Smoothie Franchise Finds Success in Small Locations

MixStirs franchising began in 2007 offering smoothies - or "Stirs" as the company prefers to call them - for active lifestyles on the go. MixStirs franchises are primarily found in small locations with captured audience venues such as fitness centers, kiosks, malls, transportation centers and sporting arenas with a few full-service stores.

The company's president, Mike Greenberg, says MixStirs franchises can be built in a wide variety of space configurations but ideal locations for MixStirs are typically 400 to 800 square feet. "We focus on small locations to help limit startup costs and overhead making it much easier for our franchisees to be profitable and successful," explained Greenberg.

Greenberg says MixStirs has yet to have a store close because of poor performance which he credits to the low overhead involved in the operation, and that the company would rather open five to 10 healthy stores per year than 25 and have five stores close.

According to Greenberg, MixStirs franchising success can also be attributed to the level of support the company offers its franchisees. "At MixStirs we pride ourselves with our support. We support our franchisees in all aspects of their business and none of them will tell you different. Our support ranges from helping an individual location develop a marketing plan to helping them hang up a sign. Whatever our franchisees need we support them with," said Greenberg.

Greenberg believes that the smoothie market still has a lot of potential to grow as Americans continue to lean towards healthier menu choices. He says that although most people have heard of a smoothie, the beverage is still very low as a percentage of food and beverage sales. "The requirement of calorie information on many menu boards is starting to help people to make healthier food choices and will continue to move healthy fruit smoothies, like the ones served at MixStirs, up the ladder."

Good candidates for a MixStirs franchise should be open minded and possess a strong willingness to learn the franchise system according to Greenberg who believes that anyone can make a smoothie, but that franchisees need to learn MixStirs' specific way of making smoothies in order to deliver the best possible product to customers.

Franchise fees for MixStirs cover the use of the company's trademarked logo and recipes as well as all training and support to get the location open which includes both off and on-site pre-opening training. Royalty fees are used for ongoing support, training, quality assurance, service and cleanliness evaluations, and more.

Currently, MixStirs has locations in six states and is offering smoothie franchises across the country.