Franchise Focus
Why customers are investing in this NYC smoothie franchise
While most restaurant brands rely on private equity investors and VC firms to raise capital, Pure Green Founder Ross Franklin is taking his cause to the people with a crowdfunding campaign on Republic.co.
February 18, 2020 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
Pure Green, a New York City-based juice and superfood smoothie chain, is hoping to raise a little green to fuel its ultimate goal of having 800 units in development within the next five years. And while most restaurant brands rely on private equity investors and VC firms, Pure Green founder Ross Franklin is taking his cause to the people with a crowdfunding campaign on Republic.co, where the minimum investment starts at $100 and investors receive perks, including gift cards to Pure Green locations and complimentary juices.
So far, the campaign has raised nearly $10,000 and has just over100 days left.
Pure Green, which has five locations — including its first franchised unit that opened last year — has gained a cult following thanks to its pure, organic menu options. Customers include singer, Selena Gomez and NFL teams, for example, and the locations generated $3 million in revenue last year. Franklin projects revenue of $7 million in 2020 and plans to add to his NYC lineup with 50 signed franchise stores by the end of the year and then double each year thereafter.
"In other words, five years from now, our goal is to have 800 signed franchise locations," said Franklin, who has stores opening within a couple in Florida and Chicago. He's also received franchise requests from two dozen other states as well as international attention.
"Though we've delivered Pure Green products to consumers nationwide through our wholesale division, we're looking forward to expanding sales operations in the Midwest and Southeast," he said. "Moving forward, we will continue to open both corporate and franchise locations across the U.S."
What follows is an interview between FastCasual and Franklin, where he describes how he will turn Pure Green into a global brand.
Q. How will you measure success? A specific number of units? A sales goal?
A. While we have goals for the company based on the number of units, our ultimate measure of success will be determined by the success of our franchisees. Our goal is to ensure that each franchisee is profitable, feels supported and is inspired to continue to grow with us. As long as our franchisees are happy and operating profitably, there is no limit to what we can do.
Q. What sets you apart from your competitors?
A. I have an extensive background in fitness and nutrition, having worked with high profile athletic clubs, gyms and health brands for over 15 years. With the help of my team, I took my knowledge gained over the years and formulated every Pure Green product to have high-performance nutrition and un-rivaled flavors. The taste and nutritional profile of our products are unparalleled.
Another unique aspect of the Pure Green brand is our wholesale division, which sells pre-bottled cold-pressed juices to franchisees for less than the actual production cost. This lowers the franchisee's start-up costs because there is no need to purchase expensive juicing equipment or incur high labor costs from juice manufacturing. We produce and deliver the product directly to our franchise partners. We built this model intentionally, to offer greater support to franchisees.
Q. What brands do you view as your main competitor?
A. As one of the few juice bar chains that's not only withstood the test of time but has also grown since our launch in 2014, in one of the most competitive cities in the world, I don't consider other brands in our industry our competitors. There will always be a strong need for companies in our category that place a high value on making people healthier. With that said, I do admire the retail store unit growth of companies like Jamba Juice.
Q. What brand(s) do you look up to?
A. I'm a big fan of Apple and Disney. Apple, because I love their products and admire their ability to completely disrupt entire industries. As for Disney, I'm greatly impressed by the leadership of their CEO Bob Iger, who lead Disney through acquiring a slew of companies including Pixar, Marvel, Lucas Films and ESPN among others. Iger negotiated directly with Steve Jobs in the process of acquiring Pixar, which was certainly no easy feat!
Q. What is your favorite thing on the menu?
A. One of our best-selling items is our Banana Nut smoothie. The ingredients include banana, cashew butter, grass-fed whey protein, coconut butter and almond milk. The Banana Nut smoothie tastes like a banana nut muffin and has an excellent nutritional profile. Our customers love it.
Q. What do you see as the year's hottest menu trend(s)?
A. The keto diet has been gaining a great deal of traction in recent years. More consumers are adopting keto into their lifestyles. With my background in the health and fitness industry, my goal has always been to provide our guests with options that not only taste great but can be easily implemented into their nutrition regimen or lifestyles. With that said, we are in the process of formulating a keto-friendly smoothie and bowl that will knock your socks off! Stay tuned as it will be appearing on our menu soon.
Editor's note: Franchise Focus is a series that tells the story of specific franchises. If you think your franchise should be featured, send email Editor@FastCasual.com. In order to participate, you must be willing to share sales info.
About Cherryh Cansler
