11 franchise brands run a juice / smoothie bar. Here they are beside the independent version of the same business, with each brand’s fees as it publishes them and worked out in dollars. A brand can bring customers an independent has to earn one by one. The question is whether it brings in more than it costs.
Typical for a juice / smoothie bar: $200k to $550k in sales, and the owner keeps 16% to 22% after paying for its own marketing. Change either to your own numbers.
Work each brand out at
How the two sides are counted
Sales. A brand’s name brings customers an independent wins one at a time, so each brand is worked out at the sales it reports where we have them, and at yours where we don’t.
Marketing. On your own you pay for all of it, about 3% of sales here (the SBA’s usual range for ongoing marketing). The ad fund does part of that job, so it is counted once, not twice.
Survival. New franchised businesses were about 5 to 6 points more likely to make it through their first two years in Census data, and about half of all new businesses close within five years. It is not in the dollars; each brand’s details give the sources.
Your own juice / smoothie bar and each brand, side by side
The independent version
Your own juice / smoothie bar
Built and run under your own name
Cost to open
$133k to $518k
Annual sales
$330ktypical
Franchise fee
None
Royalty + ad fund
Noneall marketing is yours
$62,700
The owner keeps in a year, after about $10k of marketing
Taking new owners
Pure Green
Juice and smoothies
Total investment
$177k to $494k
Avg. annual sales
$743k
Franchise fee
$40k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$97k
The owner keeps in a year at $743k in sales (what it reports), after $59k to the brand
$34k more a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Everbowl
Superfood bowls
Total investment
$189k to $371k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$40k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$43k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $26k to the brand
$20k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Planet Smoothie
Smoothies
Total investment
$196k to $462k
Avg. annual sales
$296k to $332k
Franchise fee
$25k
Royalty + ad fund
5% + 3% of sales
$44k
The owner keeps in a year at $314k in sales (what it reports), after $25k to the brand
$19k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Nékter Juice Bar
Juice and smoothies
Total investment
$230k to $645k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$35k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$43k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $26k to the brand
$20k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Clean Juice
Organic juice bar
Total investment
$243k to $419k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$30k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$43k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $26k to the brand
$20k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Juice It Up!
Juice and smoothies
Total investment
$248k to $756k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$20k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 3% of sales
$43k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $30k to the brand
$20k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Smoothies and wraps
Total investment
$276k to $771k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$35k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 5% to 6% of sales
$33k to $36k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $36k to $40k to the brand
$26k to $30k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Playa Bowls
Acai bowls and smoothies
Total investment
$282k to $1.1M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$35k
Royalty + ad fund
In the details
The fee is not a simple share of sales, so it is not worked out in dollars. The details show it as the brand words it.
Taking new owners
Robeks
Juice and smoothies
Total investment
$298k to $512k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$30k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2.5% of sales
$40k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $31k to the brand
$23k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Smoothie King
Smoothies
Total investment
$346k to $1.3M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$30k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 5% of sales
$36k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $36k to the brand
$26k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Jamba
Smoothies and juice
Total investment
$481k to $961k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$36k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 3% of sales
$43k
The owner keeps in a year at $330k in sales (your sales), after $30k to the brand
$20k less a year than on your own
Free account
See all 11 juice / smoothie bar brands side by side
Every brand’s investment and fees, and what the owner keeps against running your own
The yearly sales the first 3 report, and a plus to add brands to your comparison and benchmark them in your account
Members see the sales every franchisor reports, for every brand
Free, no card. A new account accepts the Terms and the Privacy Policy. smbnest is a self-assessment tool and never takes a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor.
Before you sign: what to read in the disclosure document
Every franchisor must give you its Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you sign or pay. These are the parts that answer the questions above.
Items 5 to 7, the fees and the investment. The franchise fee, every other fee (technology, training, transfer, renewal), and the full opening budget, including working capital.
Item 19, what owners earn. Whether the brand states owner sales or earnings at all, and for which units. Put its figures in the boxes above in place of the typical ones.
Item 20, units opened, closed and sold. How many owners left in each of the last three years, and a list of current and former owners you can call.
Item 12, the territory. Whether you get a protected area, and what the brand can open or sell inside it.
Item 21, the franchisor’s own finances. Whether the company behind the brand is in good health.
smbnest is a self-assessment tool, not individualized advice. Fees are as each brand publishes them on its franchising page and in its disclosure document, reviewed in the month shown, and change; the figures in dollars are worked out at the sales you enter and are not a forecast. We never take a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor. Before you sign, speak with a franchise attorney and a qualified financial adviser, and call owners from the disclosure document.
Your guidesmbnest
The guide is an automated assistant. Answers come from this business’s model, its sources and your plan; they are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to a person