Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies was born in 1983 to Jeff & Jill Summerhays.

Jill, having been raised in sunny southern California, was amazed at the lack of healthy foods sold at festivals and fairs in her new home, Salt Lake City, Utah. Soon after their honeymoon, Jill, with the help of Jeff (who has an extensive restaurant background), went to work creating a line of Fresh Fruit Blends they could offer at special events such as the Utah State Fair.

Their requirements seemed simple enough: create a gourmet product that was low in calories, all-natural, non-fat, and had no preservatives - HEALTHY fruit drinks that were fast and simple to serve and profitable (and, oh yeah, they had to be as delicious as the homemade fresh fruit blends Jill remembered as a kid)!

Simple, right? Not quite.

Twenty-plus years ago, smoothies - as they soon came to be known - were just becoming “main-stream.” Creating a gourmet, pre-packaged product for ease-of-use that could be manufactured, stored and produced quickly and easily while avoiding all artificial ingredients is harder than it seems.

After literally years of perfecting a recipe, Jeff & Jill created a line of Fresh Fruit Blends composed of fruit juices, fruit purees, homemade non-fat yogurt and other natural ingredients! Quick to produce, delicious, gourmet, healthy and above all profitable, Maui Wowi immediately became a huge success on the special events circuit in Utah.

Childhood

In 1997, Michael Haith was one of the country’s leading consultants of special event food & beverage programs. Along the way, he was searching for the perfect solution to the #1 problem for the directors of special events and venues - unhealthy “carnival” food!

Whether the Atlanta Olympic Games, The Fiesta Bowl or just a neighborhood arts festival, the lament was always the same: guests complaining “there are no healthy food options!” However, regardless of what options were introduced -whether salad booths, fruit carts, or grilled chicken, attendees would invariably pass up the healthy stuff and buy a brat or a funnel cake!

 After literally hundreds of events and years of searching, Haith discovered Maui Wowi as  the top vendor at the Utah Arts Festival. Theirs was a professional operation, they had  healthy products and they had snazzy merchandising. Above all, they were selling  smoothies as fast they could make them and were stuffing cash into their pockets with  both hands!

 Haith, immediately recognized the potential for Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies  throughout the country, and he knew how to spread the word… FRANCHISING!

Adolescence

To make a very long story short, Haith knew a bit about franchising as he was already a franchisee of another concept. So he KNEW Maui Wowi would work as a franchise system. It had the makings of a GREAT franchise concept: simplicity, profitability and great, one-of-a-kind gourmet products. He approached the Summerhays’ about franchising.

As Haith suspected, Maui Wowi was a huge success from day one. The franchise owners who first started with the company had seen the long lines of customers for Maui Wowi at events and they wanted in. Even today, Maui Wowi franchise operators know the demand for their products and their presence. Growth was great! What needed to be developed was a franchise system for those who didn't have business backgrounds, didn't know the special events or retail industry and frankly just needed the support of a strong franchisor!

 Haith set about building a team to support the franchise owners, building a strong  national brand and expanding the product line to increase the profitability of the  franchise owners even more. By rolling out a line of Hawaiian Blend coffees and Kona  Espresso beverages and renaming the business, Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees &  Smoothies, the franchise system caught fire!

 Maui Wowi had 1100% growth over the past four years. In 2003 alone, the 20-year-old  company added 153 additional locations with only 50 new owners.

Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies is ranked as the #1 "Juice Bar" franchise in the world according to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 (January 2005), #33 in the category of Fastest Growing Franchises on the Entrepreneur Magazine "Franchise 500" list and is ranked #175 in Inc. Magazine's issue of America's 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies.

 Maturity

 Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies annually receives  approximately 13,000 requests for franchise information a year, yet  will grant less than 100 franchises licenses. By granting multi-unit  franchises to those who are evaluated as having the wherewithal to be  successful in growing a flourishing business, Maui Wowi Hawaiian  Coffees & Smoothies has experienced extraordinary success.

 With growing brand recognition, successful franchise owners, and a  rapidly expanding gourmet line of Hawaiian products all supported by  a  dedicated group of professionals, Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees &  Smoothies is poised to grow from its current level of over 350 units to  over 2000 in the next 5 years!

This is all due to the strength of the franchise operators who are expanding and taking advantage of new business models, opportunities, national deals and all that a healthy, vibrant and strong franchise system has to offer.