What makes Clean Eatz one of the hottest & fastest growing health food / meal plan franchises on the market?

What could be more perfect than a healthy food concept, focusing on the right macros through simple food meal prep, being started by two former bodybuilders in 2012. Their passion for a full focused way for health living energized them to begin a business to help others do the same. Through this business, they found a strong demographic of people who want good food, healthy food that counts the macros or just plain healthy for their very busy lives! Who has the time!?

Let’s dive into the details to find out more.

Summary of Industry :

The Health & Wellness industry has grown $13 billion in 4 years and Health Food is $88 billion in revenue. The overall Health & Wellness industry is worth $4.2 trillion with people focusing on the clean eating trend.

People are understanding more of what they’re putting into their bodies, the food sources and how this is affecting our overall health. Diseases and allergies seem more prevalent than ever before. As we are educated more on our food ecosystem we are realizing what is takes to feed the billions of people on this earth and how large food companies capitalize on cheaper, easier ways of producing ‘food’.

What the business offers:

Service: cafe, meal plans, catering, custom diets

Meal Plans: This is a meal plan business. Client has a personal chef every week by signing up for signature meal plans. Customers are purchasing a week at a time, which creates predictable revenue. The meal prep creates efficiencies in the labor–just like a Ford assembly line. Food waste is non-existent b/c they are selling grab and go.

This is a revolutionary brand that is changing the way food is being sold in the US. They are helping people achieve their personal objectives of health.

Some of the benefits as a customer:

• • All your grocery shopping, prepping and cooking.
  • Fitness gurus meal planning for the me!
  • Tasty healthy dishes that contain the perfect balance of protein, carbs, and fats.
  • Plans come in 5, 10, 15 and 21 meal models, w/low carb, no carb, gluten free or extra protein options too!
  • Each week features a new slate of delicious culinary creations.
  • Burgers, flatbreads & sandwiches, wraps, salads, snacks, smoothies

 

Some of the benefits as an owner:

• • Predictable revenue via meal prep: no severe peaks & valleys like restaurants
  • Low labor, keeps the team productive during valleys’ of time
  • Lifestyle business: friendly operating hours
  • Excellent counterpart to fitness concepts
  • High ROI in small window of time; Higher ticket avg
  • Multiple revenue streams
  • Community friendly

 

Competition:

There is no franchise competition although each local market can have portion controlled businesses operated without consistency or full support of a proven franchise system.

Some might argue that meal kits are competition, however, even though they send you the grocery ingredients, you still have to cook the food. Which can be nice sometimes, but most of our weekly lives are stretched making every minute count.

Currently, Clean Eatz has 45 locations open with 8 in development.

My Experience:

The Clean Eatz near me is right next door to a Target….how beautifully convenient! Smart location strategy, typically the markings of a good real estate team that the franchisor hired to make sure franchisees are getting the best locations in their market.

When I walked in the space was very clean & easy to maneuver. I was ‘greeted’ by a large sign – The state of Ohio – which made it feel local, that the business understood ‘us’ and belonged here.

There was a nice dining area to stay and eat flanked by the frozen food area of prepped meals to go.

Looking through these meals I started to plan out my week. Seeing the nutritional information so easily labeled made the traditional grocery store packaging seem like a silly joke. Wonderful good food in portion sizes….it felt easy. It surprised me what meals were being offered as well, pastas, meats, sides. This did not reek of cardboard food that I would have to get into a Rocky mindset to eat. I could serve at the dinner table with my children…and so many options to please three eaters. Clean Eatz also provides options for diabetic clients.

I decided to stay focused & order my lunch. I could either read from the large menu above or one of the paper brochures (that I also took home).

Either one listed the calories & information needed to make an informed decision. The customer service was friendly. At the time a few folks were on the line making the meal preps but a very nice woman helped me with parts of the menu, answered my questions and guided me to menu items that were what I wanted. I learned through corporate that the POS (point of sale) is running on Clover – which didn’t mean much to me having never been in the retail industry, but alas it is the same as many other food, retail, and service businesses.

Description of current business owners:

Most of the people owning these are fitness enthusiasts or possible franchisees of other concepts in the fitness health/wellness industries. This is what it states in the business profile for our firm – which is good to know. But as I was speaking with the person taking my order I asked about the owner, and he happened to be there.

A former White Sox baseball player, Casey Schroeder, who believed in the brand from day one. He found Clean Eatz in Myrtle Beach and love it so much he bought his first unit in Central Ohio. In the moment I asked him for his first though on why – why this business over so many others he could have looked into:

“Healthy affordable convenience”

Interview w/a franchise owner:

What do you like best about (brand?)

What I like most about the brand is the aspect of promoting healthier lifestyles to people, without necessarily being intimidating to customers. When people are beginning their journey to health, a lot of people may feel uncomfortable. We provide a non-judgemental environment for people to begin.

What made you choose this brand?

I chose this brand because it fits my lifestyle, and I believe in the product. I have lived an active lifestyle and want to encourage others to as well. I know the product works and stand behind it 100 percent.

Why do your customers come here instead of a competitor?

I believe our customers come here for a variety of reasons. One, I preach customer service all the time. We know customers by name and they enjoy being able to associate with the staff. Also, all of our meals are made in house and are fresh. We aren’t making food in a commissary and shipping it off. We make all of our meals each week with love and extreme attention to detail. I truly believe people enjoy their meal prep service being a brick mortar. They can come in and try the food before placing an order, and they know who is making it.

Who is a “brand” customer?

We have a few brand customers that really believe in the Clean Eatz brand. One is John Meadows, a renowned bodybuilder, and another is the local territory manager for Orange Theory Fitness.

Experience of the brand before ownership?

I experienced the brand before I owned this store by working in one in Myrtle Beach. There are a few other owners that have done so as well.

Support: Training, marketing, etc.

Clean Eatz has a corporate team that is there for you to help you with any questions to may have. Their marketing team provides you with materials each week for social media platforms.

What has been the most difficult aspect to ownership?

The most difficult aspect is employees. Good ones are hard to find these days, especially with how good the job market is. The easiest is buying into the system and the product. Being able to make a living and help people at the same time is a rewarding experience.

What has been the easiest aspect?

A day in the life can go many ways, depending on the day. Many days I am in the trenches with the rest of my staff, making orders for clients both in the cafe and meal plans. Lately I have spent a lot of time hitting the pavement and marketing by foot. I am in the cafe everyday and usually trying to hit a gym or other type of marketing event in the evening. It is a lot of work, but rewarding.

As far as my baseball career goes, I believe it prepared me more for this business than anything else has. I have been an extremely hardworking and structured person my entire life, which has helped me tremendously with running my own business. It’s not for the faint of heart. I chose this concept over others due to how much I believed in the productive and the company as a whole, and the business model of course. I did not have any previous restaurant experience before this. I took a crash course when I opened and have had to learn on the job.

Business Model Points:

Semi-Absentee or Owner Operator option

Limited hours: 11-7 M-F / Sat & Sun 11-4

Employees: 15 ee’s on a rooster, mostly PT

Full support team from corporate

Well capitalized franchisor with strong history of experience in franchising

NO restaurant background needed; 85% of zees came from consumer base

Net Worth: $500K

Liquid: $150K

If this is a business you would like to learn more about, let’s have a casual conversation and see if you fit the profile of an owner!

About Me

As a former co-franchisee owner I know first-hand, the mindset of a potential buyer and the perspective of an owner. Therefore, as an independent franchise consultant, I look to experience as many of the brands as I am able to, as the investment into a business is to be taken seriously.

This article is not endorsed or initiated by the franchisor and is my personal experience, thoughts, perspective and review.

If you would like to learn more about this concept or possibly others reach out to schedule a time to casually chat: