How Jason Mazzarone Got in on the Ground Level of the Booming Acai Bowl Industry

Jason Mazzarone first fell in love with acai bowls while he was living in San Diego, California for culinary school. He quickly made the healthy treat a part of his daily routine, enjoying acai bowls at all hours of the day. That’s why he was disappointed to find that there weren’t any places to pick up his new favorite meal when he returned to his home in New York. So he started making bowls for himself.

Curious to see what the hype was all about, Mazzarone’s family decided to try his acai bowl recipes for themselves. Right away, they realized that they had stumbled upon something special. Because there was nothing else like it in the area, Mazzarone decided to sell acai bowls out of his family’s Italian ice store in the morning to see if they’d sell. When consumers started catching on, Mazzarone knew that his concept had the potential to be its own business.

He opened up Long Island Super Bowl’s flagship store in 2014, and has been growing alongside the brand ever since. Now a rapidly expanding franchise system, Super Bowls is designed to give consumers access to customizable and nutritious acai bowls on the go. And even though the concept is incredibly popular across the country, Mazzarone says launching the business has taken a lot of hard work.

“Before opening a business, you really only see the good sides. You’re so focused on the flexibility that you’re going to have and the potential for a bigger bottom line. But once you get your concept off the ground, the reality sets in of all the hard work that goes into making a business successful,” said Mazzarone. “The perception of franchising from the outside is that the only profitable brands are those huge chains that you see everywhere. But once you dive into it, you learn how many smaller concepts there are that are incredibly successful. That’s what got us excited about franchising Super Bowls—we knew it would be worth all of that hard work in the end.”

For Mazzarone, it’s that commitment to hard work and overcoming challenges that has ultimately allowed Super Bowls to experience consistent growth. As the founder of the company, he knows that he wants to establish a concept where everyone feels like they’re a part of a family. And that means making himself accessible to his team at all times.

“There are always going to be days where you don’t feel like picking up the phone or answering another email. And even though it would be easy to cop out and say you’re not going to do it, you have to keep moving forward if you want to be a great leader,” said Mazzarone. “I make it a priority to be available to my employees and franchisees 24/7. Entrepreneurs are putting their faith in me in order to achieve their dreams of business ownership, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly. I want to be there for my team in every way that I can.”

Being a supportive leader comes down to three “P’s,” according to Mazzarone. By making patience, persistence and productivity top priorities, it’s possible to get things done and move a brand forward. And for Mazzarone and Super Bowls, that means being an incredibly optimistic leader and motivator for everyone on his team. 

“By making those three P’s an essential part of your business model, I believe that leaders can then tap into three more P’s that are crucial for success: people, products and process. Without a strong team, product or business model—especially in franchising—it’ll be difficult to turn a profit,” said Mazzarone.

To help Super Bowls expand its reach through franchising, Mazzarone has adopted a simple mindset: stay focused on the end goal. It’s one thing to want to grow, but it’s an entirely different thing to make it happen in actuality. Recognizing that there will always be challenges that come with success, Mazzarone believes that being an effective leader for the Super Bowls brand means doing everything to maximize its growth potential.

“Don’t get too excited on great days or too upset on bad days. There are always going to be highs and lows in business, but if you stay focused on your vision, you have a much better shot at success,” said Mazzarone. “If you have an amazing product, a team of rock star employees behind you and a process that has been proven to work, leading a franchise concept forward is well within your grasp. When all of those things are working together, you’re going to create a strong network that’s just as excited and passionate about your concept as you are.”