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A royal expansion: Kevin King crowned for Smoothie King’s quest for 1,000 stores
Meet Kevin King: the chief of development for Smoothie King, a franchise that has seen rapid growth in recent years. CEO Wan Kim has tapped King to build out the smoothie empire.
July 13, 2016 by Molly Wike — Intern, Networld Media Group
Smoothie King's success is a tale of passion and determination and reflects the fulfillment of the American dream.
The company, which boasts 780 stores, plans to hit 1,000 restaurants by the end of 2017, and Kevin King, a 52-year-old food service industry veteran, is leading the efforts. The newly appointed chief development officer has spent the last 10 years doubling Papa Murphy's original size as well as helping the company go IPO in 2014. It is now the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S, and King is hoping for similar results at Smoothie King, which was voted the No. 1 smoothie franchise on Entrepreneur’s 36th annual franchise Top 500 list and finished 2015 in its sixth year of consecutive growth.
"This company has the right systems in place; there is a very strong leadership team. We have a good market plan and the right tools in order to execute those plans allowing us to develop stores," King said.
Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim, who began his smoothie career as a franchisee in South Korea in 2003, but eventually bought the entire brand in 2012, has endorsed King as CDO, saying that they share the goal of providing alternative meal options for those seeking to live a healthier lifestyle.
"I can’t find another concept that I feel the same way about. I looked and realized this is the one I most believe in. When I bought the company, I told employees that they had to believe in what we did, like where we were going, or step down," Kim said.
To grow the brand, Kim realized he would need an experienced leader specializing in growth, which is why he tapped King for the newly created role.
While his success is largely due to his leadership skills, it's also due, in part, to King's passion and belief in a genuine culture, Kim said.
FastCasual spoke with King to gain insight on why he made the move to Smoothie King. Here is an edited excerpt from the talk.
FastCasual: What was your first job in the restaurant industry?
Kevin King:At age 14, I worked my first restaurant job at Tony's Villa Pizza. It was a mom-and-pop pizza place in Columbus, OH, where I grew up. I worked there all through high school and into college.
FastCasual: What stood out to you about Smoothie King that allows for its quick growth and success?
King: A strong leadership team and a flexible asset strategy. Wan Kim interviewed over 200 individuals for the 10 executive positions. Smoothie King's stores are always changing. Some are stand-alone, non-traditional locations such as kiosks; some are located in malls and airports as well as urban models and rural stand-alone spaces. The space needed is only about 800-1200 sq. ft. in order to make high quality smoothies, so being flexible creates a lot of opportunity.
FastCasual: What do you look for in a franchisee?
King: Passion. The No. 1 quality that we look for in franchisees is passion for the company. We are all about promoting healthy lifestyles and belief in the brand. We are creating smoothies with a purpose. We have something for everyone. We pride ourselves with being very on-trend with what consumers want.
FastCasual: What new smoothies or products are coming soon?
King: We have to continue asking ourselves, "What’s our DNA? Where did we come from?" (Founder) Steve Kuhnau began building smoothie recipes starting with the purpose of each and then determining the ingredients to make that happen. He created the "Hulk" smoothie, for a friend undergoing chemotherapy, so that he could have a meal option that enabled him to gain weight.
So, we asked ourselves, "what are the 21st century needs?" The No. 1 response was meal replacements –— so we launched "Change-A-Meal" challenge and now we are introducing Greek yogurt, kale, and vegan recipes to our menu.
FastCasual: What's your personal favorite smoothie?
King: "That’s easy. The Lean 1 Mango Pineapple. There’s 20 grams of protein, so you certainly don't want to eat that if you’re not active but it's a great option for muscle building."
