Planet Smoothie Cafe... Qualitative Info Needed

[KCTigerFan]

So I have all of the quantitative info I need.  Now I am seeking raw feedback.

Please post any and all reaction to the possibility of someone opening up one or more
Planet Smoothie Cafes in KC.  This would be a new concept to KC.  Anticipated size 1400/sqft. 

http://www.planetsmoothie.com/planet-sm ... e-menu.php

1.  Would you or your friends visit?
2.  How often would you visit?\
3.  Would you eat there or just get a smoothie?
4.  Where would you locate?  What if you were opening two locations?

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[KCMax]

1.  Would you or your friends visit?

If it was delicious, then yes.

2.  How often would you visit?

Depends on the location. If it were in Westport, 39th and State Line, or 45th and Main I'd probably go once a month or more.

3.  Would you eat there or just get a smoothie?

Probably just for food. I make my own smoothies. The wraps sound pretty tasty.

4.  Where would you locate?  What if you were opening two locations?

Westport or River Market.

[staubio]

So I have all of the quantitative info I need.  Now I am seeking raw feedback.

Please post any and all reaction to the possibility of someone opening up one or more
Planet Smoothie Cafes in KC.  This would be a new concept to KC.  Anticipated size 1400/sqft. 

http://www.planetsmoothie.com/planet-sm ... e-menu.php

1.  Would you or your friends visit?
2.  How often would you visit?\
3.  Would you eat there or just get a smoothie?
4.  Where would you locate?  What if you were opening two locations?

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

1. Only if it was downtown. I wouldn't make a destination out of a smoothie place, but if the location and hours were convenient, I'd support it.

2. If it was conveniently located, I'd probably go once every other week. I like smoothies.

3. If there was good food there, I'd eat it.

4. Location 1: Grand in the CBD. Location 2: North Kansas City

[chrizow]

i have visited a Planet Smoothie in the St. Louis area.  i was not very impressed - although i am probably a juice/smoothie snob.  i had a smoothie that tasted like a smoothie from Maggie Moo's, and the veggie wrap wasn't good at all.  i also don't really like the branding - it seems like a place charging a lot for smoothies and aiming for a hip/healthy/wealthy clientele should't feel like a Baskin Robbins inside?  i prefer the more earthy smoothie/juice places that use all organic/local stuff, use natural boosters rather than weird powders, etc.  

however, it seems like i am not really the target customer for Planet Smoothie.  it reminds me almost EXACTLY of the smoothie bar in a Gold's Gym - garish colors, goofy names for smoothies, NASA-esque "supplements."  i like the more back-to-nature hippie vibe.  

so, in sum, i probably wouldn't visit a place like this in KC.  given the locations of Planet Smoothie in the STL area, it looks like the concept must be aimed at people who live in or work in wealthy suburban areas.  thus i'd look at south johnson county or maybe the Plaza in KC.

[dangerboy]

Smoothies aren't a destination for me.  I stop LatteLand's smoothie bar about once very two months.  For a nationally franchised smoothie chain, I much prefer Jamba Juice to Planet Smoothie.

You might want to find out what happened with Juice Stop.  Somewhere tried franchising here in the late 1990s, both Downtown and in the suburbs, but only lasted a year or two.

[chrizow]

Main Squeeze, in Columbia MO, is exactly the sort of thing i would like to see in KC.  vegetarian restaurant serving three square meals, natural juices/smoothies with natural "boosters," organic/local ingredients in everything, vegan baked goods, hub for activism and the community and a pillar of downtown, etc. 

www.main-squeeze.com

obviously a very different animal than Planet Smoothie though!  (and not a chain, and would never become a chain)

i ate a Main Squeeze probably 10-15 times per month and got smoothies or juice or coffee there an additional 10 times.  haha

[LenexatoKCMO]

I don't care for smoothies or wraps so don't base any locations on my travel tendencies.    Best of luck though.  

[KCPowercat]

I might stop by once a month if it were downtown close to the financial district or P&L district.  I'd probably just get a smoothie...maybe a salad if it struck me right.  Location?  Around P&L district...river market.  Wesport could work I'd think.  Johnson Dr in Mission.

[ComandanteCero]

If it's really great, and the prices are alright, then i'd check it out on my way to something else (i wouldn't go out of my way to go to a smoothie place).  So for location, i'd put it near other centers of activity/entertainment/retail.  From looking at the website (and figuring it's kind of a jamba juice kind of place), i'd go for a suburban location (northland maybe), and if urban, somewhere in the cbd, acessible and visible to office workers. 

[KCPowercat]

I think office workers would eat it up (pardon the pun). 

[kcmetro]

How does this place compare to Juice Stop? When I used to live down the street from a J.S., I'd go there 2-3 times a week for smoothies. I was addicted.

[KCTigerFan]

Thanks for the feedback thus far.  My assumptions are basically confirmed.  We have been looking over the last two years at various opportunities both franchise and non-franchise. 

Planet Smoothie has a good reputation within the category.  Juice Stop is the category and marketing leader overall, but their rights are already taken here.  The otherthing appealing with PS, is that they are introducing the cafe format which allows for a borader audience and less seasonality.   

Main Squeeze is one of my favorite stops in Columbia.  It would be great to open a place like that here, but the risk is high since there is not the college students/faculty within walking distance to drive it.  Main Squeeze also runs their own organic farm.  My dream development is a Crossroads/Midtown large-scale deli/grocery/restaurant.  Just can't get the numbers to add up yet.   

[WinchesterMysteryHouse]

If two locations are planned, place them as far apart as possible.  Openings in RM + Westport will cancel themselves out.  Don't compete with yourself. 

Planet Smoothie sounds like the opposite of Columbia's Main Squeeze, and so I'd place Planet Smoothie as far into the Southern Burbs as possible.  Planet Smoothie sounds like its for the kids, so hit the kids with the American Express cards: time and money to burn on expendables like five buck smoothies.