Published on: January 7, 2022
Fast-growing brand recognized for outstanding performance in 2021
Tropical Smoothie Cafe has been recognized as one of the top 10 franchises in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500®, the world’s first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking.
The 43rd annual Entrepreneur Franchise 500® is a highly sought-after honor in the franchise industry. Recognized as an invaluable resource for potential franchisees, the 2022 Franchise 500® ranks franchise brands for outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, financial strength and stability, and brand power.
“The past year has been one of the most challenging for businesses in recent memory, which made putting together our 43rd annual Franchise 500® list more enlightening than ever,” said Entrepreneur Editor in Chief Jason Feifer. “The companies named to this year’s list showed us how being resilient, supportive and nimble can help navigate extraordinary challenges and also underscore the grit and innovation that define entrepreneurship.”
In 2021, Tropical Smoothie Cafe experienced several brand milestones, including opening its 1,000th location and a record number of new cafes. The brand also continued to see same-store sales growth thanks to successful LTOs and increased digital sales.
“Breaking into Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® top 10 is a major accomplishment for our support team and franchisees, and it’s a great way to cap off a year of tremendous growth and progress for our brand,” said Charles Watson, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC. “The amazing success we’ve experienced at Tropical Smoothie Cafe would not be possible without the hard work of our full team and the ‘All In’ passion for the brand our franchisees bring to work each day.”
In Entrepreneur’s continuing effort to best understand and evaluate the ever-changing franchise marketplace, the company’s 43-year-old ranking formula continues to evolve as well. The editorial team researches and assesses several factors that go into the evaluation, including costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Each franchise is given a cumulative score based on an analysis of more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500® in ranking order.
Over its 43 years in existence, the Franchise 500® has become both a dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. The top-ten ranking of Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a testament to its strength as a franchise opportunity.
To view the full list, visit www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500. Results can also be seen in the January/February 2022 issue of Entrepreneur, available on newsstands Jan. 11.
