Dive Brief:
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe has signed a 40-unit franchising deal to grow its presence in Albany, the Bronx and Westchester County, New York, and Western Connecticut, according to a Monday press release.
- Aurify Kingstar, which operates about 300 restaurants across brands including Five Guys, Wingstop and several proprietary concepts, will open its first Tropical Smoothie next year, per the announcement.
- Since Blackstone bought Tropical Smoothie in 2024, the chain has continued to open new units. Tropical Smoothie started the year with 1,651 locations, according to its franchise disclosure document, and is on pace to hit 1,800 units by year’s end.
Dive Insight:
Tropical Smoothie is relatively underdeveloped in the Northeast. It had 62 stores in New York open at the end of 2025, with four set to open in 2026.
In other words, about 3.7% of the brand’s store base is located in the Empire State, which accounts for about 5.8% of the U.S. population and 7.6% of the nation’s economic output, according to Census Bureau and Federal Reserve data.
The chain had only six stores open in Connecticut at the start of the year and two projected openings. Connecticut is about 1% of the U.S. population and accounts for 1.1% of output — about 0.4% of the brand’s store system is located in the Nutmeg State.
CEO Max Wetzel said the two states made for “tremendous growth opportunities for Tropical Smoothie Cafe and reflect the potential ahead as we enter our next phase of growth.”
Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s largest markets are geographically dispersed. The brand, per its 2026 FDD, had more than 100 units each in Virginia, Michigan and Texas and more than 200 in Florida.
In September, the chain released a new logo and plans to redesign its website and mobile app as part of a complete brand overhaul. The chain’s loyalty program increased loyalty membership by 25% from 2025 to 2026, outpacing its unit growth. This indicates significant increases in consumer awareness and engagement and that could help sustain unit growth in historically underpenetrated markets.
