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Smoothie King

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Smoothie King

Smoothie King Franchises Inc. (doing business as Smoothie King) is an American privately held company that operates a chain of retail stores that specialize in selling smoothies. Founded in 1973, the company was bought by a South Korean franchisee in 2012. In the late 2010s, the company was focusing on whole and unmodified ingredients.

Smoothie King was founded in 1973 in Kenner, Louisiana, by Steve and Cindy Kuhnau.

The company expanded internationally in the early 2000s, with its first overseas franchise opening in South Korea in either 2002 or 2003. Within six years, franchisee Wan Kim had opened more than 100 locations in the country.

In 2012, Kim acquired Smoothie King from the Kuhnaus and secured US$58 million in growth capital from Standard Chartered Private Equity and the National Pension Fund of Korea to expand the brand. His growth plans included adding 800 new franchises, opening 200 corporately owned stores, and expanding the menu with salads and wraps, which in South Korea accounted for more than 20% of sales.

Per-store revenue increased from about $285,000 in 2009 to $362,000 in 2012. Corporate-wide revenues were reported as $372.5 million in 2017 and $415.7 million in 2018. In 2023, Smoothie King reported about US$644 million in sales.

In early 2014, Smoothie King entered into a naming rights agreement with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans to rename the New Orleans Arena as the Smoothie King Center. The 10-year contract runs from 2014 to 2024, with an option to extend through 2034. As part of the agreement, all Smoothie King products underwent testing to ensure compliance with NBA banned-substance rules, a process that continues annually.

On July 10, 2025, San Francisco–based Main Post Partners acquired a minority stake in Smoothie King to support the brand’s next phase of growth.

Since acquiring the company in 2012, Wan Kim has served as chief executive officer.

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