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Smoothie King has seen an incredible turnaround since former South Korea franchisee Wan Kim took over the company, with a huge increase in AUV and global expansion headlining the brand’s forward momentum.

Kim and COO Tom O’Keefe recently sat down with Nation's Restaurant News to discuss the Smoothie King brand and some of the changes that have propelled the company’s growth.

“When I bought the company, the AUV was around $340,000. Now the AUV is around $482,000. We are looking close to a one-to-two ratio, and I think it’s becoming a very good opportunity for a lot of people,” Kim told NRN.

And in regard to the updates made to Smoothie King’s branding, O’Keefe told NRN, “We reinvigorated the brand. We kind of blew some air into the sails and there was a lot of natural traction that took hold because of that. We are a three-year-old startup, even though we had a 40-year head start.”

Check out the full article here. 

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills

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Nick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.

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