smoothie king passes 600th store milestone (link)
05.06.09 - wsj marketwatch - press release

it looks like the smoothie has finally made it in this crazy, mixed up world. smoothie king, the self-proclaimed king of smoothies, continues to expand faster than a waistline on all-you-can-eat apple pie day, as they've now opened over six hundred locations worldwide. according to entrepreneur magazine, this makes smoothie king the 37th fastest growing franchise in the country. 37th! i wonder how well the thirty-six franchises ahead of them are doing.

when it comes to smoothies, i guess i'm a bit out of touch.  i never even noticed that smoothie king exists until now, even though they apparently have a bunch of locations just here in nyc alone. as tasty & as healthy as they may be, a custom-blended smoothie just isn't one of those things that i look for when i'm out & about, but if there's room for six hundred locations worldwide, people must feel differently.

according to smoothie king founder/ceo steve kuhnau, "we provide products that contribute to the health regimen of our guests, something more important than ever in these stressful times." this is seen as one of the main reasons that the franchise has been so successful in expanding. the other reason that the release states is that "the shaky job market has caused people of all walks of life to reevaluate their career goals."  personally, i have trouble envisioning someone thinking to themselves "gee, this economy is awful & i might lose my job.  i should totally open a smoothie king," but if it's in a press release, it must be true.