Zumo: 'What's going on with all these smoothie bars?'

A uniquely-styled concept, versatile enough to thrive in locations as varied as shopping malls, schools and airports, Zumo has built a franchised network of 35 fresh blend and smoothie bars across Ireland and 14 in the UK.

Customers enjoy a wide range of freshly squeezed blends and smoothie products, all using 100 per cent natural, unprocessed and non-concentrated ingredients directly from fruit and vegetables. 'The interest in the product is amazing,' reports new franchisee Peter Causon, who opened his first Zumo bar in Wakefield in May. 'In the hours before I opened there was a queue of people wanting to try a drink.

A couple of girls missed their bus so they could try one, and the consensus was that it was about time a concept like Zumo came along.'

An ex-pat Australian who first came to the UK four years ago, Peter was inspired to invest in a Zumo franchise after returning down under for a holiday. 'I was walking around a shopping centre with my sister and noticed there were five smoothie bars where there had previously been one,' he recalls. 'I asked her: 'What's going on with all these smoothie bars?' The concept has really kicked off over there, so I came back to England with the idea of opening one up.'

A former manufacturing manager for an automotive supplier, Peter originally planned to develop his own concept but in his research quickly realised Zumo offered a quicker avenue. 'The more I looked into it the more I realised how difficult it would be to start from scratch,' he reflects. 'There's 36 drinks on the Zumo menu - it would have been a nightmare for me to come up with that many recipes. I recognised that there's an up and running structure there, and it would have taken longer and more money to set up on my own.'

A visit to an existing Zumo bar in Nottingham sealed Peter's interest. 'I was really impressed with the way the bar looks - the colours and the food on display are really eye-catching,' he says. 'I did my training in Nottingham and they gave me as much time as I needed to learn both the practical running of the bar and the paperwork side of the business. Zumo found the site for me through an agency, and the whole launch from design to build to ordering of stock seeming to go really smoothly. There were no hiccups and a lot of that was down to Zumo knowing when to order things and how long they would take.'

Peter reports that his business is currently on target, after a bumper opening. 'For the first two months of trading we were doing a lot better than what I'd budgeted for,' he reveals. 'We worked out that, based on a footfall of 250,000 per month, the business should be achieving sales of £20,000 per month. In the first half-month it achieved £14,000, then it turned over £23,000 in June and £25,000 in July. It's stayed steady from then on and, being a cash business, I was able to make a profit from week one.'

Currently still taking a hands-on role to managing the bar, Peter is looking to develop the business with more locations in the future. 'In my business plan I want to open three bars in three years,' he says. 'I'm looking to open the second in the middle of next year, with the third in the first half of 2008. The hard part is finding the right locations, but Zumo's agents are already scouting so as soon as something comes up I'll look at securing it. I certainly have no regrets - it's been really enjoyable.'

Zumo is seeking enthusiastic people with a commitment to customer service to open new fresh blend and smoothie bars nationwide. 'Here at Zumo, we are so committed to expanding through the franchise model that we will consider selling any of our profitable corporately owned bars to an approved franchisee. we have locations in the North, Midlands and the South,' says Head of Franchise Development Anthony Round.

'We provide a turnkey package to assist new franchisees to launch their businesses. This includes securing sites for franchisees, conducting site approvals and providing a bespoke design and project management facility. This comprehensive launch support will ensure Zumo franchisees can launch confident of achieving maximum impact for their business.'