Young Ones to Watch: Chad Tramuta

As Smoothie King’s franchise development manager, Chad Tramuta is helping spread the benefits of a healthier lifestyle across the country

By LAUREN MOORMAN1851 Franchise Contributor

SPONSOREDUpdated 8:08AM • 03/04/16

Before joining Smoothie King as Franchise Development Manager in February 2014, Chad Tramuta served as Senior Director of Franchise Recruitment at VooDoo BBQ & Grill and Planet Beach. Tramuta, who has a contagious energy and positive attitude (not to mention a penchant for snazzy bow ties), has risen up the ranks in franchising and is now thrilled to be selling not only a business opportunity but a healthy and active lifestyle through Smoothie King.

Why do you love franchising?

I love meeting and interacting with people both inside and outside of work. It’s what drives me. Franchising is an industry that I can take great pride in because every day, I’m helping individuals live a healthy and active lifestyle and achieve their professional goals. It’s incredible to watch someone start with one unit and grow to multiple units.

What I get out of it the most is the rapport I develop with these franchisees. They become friends — and this doesn’t stop when the deal is done. The great thing about Smoothie King is that it’s geared more toward the lifestyle vs. selling just the investment. It’s not just about the bottom line – franchisees come to us with a true passion for the brand. It’s part of their daily routine and lifestyle, which allows us to build even stronger relationships with our franchise system.

What is the top challenge facing young people in franchising?

Franchising is constantly evolving and if brands aren’t up on what’s current in the industry, they’re going to get left behind a bit. Young people have a lot of new ideas and fresh thinking – but sometimes those ideas get derailed when they take too long to implement.

Luckily that’s not the case at Smoothie King. Our Vice President of International Franchise Development Dan Hannah is more forward thinking than that typical old guard group of folks. He allows us to be more independent and have the wiggle room to do what we think is best, which leads our entire team to be more successful.

What is your dream position/goal?

Specifically, I want to continue growing within the franchising industry and eventually oversee the development department. In general, I’m inspired by Smoothie King and want to continue doing something that at the end of the day, I can look back and see that I’ve created a legacy and put good into the world. I’d also love to be a multi-unit franchisee someday. It’s important to me to have some stake in the game to be able to better sell the brand.

To connect with Chad Tramuta on LinkedIn, click here.