MIXSTIRS GROWTH SPURS AREA MASTER DEVELOPER AGREEMENTS

Posted on January 02, 2009 by Eugene Yi

PITTSBURGH, PA – Consumer interest in healthy alternatives to fast food has been growing exponentially – and so has MixStirs, a franchise dedicated to serving that interest with a wide selection of award-winning smoothies, protein shakes, soups, wraps, sandwiches and salads. In just two years, the company has expanded quickly enough to justify offering area development agreements to master developers in order to penetrate larger territories faster.

Matt McCrerey is the MixStirs master developer for Western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The region currently has two stores up and running in Pittsburgh with a number of other locations being considered.

"This is an incredible ground floor opportunity in the Northeast," says McCrerey. "The MixStirs concept has the potential to explode with popularity. There is unlimited potential and I’m looking forward to building the franchise in a great region of the country where there are few competitors to this concept."

MixStirs was created in 2007 to meet growing consumer demand for the creative mix of healthy, freshly prepared fast food readily found on the West Coast but lacking on the East Coast. After the opening of a few stores, the full potential of the concept was launched in 2008 as MixSmoothie LLC began to offer MixStirs franchises.

"The buzz from customers and franchisees alike is just amazing," says Matt McCrerey, the Houston, Pennsylvania resident who started in the franchising business with the ownership of his own MixStirs Cafe. "I truly believe we’ve found the right formula for reaching our target markets, and the rapid growth and loyal following confirms it. Serving as master developer allows me to take on the whole region and can only provide greater opportunities for success for the MixStirs brand. I have had other businesses before but none of them had the potential that I have with MixStirs."

MixStirs now operates in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Nevada. As it expands within those states and to locations in Ohio, West Virginia, Florida, Arizona and Washington, D.C., that number is expected to double.

McCrerey is not MixStirs only master developer. Chris Dimmack is prospecting in West Virginia, while Juan Gomez is developing territories in Nevada and Ann Bernardone is looking to build up Westchester County, New York. Greenberg says the company is actively seeking both franchisees and master developers to spread the wealth throughout more regions of the country.

"Most of our franchisees are owner/operators. If you know how to manage people, work hard and help pursue our vision, you’re an odds-on favorite to succeed as a franchisee with MixStirs," he says. "Nearly three-quarters of our franchisees own one store with the opportunity to own multiple units. We expect that trend to continue because it’s clearly advantageous to spread out the risk and the work instead of concentrating everything on one store – plus you’re better positioned to act when new opportunities crop up. If you have the skills to oversee multiple units and are interested in being a master developer, the sky’s the limit for potential area development."

The franchise’s success has been based on its signature menu offering: a collection of juice- or yogurt-based smoothies that can be enhanced by a number of vitamin- or herb-infused "power boosts" to address a variety of individual physiological needs. MixStirs has also been praised for its soups, many of which are low-fat, vegetarian or dairy-free. In addition to the smoothies and soups, the MixStirs Cafes offer half a dozen gourmet wraps, including grilled chicken Caesar, garden or black bean and rice; Paninis such as the Chicken Bella or Balsamic Garden; and a variety of fresh-squeezed juice blends and flavored coffees. They even serve breakfast, from egg sandwiches and breakfast wraps to oatmeal and a selection of bagels, muffins and pastries.

All stores feature a new color scheme, more natural materials and higher-end furniture and lighting to capitalize on research that shows consumers are gravitating toward more natural environments that maintain contemporary elements. For more information, visit www.mixstirs.com.

MixStirs is built on the idea that there is a healthy and delicious alternative to fast food. MixStirs strives to provide its customers the most natural, wholesome and delicious food possible with quick service while giving back to the community and supporting environmental and health-related causes.

Over the past two years, more than 15 MixStirs franchises have opened in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Nevada. At least a dozen more are expected to open soon in those states and in Arizona, Ohio and Washington, D.C., and franchisees are actively being sought throughout the Northeast and Southeast. Most franchisees are owner/operators, and nearly three-quarters own more than one store.