Juice Bar Concept Pure Green Targets 100-Store Milestone

Pure Green, a wellness-based juice bar concept, continues to prioritize growing its footprint. The brand launched in 2014 and today operates 87 locations across 25 states with plans to reach 100 stores by the start of 2027. In total, it has some 250 stores in the pipeline.

Ross Franklin

“We’re opening anywhere from two to four units per month,” says Ross Franklin, founder and CEO, Pure Green Franchise, based in Boca Raton, Fla. “We’re signing on about 10 new franchisees per month, so we’re growing fast.”

Low startup costs help set the concept apart from competitors, Franklin says, as Pure Green’s wholesale division sells to franchisees ready-to-sell premade juice, which reduces the expense of equipment and juice manufacturing.

Here, Franklin offers a glimpse behind the scenes at Pure Green.

Q: Could you offer a snapshot of Pure Green’s expansion goals?

A: We believe the U.S. can safely support 1,000 units. But what really drives us is our mission, which is to build healthier communities around the globe by connecting people with superfoods. We offer superfood smoothies, acai bowls, cold-press juice and cold-press juice shots. We even have superfood toast and superfood oatmeal bowls. With each new store we open, our goal is for the franchisee to be an extension of our mission within that community.

Q: What are some equipment and design highlights at Pure Green?

A: We have a small footprint at about 500 to 1,100 square feet. As far as equipment goes, it’s a relatively small package. Our back-of-house consists of a double-door refrigerator, double-door freezer and a triple sink. The front-of-house is where we house the raw ingredients. We use a beverage dispenser, two double-door lowboy refrigerators and an open air merchandiser, which showcases our cold-press juice and juice shots. We wrap the merchandiser with Baltic birch, which is a sustainable material. We use Baltic birch throughout the space, which lets the product be the hero. People who walk into Pure Green often say, “If Apple had a juice bar, it would be Pure Green.” We have that clean, modern design esthetic.

Q: What is one challenge Pure Green has encountered as it grows its footprint and what solution have you found?

A: The biggest challenge we’ve had is building the culture of the stores. We define that as creating a warm, friendly and engaging guest experience. When someone walks into a Pure Green, we want them to get a warm greeting right away. The attention of the team members behind our line is 100% focused on the guests. We want them to educate the guests on the benefits of our products. And as you can imagine, when the franchise owner is not in the building, it becomes a little more difficult. But when they institute our standards for hospitality and they train and develop the team, that’s when, even if the franchise owner is not there, the guest is still getting that experience. That’s how you know the culture has been built.

Q: What is next for Pure Green?

A: We do LTOs frequently. Right now, we have the Coconut Cherry Cloud Smoothie as well as cold-press refreshers, which we’ve been running throughout the summer. Coming up in September, we’re launching our pumpkin spice smoothie and pumpkin spice oatmeal bowl. It’s our third year in a row offering these items and they’re always a huge hit.