Louisiana |
| Founder | Steve Kuhnau |
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| No. of locations | 442+ worldwide[1] |
| Key people | Steve Kuhnau, corporate founder and CEO |
| Website | www.smoothieking.com |
Smoothie King Franchises Inc. is a smoothie and health food retailer that caters to a healthy lifestyle through nutritious blended fruit-based drinks. First opening in 1973 as a stand-alone vitamin shop in Kenner, Louisiana; Smoothie King now encompasses over 508 locations (as of February 2008) and appeals to families and fitness enthusiasts alike. 25 stores are located in South Korea.
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[edit] History & Today
Steve Kuhnau, founder of Smoothie King, is largely credited with the creation of the Smoothie. Working as a soda jerker in his teenage years, Kuhnau found himself unable to digest the very malts, shakes, and floats he was preparing, due to a lactose intolerance. Consequently, he formulated the world's first nutritional smoothie in his kitchen, to serve as a healthier, dairy-free alternative to popular ice cream based drinks of the era. His novel drink idea, a blend of fresh fruit coupled with vitamin and protein additives, proved also to be efficacious in treating his allergies and stabilizing his blood-sugar level. This creation was the impetus for an industry: shortly after his first store opened in Kenner, Louisiana 1973, stores began to appear all over the New Orleans Metropolitan area, and subsequently in Washington, D.C. and 32 other contiguous United States. Kuhnau began to franchise the Smoothie King name and business in 1989. [1] Smoothie King's 30 year anniversary, in 2003, was commemorated with their first international franchise, in South Korea. [2]
[edit] Menu & Nutrition Information
Smoothie King's menu comprises 74 different smoothies. Top ten Smoothie King flavors (Based on 65 random locations as of March 2006)[2]:
1. Caribbean Way
2. Angel Food*
3. The Hulk
4. Strawberry Kiwi Breeze*
5. Muscle Punch
6. Power Punch Plus
7. Pineapple Surf*
8. Strawberry X-Treme
9. Slim-N-Trim
10. The Gladiator (45 grams of protein in 20 ounce smoothie)
- Asterisk indicates that 32 ounce smoothie satisfies all 4 daily servings of fruit recommended per USDA guidelines[3]
[edit] Competitors
American Dairy Queen, Jamba Juice, and Maui Wowi are Smoothie Kings three largest competitors[www.hoovers.com], it competes in the blended Beverage industry and on a larger scale special eateries[3].
[edit] Vision & Mission Statement
Respectively,
1. To relentlessly influence and help more & more people achieve a healthier lifestyle.
2. To become THE healthy alternative to unhealthy food choices by providing a consistent, outstanding, guest experience, great tasting nutritional smoothies and the highest quality nutritional products in a healthy, energetic environment.[4]
[edit] Acclaim
Since 1989, Smoothie King has been named #1 franchise in their category 17 times.[5] At the end of 2006, Smoothie King posted over 415 locations operating in 32 states. Smoothie King currently has over 50 units under development and is expected to be over 475 by the end of 2007. This is another key milestone met by the new Smoothie King management team.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003.
[edit] External links
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