Smoothie King has received a minority investment from a private-equity firm. | Photo courtesy of Smoothie King.
Smoothie King, the high-growth chain of smoothie shops, has received a minority investment from the private-equity firm Main Post Partners, the companies announced on Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Smoothie King said that the investment would position the company for accelerated growth.
It also gives Main Post one of the industry’s more interesting growth chains. Smoothie King was founded in Dallas in 1973 and helped establish smoothies as a legitimate centerpiece for a franchised brand.
Over the past decade, the chain has tripled in size worldwide, with nearly 1,500 shops, including about 1,200 in the U.S. System sales last year grew 5.2% to $812 million, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic. System sales were $763.2 million in the U.S. last year.
“We are very impressed by the strength of the Smoothie King brand and reputation, the quality and innovation of the product offerings and its commitment to the guest experience,” Jeff Mills, managing partner of Main Post Partners, said in a statement. He called the investment “a powerful alignment of vision and capability.”
Wan Kim, a former grad student at the University of California Irvine, opened a Smoothie King location in South Korea in 2003 and ultimately bought the chain outright in 2012.
“We have been extremely impressed by Main Post’s track record of growing franchise brands the right way, by building a strong culture, focusing on the guest, and always thinking long term,” Kim said in a statement.
Franchise brands have remained a hot commodity among private-equity groups of late, helping fuel numerous deals, including a $2 billion sale of Smoothie King rival Tropical Smoothie Café last year to Blackstone. That private-equity group also acquired the sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s.
North Point was the financial advisor to Smoothie King on the Main Post investment.
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