How did you get into the industry? 

I first started juicing in my kitchen, selling juice cleanses for people — I saw the demand for the juice quickly! In 2012, I came up with the name for my first successful concept, Pure Raw Juice. After quitting my job I successful opened my first store front January 2015, then a second one in December 2016. I concentrated on building out the model, and eventually sold Pure Raw Juice in fall 2017. After this, I started Raw Essential; after one year of acai bowls, cold pressed juice, and smoothies, I decided to stay ahead of the curve by pivoting to also offer a full hot vegan food menu to go along with the acai bowls and smoothies. This is when I rebranded to Daily Veg.

Tell us about your franchise model.

Vegan is one of the fastest growing sectors in QSR. We are a 100% Vegan franchise restaurant. We are combining two hot markets: acai bowl and vegan burger! No one has this. No one is doing this. Vegan burger franchises are out there, but no one is doing the acai bowl alongside the burger. 

Where do you see opportunities or challenges in the business moving forward?

The opportunity lies in the fact that no one else is doing what we are doing. This is a huge opportunity! The challenge is, moving forward, the costs of vegan supplies are higher since these are premium products. Some of our vendors are struggling to keep up. We aren’t sourcing from the same big companies as other restaurants in this space. The opportunity is the products are more expensive, so there’s less competition.

What are your goals for your company in the future?

The goal for the business moving forward is to show people that Vegan food can taste great. Vegan food is approachable. We have Vegan comfort food – we make it easier for people to step into the Vegan market and try our food. Around 80% or 90% of customers are not Vegan. It doesn’t matter if it’s real or fake, as long as it tastes good!

What are your unique points of training and support?

We provide once a month visits from our field support team. I will pass the knowledge I have to our franchise partners, and they will have the ops manual to follow. This is an extremely simple-to-operate business. 

Describe a difficult moment in the business.

The education for our employees is the most difficult. I can’t just hire anyone like McDonald’s can, for example. It’s not just the process in place. We are educating our customers as we go. They need to know this whole menu, and they need to eat the food to understand the flavor profiles firsthand. If they are in the mindset of eating fast food, then how are they going to learn about our products? We want people to stay engaged; our customers come in with a lot of questions. It’s a great opportunity to educate people! 

Define your Franchise Model:

A. Training and Support Model?

Our training program is second to none. Training starts at our location and is followed by more training at the franchise location. Support is ongoing and includes operational, marketing, and initial accounting support,

B. What is the Fee Structure?

Franchise Fee: $35,000

Minimum Estimated Investment: $300,900

Minimum Liquid Cash Needed: $125,000

Royalty: 5% Gross Sales

C. Territory Definition?

A 50,000-population center or a 3-mile radius.

What does your franchisee do in the business every day?

Our franchisees will handle managing the business, engaging with the community and customers, and monitoring the employees. This person should be a present in the business, and willing to educate the customers. When I am in the store, I share my knowledge and then I can get the customers super excited to try new things — I would love for our franchise partners to mirror this energy.

Describe the ideal franchisee.

We want an owner operator. This takes extra care because we are a vegan concept. This concept is still in its infancy. As a Vegan concept, you will be more scrutinized — when they come to a Daily Veg, people are going to have high standards for us. This may be their first experience with Vegan food, so it’s vital that our franchisees are outgoing, communicative, approachable, and energetic.

For more information on the Daily Veg Franchise, please visit their website at www.dailyvegfranchise.com