Chris Cavallo, president of Froots, tells GSR that the concept came from a longtime family friend and Froots vice president, David Lopez, who felt that the smoothie business was "going to explode." Cavallo, who recently retired from a successful 20-year career in securities, provided the capital while Lopez handled the groundwork. The result was a business model to franchise the Froots name and menu, which offers an array of smoothies, salads and health food wraps.

Cavallo says Froots is able to easily compete against smoothie chains like Jamba Juice because the retailer offers an expanded menu and a list of options that reflect the stores' locations. Southwest locations, for example, will offer spicy fare, while the Midwestern locations will serve hot soup during colder months.

Franchised Froots can cost from $80,000 to $200,000 depending on the size and location of the store. Froots are located in 80- to 300-sf kiosks or in-line store, which range from 1,000 to 2,000 sf. Though there are strict franchisee guidelines, Cavallo says a franchised store can be located nearly anywhere, as long as it is in a high-traffic area such as a mall, airport, train station, hospital, or college food-court area.