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

Consumers Pick 'Smoothies with a Purpose' Over National Coffee, Doughnut and Cookie Chains

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Apr 11, 2016, 09:00 ET

NEW ORLEANS, April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 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."

About Smoothie King

Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. is a privately held, New Orleans-area-based franchise company with more than 750 units worldwide. By creating each smoothie with a purpose, Smoothie King makes it simple and pleasurable for guests to achieve their individual health goals. The franchise also offers a number of healthy retail products, including sports beverages, energy bars, vitamin supplements and more.

Smoothie King was founded in 1973 by Steve Kuhnau, whose mission was to help others achieve better health in a tasty way. In 1989, Smoothie King became the first franchised smoothie bar/health food store in the U.S. and currently operates in 33 states, the Caymans, the Republic of Korea, and the Middle East. In 2016, Smoothie King was voted No. 1 in the Limited-Service Restaurant Beverage-Snack category in Nation's Restaurant News' Consumer Picks. In 2016, Smoothie King was ranked No. 1 by Entrepreneur magazine in the juice bar category for the 23rd year and No. 92 overall on the 2016 Franchise 500 list. In 2014, Smoothie King partnered with the New Orleans Pelicans to launch the Smoothie King Center, a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. Visit www.smoothieking.com or www.smoothiekingfranchise.com; engage on Facebook www.facebook.com/SmoothieKing; follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/smoothieking.

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SOURCE Smoothie King