MauiWowi: It Doesn’t Get More Fun Than This Franchise’s Down-to-Earth Approach to Business
Despite the island-infused name, it was a chance meeting at the Utah Arts Festival in 1997 that led to the creation of the Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees and Smoothies franchise. While attending the festival, entrepreneur, Michael Haith, noticed a couple operating a booming business selling fruit smoothies from a cart. The couple, Jill and Jeff Summerhays had been offering fruit smoothies as healthy alternatives at events for over a decade. Haith, a food and beverage consultant approached the Summerhays and ultimately turned their concept into a franchise organization.
“I took over the business operations in 1998 and partnered with the Summerhays,” who are the founders and remain shareholders in the company. Haith is the primary shareholder and president. “This is a simple, fun business that can be whatever the franchisee wants it to be,” Haith said.
Maui Wowi Finds Success in Cities and Towns Large and Small
“The original plan was to remain as carts and work wherever and whenever the franchisees wanted…but then franchisees started to talk about opening stores so we let them and we invested a huge amount of resources to help them,” Haith said of the franchise concept that began with 30 square foot cart franchises. In addition to the cart franchise concept/option, Maui Wowi franchisees can currently also choose to open stores ranging in size from 600 square feet to 1200 square feet and operate under the same business model regardless of their size. Store-within-a-store concepts are quickly gaining popularity. They are a smaller, lower investment opportunity for franchisees. Haith explained, “Three Store-within-a-store locations are less than the price of one traditional store and tend to be located inside grocery stores, libraries, health clubs and other high traffic locations so you have people walking by your store all day-every day.”
Today, there are over 500 Maui Wowi locations in the U.S. and that number is growing. “We are in 43 states, and we expect to expand globally…the Hawaiian concept marrying Hawaiian smoothies and Kona and other Hawaiian coffees, translates everywhere. We do well in small towns and large cities,” commented Haith. The company also has a new international presence with the recent opening of stores in Singapore. “Some franchisees want to have a store, some want to do catering, some want to go to festivals, sporting events and concerts with a cart…our ‘cornerstone’ is super high quality products served in a flexible business model.”
Combining Quality Products with a Cool Culture is Maui Wowi’s Recipe for Success
“No experience is needed to open a Maui Wowi franchise, but you need to be outgoing, like people and not be scared of hard work. We look for sincerity and honesty in potential franchisees. We have a cool culture, people understand that we are real, we’re not perfect but we’re real,” Haith says of the company’s down-to-earth approach.
He continued, “Not anyone can come in and have a Maui Wowi franchise. We look for people who want to have fun but they must have the proper expectations for what it takes to be successful in owning their own business. We sell Hawaiian coffee and smoothies. It doesn’t get more fun than that.” Only Hawaiian products are carried at Maui Wowi. “We have coffee from Kauai, caramel corn, macadamia nut cookies…Hawaiian coffee beans are the only coffee beans grown in the U.S.,” which can be a draw for consumers who are increasingly concerned with purchasing U.S. made products.
Haith attributes Maui Wowi’s success as a franchise and their appeal to prospective franchisees to, “…being flexible. We’ve got a cool concept, we keep it as simple as possible,” Haith pointed out. “Flexibility is key because people (franchisees) can build the business they envision. They can start slowly or start 10 of them. Combine that with killer, high-quality products and you’ve pretty much got yourself a business that you look forward to going to everyday.”
The Maui Wowi Brand Gets Stronger by the Day
“I’m thrilled with the advances we’ve made in brand recognition. I can now sit on a plane next to someone and mention Maui Wowi to them and they are familiar with the brand. I’m not going to be happy until we have 100% brand recognition.” The company is expected to grow 20% this year, adding as many as 100 new units. “We’re only getting stronger by the day,” Haith said of the company’s global expansion.
The growing brand awareness translates into greater opportunities for franchisees. With over 500 Maui Wowi units open, “Franchisees can expect increased opportunities for growth, brand recognition, and the increased knowledge base that results from a lot of franchisees all working together. There are more and more opportunities as time goes by.” Among the advantages Maui Wowi franchisees can expect is, “a good quality of life. Flexibility is the cornerstone of who we are. You get what you put in but you know what the business looks like and everything the business should be,” said Haith.
The company’s down-to-earth attitude, flexibility and popular products translate into success whether their stores are found in malls, with-in grocery stores or their carts are being wheeled around a ballpark. A taste of the island life is only a Maui Wowi away.
Learn more about Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffee & Smoothies
