Smoothie King Voted #1 Limited-Service Restaurant Beverage-Snack Brand in Nation’s Restaurant News

Smoothie King, the innovative leader of the fast-growing smoothie segment, ranks number one with consumers, according to the recent announcement in Nation’s Restaurant News’ Consumer Picks issue. The company that makes “Smoothies With a Purpose” was voted into the top slot in the Limited-Service Restaurant Beverage-Snack category, prevailing over many well-known, national brands.

The brand won after customer responses were averaged from multiple categories, including menu variety and how likely consumers were to return. The vast majority of voting consumers approved of Smoothie King’s menu, and most of the survey respondents said they were likely to return for more smoothies in the future. Smoothie King beat out brands like Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts to win the title.

“Being voted the best Limited-Service Restaurant brand in the Beverage-Snack category by our guests is a true honor and proves that we are delivering on our ‘Smoothies With a Purpose’ promise,” said Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim. “At Smoothie King, we pride ourselves on being a brand that our guests enjoy and come back to time and time again. This ranking shows us that our franchise partners are meeting guests’ needs, and it gives us a better idea of what we need to keep doing in the future to continue to gain more foot traffic through our locations.”

Smoothie King’s ranking in Nation’s Restaurant News comes as the 43-year-old brand experiences impressive momentum by closing out 2015 with the signing of 78 agreements to develop 152 new units. It also opened 86 new locations in 21 states last year, beating its number of openings in 2014 by 24 stores. Smoothie King is keeping pace in 2016 with another 123 new locations expected to open by the end of the year.

“We want to provide guests with the best menu, service and environment that we can so they can lead healthy and active lifestyles,” said Kim. “This award confirms that our efforts are succeeding with consumers across the U.S., and we’re going to build on that momentum to better serve our fans in the coming years.”