Top Players in Franchise Development: Kevin King

Smoothie King was not Kevin King’s first rodeo in franchising. Kicking his career off with Domino’s Pizza, King has worked in the franchising industry with pizza brands across the board, including Donatos Pizzeria, Papa Murphy’s and Project Pie.

Smoothie King corporate saw King as a must-have to help the brand reach its expansion goals by the end of 2017. After assuming the role of Chief Development Officer in May 2016, King realized the heart of the development process is within the existing owners. With their passion for the brand and their desire to help it grow, these owners allow the store numbers to soar as they become more successful.

King is excited about his new role with Smoothie King, and over time, he hopes to see Smoothie King as the best and largest smoothie brand in the world.

What makes your brand’s franchise development process tick?

The heart of our process is our existing owners. We are so happy that so many of our new stores are opened by existing owners. We hope that this continues in the future. Additionally, it is our great product. The majority of our new owners also joined the system because they were loyal customers first. They come in with a passion for the brand that they developed by being satisfied customers and raving fans of Smoothie King.

What have been some of your brand’s major milestones?

Reaching 800 stores this July was a huge milestone, as was the purchase of the company by its largest franchisee in 2012—Wan Kim. Kim can personally attest to his belief in the product, first as a customer while in college, then as the largest franchisee in the Smoothie King system by opening more than 100 stores in Korea.

What are you most proud of?

As someone new to the brand, I am most proud of our products and our people. We have great tasting food for anyone who is inspired to live a healthy and active lifestyle. All of this only happens with dedication from team members and franchisees. We have great people who care deeply about our brand and our customers.

What specific steps do your most successful franchisees take in order to build and grow their businesses? And what do you do to set them up for success?

Our most successful owners are involved in their stores and in their communities. This involvement helps spread the word about the great food we serve and also helps inspire people. This inspiration is what makes us successful. What we do is try to create an environment for owners to channel this involvement through operational systems, support, marketing programs and development support so they can focus on their team members and guests.

What are your goals for your brand in the next few years and how do you plan to grow the brand?

My goals are to make Smoothie King the best and largest smoothie brand in the world. This includes opening hundreds of stores domestically over the next several years and also more international stores. We will only do this if our owners are successful in their stores. We will grow the brand through attracting great owners, helping them open their stores and hopefully they will continue to build additional stores in the years to come.