Cold Front
Cover Story
By Hanna Aronovich   
Thursday, 15 March 2007
smc Celebrating not only its 10-year anniversary but also becoming a breakthrough brand, Tropical Smoothie café is doing a cool business.
Celebrating not only its 10-year anniversary but also becoming a breakthrough brand, Tropical Smoothie café is doing a cool business.
In 1997, Eric and Delora Jenrich had a vision for a smoothie café. They partnered with David Walker and, during the next 10 years, realized their vision. Director of Marketing and Communications Barbara Valentino says the Jenrichs were “the entrepreneurs and visionaries of the smoothie café.”

COO Jim Valentino notes Tropical Smoothie café opened its 200th store last year and currently has more than 230 stores in more than 30 states with 128 in the pipeline. “We’re working to be a breakthrough brand,” he says, adding that the company is already on its way. This year, Entrepreneur magazine ranked Tropical Smoothie Café No.127 on its Franchise 500. “We were No. 2 in the juice bar category and No. 78 in the fastest-growing brands category,” Jim Valentino adds.

Last October, he continues, the company held a meeting with all franchisees to redefine the vision and mission statements “to use as our roadmap.”

Although smoothies are Tropical Smoothie café’s specialty, the store serves breakfast sandwiches and bagels, gourmet wraps, sandwiches, soups and salads. Valentino notes customers are turning to a healthier lifestyle and looking for higher-quality products. “They want to do more than fill their stomachs,” he says. “The customer is savvy and more discriminating on where and how they spend their money.”

To cater to healthy cravings, Tropical Smoothie café uses only fresh, high-quality ingredients in its smoothies and food items. Barbara Valentino notes Tropical Smoothie café uses Boar’s Head brand cheese and deli meats in its sandwiches. “There are no preservatives or additives,” she notes. “We also use Rich’s brand focaccia bread.”

Tropical Smoothie’s top selling products are the King Caesar wrap, made with all-white meat chicken breast, Valentino explains. The No. 1 selling smoothie is Jetty Punch. She also points to the Jamaican Jerk Chicken wrap, the Chicken Mango Habanero wrap, the hearty Italian sandwich, Boar’s Head chicken tortilla soup and Thai Chicken Salad as popular items.

The company offers more than 40 types of smoothies. For ease of ordering, smoothies fall under several categories: low-fat smoothies; power smoothies with additional supplements; dessert smoothies, some using Ghiradelli chocolate; and Splendid Smoothies that are less than 200 calories.

Tropical Smoothie café prepares all its smoothies with pure, turbinado sugar. Splendid Smoothies, however, are made with Splenda sweetener to reduce the calories. Any regular smoothie can be made with Splenda substitute. “All of our smoothies are made with real fruit, and it’s a good way to get in those five servings of fruit a day,” Barbara Valentino says.

Tropical Smoothie café also offers catering, which has been popular. “It’s just that something different that meeting planners are looking for besides a common sandwich”, Valentino says. “Our most successful franchisees have really focused on expanding their catering business.”

Valentino also notes Tropical Smoothie café has a universal appeal. “Our target customers are 18 to 35 years old,” she explains. “It’s about 60 percent female, 40 percent male, so it’s pretty balanced. Children also enjoy our products.”

Jim Valentino says walking into a Tropical Smoothie Café is like walking into a tropical paradise. “It’s an escape from the ordinary,” he explains. “It’s fun and energetic. We deliver unparalleled hospitality, not generic customer service. We are here to take care of our customers, not just get them their food quickly. We create a different atmosphere – definitely tropical, fun, a great time and a chance to relax. We want customers to walk away feeling satisfied and willing to recommend Tropical Smoothie café to others.”

Passion for the business is the primary quality Tropical Smoothie café looks for in a franchisee, Valentino says. Franchisees with an entrepreneurial spirit and hands-on approach are most successful. “We provide a support system, but we look for people who spend time in the store and integrate into the community,” he explains. “Those make the best operators.”

The company uses an area sales developer model to help grow territories and assist operators. Area sales developers have the responsibility to help identify franchisees that make a good fit for the company’s culture, as well as identify real estate opportunities and assist with café openings.

Strategic Focus
Tropical Smoothie café is dedicated to its mission and vision, and “we’re challenging each other to subscribe to those statements,” Barbara Valentino says. “We use it as the basis for our decisions and everything we do.”

The company outlines its mission to provide consumers with a healthier choice by providing high-quality, innovative food and beverage products delivered with unparalleled hospitality.

“Our vision,” Jim Valentino adds, “is to make Tropical Smoothie Café the choice for a higher-quality, healthier way of life. We’re really creating a niche category.

“Most juice bars just have juice or sandwich places just have sandwiches. We have a smoothie café concept that people are really following. We’re the leader in the category.”
 
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