Playa Bowls Expands with Multi-Unit Franchise Deals

If your Super Bowl halftime meal included acai, pitaya, mango and coconut bowls washed down by a smoothie or cold brew, there soon will be a lot more places where you can pick up your favorites.

Quick-serve player Playa Bowls is in the midst of executing a major expansion of its chain, rapidly entering new multi-unit franchise agreements as it aims to nearly double the size of its national footprint.

The fast-food chain, which decorates its table with whole pineapples, has signed eight new multi-unit franchise agreements that will lead to the opening of 54 new locations, adding to 100 outlets that are in the company’s pipeline, Chain Store Age reported.

In 2024, Playa Bowls plans to open 75 new outlets and secure franchise commitments that will enable it to add an additional 150 stores in new and existing markets.

The Belmar, NJ-based chain, which started in 2014, currently operates more than 200 outlets in 22 states.

The batch of multi-unit franchise agreements recently inked by Playa Bowls this year includes its entrance into the Chicago market and an increased presence in existing markets including Miami, New York, and Boston.

Playa Bowls is targeting new markets in Houston and Dallas in this year’s wave of store openings, CSA reported.

“We are well on the way to achieving our goal to establish a presence in every region of the U.S., and our current initiatives are successfully reaching key markets nationwide,” said Jayson Tipp, chief development officer at Playa Bowls, in a statement.

“Existing franchise owners comprise 60% of our new commitments and are rapidly signing significant multi-unit commitments while we continue to welcome new operators into the Playa Bowls family,” Tipp said.

Three of Playa Bowls’ most recent deals each encompassed 10 units, in Chicago, Boston and Manhattan.

Playa Bowls is not the only quick-serve chain specializing in smoothies that is growing its footprint. Tropical Smoothie Café opened 176 new outlets in 2023 across the U.S.

Tropical Smoothie, based in Atlanta, also said in a release that it secured 258 franchise agreements last year that will keep its pipeline humming with new openings this year.

Both of the smoothie outfits will have a long way to go to catch up to the fastest-growing food chain, according to a report in QSR Magazine: pizza chain Papa John’s is aiming to add up to 1,400 new outlets by the end of 2025.