Tropical Smoothie Café: Official Smoothie of the Carolina Panthers

by Melissa Slaven WarrenNov 20, 2019Business, North Brunswick, Online Exclusives

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which has three locations in the area, celebrates collaboration with the North Carolina’s professional football team.

It’s no secret that professional football players credit a healthy lifestyle and special attention to nutrition for their athletic prowess. That’s what motivated former Carolina Panther player and current Carolina Panther Assistant Line Backer Coach Everette Brown to open Charlotte’s first Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Midtown in November 2013. So it’s only fitting that Tropical Smoothie Cafe has been named the official smoothie of the Carolina Panthers.

Charlotte has six Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations. Locally, there are four across Wilmington, Leland and Southport. The quick-casual cafe was founded in 1997 but quickly expanded from a solely smoothie concept to a fast-food alternative dining experience. Since 1999 the franchises have been serving high-quality real-fruit smoothies, specialty wraps, sandwiches, grilled flatbreads and salads.

To promote their sponsorship with the Panthers, Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations throughout the Carolinas are offering a special smoothie — Panthers Colada with coconut, banana, pineapple and fresh lemon. As with all of their smoothies, if you’re not a fan of one of these ingredients, you can leave something out, customize the sweetness or add fresh elements like almonds, seeds, protein powder and probiotics.

Panthers Colada Tropical Smoothie

With Tropical Smoothie’s mantras like “eat better, feel better” and “healthy food with a tropical twist,” you can expect the food to be nutritious — but you can also expect it to be delicious and filling. Menu items like Chipotle Chicken Club and Baja Chicken Bowl have fewer than 500 calories.

Real-fruit smoothies are what put Tropical Smoothie Cafe on the map, and they are an easy way to nourish your body. Some of their classic smoothies include Peaches N’ Silk™ and Mango Magic™. Their nutrient-dense superfood smoothies include flavors like Island Green®, which includes spinach, kale, mango, pineapple and banana, and Acai Berry Boost™, loaded with acai, pomegranate, banana, blueberries and strawberries. Both have fewer than 500 calories.

For Tropical Smoothie Cafe, aligning with a professional team like the Carolina Panthers is kind of like scoring a promotional touchdown. Being named the Official Smoothie of the Carolina Panthers not only means a branded beverage, but also screen time on the team’s official website with ads and coupons. The potential rewards they reap in terms of creating brand awareness are infinite. And the fact that the Panthers currently hold the second spot in the NFC South division helps generate excitement.

Official Smoothie

Tropical Smoothie Cafe isn’t just a local favorite healthy eatery; it ranked No. 1 in the beverage and snack category in a recent public opinion poll on chains published by Restaurant Business magazine, the official magazine of the National Restaurant Association. For several years, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has also been included in Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” list as well as ranked in the publication’s “America’s Top Global” franchise category.