Tropical Smoothie Cafe vs Emerald City Smoothie Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Tropical Smoothie Cafe vs Emerald City Smoothie including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
  Tropical Smoothie Cafe Emerald City Smoothie
Investment 198500 - 543500 75250 - 286900
Franchise Fee
Royalty Fee 6% 6%
Advertising Fee 3% 2%
Year Founded 1997 2005
Year Franchised 1998 2005
Term Of Agreement
Term Of Agreement
Renewal Fee


Business Experience Requirements
  Tropical Smoothie Cafe Emerald City Smoothie
Experience Hands on management preferred, restaurant experience preferred (but not required), ability to follow a business system, financial capabilities, general business acumen, ability to work well in a team environment, and passion!!!

Financing Options
  Tropical Smoothie Cafe Emerald City Smoothie
 
Franchise Fees No
Start-up Costs No
Equipment No
Inventory No
Receivables No
Payroll No

Training & Support
  Tropical Smoothie Cafe Emerald City Smoothie
Training We believe in setting up our franchisees for success. We provide the following training: four-week training program, consisting of two weeks in a nearby Cafe, one week in a classroom setting at our Support Center in Atlanta, Georgia and one week onsite for your Grand Opening.
Support Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform * Use of the Emerald City Smoothie brand and all existing and new marketing materials * Assistance with real estate brokers, site selection, lease negotiation and construction based on best practices learned from over 30 store openings * A turn-key system that includes all architectural design, equipment, shelving, graphics, and signage at a reasonable cost * Extensive ECS Experience training for you and one staff member on drink making, developing a customer community, business management and marketing * Grand opening planning and support * "It's my store" customer involvement program * Peer-to-peer problem and solution sharing with other franchise owners * New drink introductions based on successful pilot programs at other franchises * Web presence for easy store location and product and service pre-selection * Periodic, high-return marketing strategies for pilot testing and implementation * Greater buying power for smoothie and health products as a member of our buying cooperative * Periodic visits to assist with general operations, employee training and to help you fine-tune the ECS experience * Analysis of store sales and performance versus system- wide benchmarks
Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Operations Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a very simple business operation since we do not utilize any fryers, grills, hooding systems or serve alcohol in the cafe. Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 10 - 20

Expansion Plans
  Tropical Smoothie Cafe Emerald City Smoothie
US Expansion Nationwide, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Canada Expansion 0 0
International Expansion

Start-Up Costs and Fees Mobile
Investment
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie
Franchise Fee
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie
Royalty Fee
Tropical Smoothie Cafe 6%
Emerald City Smoothie 6%
Advertising Fee
Tropical Smoothie Cafe 3%
Emerald City Smoothie 2%
Year Founded
Tropical Smoothie Cafe 1997
Emerald City Smoothie 2005
Year Franchised
Tropical Smoothie Cafe 1998
Emerald City Smoothie 2005
Term Of Agreement
Tropical Smoothie Cafe 15 years
Emerald City Smoothie
Renewal Fee
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie


Business Experience Requirements
Experience
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Hands on management preferred, restaurant experience preferred (but not required), ability to follow a business system, financial capabilities, general business acumen, ability to work well in a team environment, and passion!!!
Emerald City Smoothie

Financing Options
 
Franchise Fees
Tropical Smoothie Cafe No
Emerald City Smoothie No
Start-up Costs
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie
Equipment
Tropical Smoothie Cafe}
Emerald City Smoothie
Inventory
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie
Receivables
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie
Payroll
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie

Training & Support
Training
Tropical Smoothie Cafe We believe in setting up our franchisees for success. We provide the following training: four-week training program, consisting of two weeks in a nearby Cafe, one week in a classroom setting at our Support Center in Atlanta, Georgia and one week onsite for your Grand Opening.
Emerald City Smoothie
Support
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform
Emerald City Smoothie * Use of the Emerald City Smoothie brand and all existing and new marketing materials * Assistance with real estate brokers, site selection, lease negotiation and construction based on best practices learned from over 30 store openings * A turn-key system that includes all architectural design, equipment, shelving, graphics, and signage at a reasonable cost * Extensive ECS Experience training for you and one staff member on drink making, developing a customer community, business management and marketing * Grand opening planning and support * "It's my store" customer involvement program * Peer-to-peer problem and solution sharing with other franchise owners * New drink introductions based on successful pilot programs at other franchises * Web presence for easy store location and product and service pre-selection * Periodic, high-return marketing strategies for pilot testing and implementation * Greater buying power for smoothie and health products as a member of our buying cooperative * Periodic visits to assist with general operations, employee training and to help you fine-tune the ECS experience * Analysis of store sales and performance versus system- wide benchmarks
Marketing
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Emerald City Smoothie
Operations
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a very simple business operation since we do not utilize any fryers, grills, hooding systems or serve alcohol in the cafe. Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 10 - 20
Emerald City Smoothie

Expansion Plans
US Expansion
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Nationwide, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Emerald City Smoothie
Canada Expansion
Tropical Smoothie Cafe 0
Emerald City Smoothie 0
International Expansion
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Emerald City Smoothie