Zoup! Looks to Minnesota for Future Growth

Zoup! is the leading fresh soup restaurant in the marketplace, with a unique concept that garners loyalty wherever it goes. The brand’s hundreds of recipes and thousands of flavors mean an endless number of opportunities for fans to fall in love with yet another bowl of soup. Zoup! offers its award-winning soups with 12 rotating daily options, always served with a hunk of freshly baked bread. With more than 100 restaurant locations across the U.S. and Canada, the soup company now has its sights set on Minnesota for its next growth market.

Given that Zoup! is the fast-casual restaurant all about soup, it makes perfect sense for the brand to focus on Minnesota, a state with notoriously frigid winters and a real need for a hearty and warming offering. Zoup! has already seen success in colder climates, and while Zoup! will meet diners’ needs on a particularly icy day, the soup company also offers salads, sandwiches, breads and desserts.

“Minnesota is really, really cold and, historically, Zoup! has done very well when offering our menu in colder climates,” says Richard Simtob, president of Zoup! “We also recognize that Minnesota is a healthy-minded community, which we believe means there’s demand for our healthy soup, salads and sandwiches.”

In 2013, Health.com ranked Minnesota as the third healthiest state in the country. Despite the state’s bitter winter temps, residents continue to be active year-round. Minnesotans focus on healthy lifestyles and diets, and the state boasts one of the lowest diabetes and obesity rates in the nation. Zoup! is a particularly attractive brand for health-conscious individuals, with dining options for every dietary preference, from gluten-free and low-fat offerings to dairy-free and vegetarian options.

“As we focus on the future growth of our company, we see Minnesota as a state with a lot of potential,” says Richard Zimmer, Zoup! director of franchise development and real estate.

Zoup! opened its first restaurant in 1998 after years of perfecting recipes with a highly regarded chef. From there, the company added salads and sandwiches, wanting to offer other menu items to complement its soup for the perfect meal. In the early 2000s, the brand began franchising to drive growth and share their product with more soup-hungry individuals throughout North America. The brand expects to open around 33 new locations in 2017. The franchise fee is $39,900 with start-up costs ranging from $386,860 - $576,250.