Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Food & Beverage · Fast-Casual Restaurants
- Active units
- 1,650
- Royalty
- 6.0%
Franchised, year-end 2025
of weekly Net Sales
About Tropical Smoothie Cafe
The business model operates within the fast-casual sector, providing a menu that includes toasted sandwiches, wraps, flatbreads, and salads alongside fruit and vegetable smoothies. These brick-and-mortar establishments are designed with a tropical theme and often include drive-thrus, curbside pickup, and digital ordering options. Operations are structured for efficiency, utilizing blenders and convection ovens instead of deep fryers or grease hoods. The brand serves a customer base looking for quick food and beverage options throughout the day.
Key terms
- Franchise fee
$35k
- Additional unit initial franchise fee
$25,000 for each additional Tropical Smoothie Cafe Restaurant.
- Brand fund
5.0% of Net Sales
- Footprint
1,200 – 1,600 sq ft
- Veteran discount
Initial franchise fee reduced to $17,500 for qualified veterans for the first and each subsequent Franchised Business.
Brand Percentile Rankings
Rankings compare brands in the same operating year. Fee and investment figures come from the FDD (2026 filing); filings on file: 2024, 2025, 2026.
Growth
- Total locations1650
Franchised units open at year-end
- New openings170
Gross new units opened during the calendar year
- 1-year unit growth rate9.0%
Net unit growth versus prior year
- 3-year unit CAGR9.7%
Compound annual growth rate of unit count over the trailing 3 years
- Unit growth ratio5.0×
Cumulative opens / closures through year-end
Unit economics
- Annual unit volume (Median)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (25th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (75th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- 1-year Median AUV growth rate2.6%
Year-over-year change in median AUV
- Store-level EBITDA Margin—
Median unit-level EBITDA / AUV
Investment profile
- Estimated initial investment$523k
Midpoint of estimated initial investment range
↓ Lower is better - Time to open12 months
Midpoint of average time from agreement to opening
↓ Lower is better - Royalty rate6.0%
Percent of net sales paid to the franchisor
↓ Lower is better - Sales-to-investment ratio—
Median AUV / estimated initial investment midpoint
- Cash-on-cash returns—
Median unit-level EBITDA / estimated initial investment midpoint. Steady-state estimate; year 1 returns will be lower as the unit ramps to median volumes.
Franchisee healthLocked
- Unit closure ratio
- Transfer vs. closure ratio
- Percent multi-unit franchisees
- Litigation rate
- EBITDA multiple on sales & transfers
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Location footprint
Showing 66 of 95 mapped locations
Sources
Financial and operating figures are sourced from the brand's Franchise Disclosure Documents. Brand percentile rankings are based on comparisons to other brands that include the same metrics in their Franchise Disclosure Documents.