Best Healthy Food Franchises for 2024
Discover the booming world of healthy food franchises—from smoothie cafes to superfood bowls—and explore industry trends, key data, and top franchise opportunities driving America’s shift towards health-conscious eating.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Healthy food franchises cover a wide range of businesses, from restaurants to food brands, but overall it encompasses food products that promote healthy ways of living. This industry is fairly recent and mainly emerged as an alternative to the domination of the fast food industry. The heightened prevalence of preventable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes has increased the health consciousness of many Americans, paving the way for the healthy food industry to thrive. In this article, we will discuss the emerging trends in the healthy food industry and the key data for that industry. In addition, we will discuss the 5 best healthy food franchises.
Healthy Food Industry Trends
This industry is segmented in a way that covers various areas of health, from plant-based diets to gluten-free diets. Multiple emerging forces drive growth in the healthy food industry, from consumer demand for transparency in food products and the increasing health consciousness of Americans. Although there is a lot of potential within this industry, the high costs of healthy food products limit the pool of clientele. Companies that tend to thrive in this industry are already well-established brands that offer “healthy” alternatives to their most popular products. However, some businesses have succeeded by selling trending healthy food products, some examples including acai bowls and avocado toast. Other businesses have also adopted the business model of fast food restaurants in selling their healthy food, combining convenience and expediency with quality products.
How much Can a Food & Beverage Franchise Cost?
Through our online platform Vetted Biz, we have reviewed over 7,000 businesses and franchises. Currently, almost 25% of the businesses on our platform are food and beverage franchises. Of the food and beverage concepts we have reviewed, total investment amounts can start as low as $3,000 for smaller kiosk concepts up to $6,732,615 for a full-service restaurant. Mainly, the average investment amount for a single-unit franchise investment in this industry is $466K. Many factors will affect the investment amount, including but not limited to heavy-duty equipment like grills, or where the food and beverage concept needs to be located. In our research, the average royalty fee takes up 5.3% of gross revenue, and the average marketing fee is 2.3% of the gross revenue.
Key Data According to SBA
Based on SBA franchise loan data, the industry exhibits a Paid-in-Full Rate of 39.5%, showing instances where franchisees have completely paid off their SBA loans, including interest, showcasing their financial robustness. Alongside this, the industry demonstrates a Charged Rate of 4%, reflecting SBA loan defaults where franchisees cannot repay. Notably, the industry boasts a commendable 8:1 SBA loan success ratio.
Best Healthy Food Franchises
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
- Total U.S. Locations: 1,372
- Net Unit Growth (3 years): 458
- Initial Investment: $300K-$721K
- Royalty Fees: 6%
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a healthy food franchise that has strong brand recognition and is one of the fastest-growing brands in the industry. This franchise offers its customers the best possible services, foods, and drinks made out of fresh and hand-picked fruits. This franchise is one of the best healthy food franchises.
Smoothie King
- Total U.S. Locations: 1,152
- Net Unit Growth (3 years): 125
- Initial Investment: $321K-$1.27M
- Royalty Fees: 6%
Smoothie King is one of the best healthy food franchises that has a goal to provide its customers with a healthy lifestyle and food. This healthy food franchise offers its franchisees a world-class training system, marketing support, and a business model that has 45 years of experience. The pursuit of good health is always within reach, thanks to this franchise’s widespread presence across numerous locations in the US.
Nautical Bowls
- Total U.S. Locations: 63
- Net Unit Growth (3 years): 62
- Initial Investment: $251K-$475K
- Royalty Fees: 6%
Nautical Bowls is one of the healthy food franchises that offer the best possible service of fitness and healthy food to its customers. As a franchisee, you will be supported by a highly skilled team that will support you and your business in addition to ongoing analysis and consulting.
Rush Bowls
- Total U.S. Locations: 51
- Net Unit Growth (3 years): 19
- Initial Investment: $200K-$547K
- Royalty Fees: 6%
Rush Bowls is a well-known name among healthy food franchises that proudly serves all-natural blended fruit bowls and smoothies. They aim to make delicious food while also keeping the body healthy. They are a great healthy food option for people that want to grab something to eat on the go. As a franchisee, you will operate a Rush Bowls restaurant based on the system in the franchise agreement and manuals.
Saladworks
- Total U.S. Locations: 100
- Net Unit Growth (3 years): 10
- Initial Investment: $577K-$728K
- Royalty Fees: 6%
Saladworks is one of the healthy food franchises that makes sure that its franchisee would succeed with the resources given. This company offers its franchisees ongoing training, marketing support, and more. This franchise has strong brand recognition with numerous locations across the United States. Also, they offer a business model to help understand how the business works better.
Conclusion
In conclusion, healthy food franchises can be a great investment to start your franchising path. In this article, we discussed the trends in the healthy food industry alongside some of the key data for that industry. Finally, we listed the 5 best healthy food franchises.
