Published on: August 5, 2024
Atlanta-based Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a leading better-for-you smoothie and food concept, is thriving during peak summer season. The recent return of the fan-favorite mocktail smoothies coincided with two signature summertime holidays, National Flip Flop Day® and National Smoothie Day, while aiding in industry-wide recognition.
Marketing Drivers
The mocktail smoothies, which originally debuted with the Watermelon Mojito Smoothie in 2014, signify the return to summer each year for Tropical Smoothie Cafe guests. The mocktails have quickly become beloved additions to the brand’s limited time offerings, and smoothie lovers are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for new additions to the mocktail roster in the future.
This May, Tropical Smoothie Cafe invited guests to celebrate its annual National Flip Flop Day®, a holiday created by the brand to celebrate the kickoff to summer. Guests who visited participating Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations with their favorite pair of flip flops enjoyed a taste of Tropic Time TM by receiving a free 12 oz. Island Punch Mocktail Smoothie. The holiday mobilized fans nationwide, resulting in nearly 500,000 guests across the country receiving free smoothies.
The brand also celebrated National Smoothie Day on June 21, gifting Tropic Rewards® members a free 24 oz. smoothie of their choice with the purchase of a Tropic Bowl or food item all day long.
“At Tropical Smoothie Cafe, our goal is for every guest to incorporate a five-minute vacation into their day,” said Deborah von Kutzleben, Chief Marketing Officer for Tropical Smoothie Cafe, LLC. “Fun holidays like National Flip Flop Day where we embrace the carefree kickoff to summer or new and exciting menu offerings like Tropic Bowls are perfect ways for us to provide this everyday getaway to guests nationwide.”
Industry Awards
Tropical Smoothie Cafe has been recognized yet again as a leader in the QSR space, receiving several notable awards so far this year.
The brand’s marketing team took home several big wins at the Franchise Customer Experience Conference in June. Tropical Smoothie Cafe won the top spot for its partnership with No Kid Hungry in the “Best Cause Marketing Campaign” category, and also won the overall “Marketing and Branding” award for the entire conference.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe was featured on Technomic’s Top 500 Chains award list which highlights the 500 largest restaurant chains in the United States based on systemwide sales, with Tropical Smoothie Cafe landing at #51.
About Tropical Smoothie Cafe®
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a national fast-casual restaurant brand built on a mission to Inspire Better®, a commitment that starts with our better-for-you food and smoothies and extends to inspiring better in the communities we serve. Born on a beach in 1997, today Tropical Smoothie Cafe has more than 1,450 locations in 44 states. For the fourth year in a row, the brand was ranked #1 in the Smoothie/Juice Category by Entrepreneur Franchisee 500. For 11 consecutive years the brand has received the Franchise Times Fast and Serious award, and in 2024 the brand’s FUND Score was 905, one of the top scores for franchise concepts analyzed by FRANdata.
