Zoup Eatery sells additive- and preservative-free soups, sandwiches and salads in its 68 stores nationwide.
Multi-brand franchisor WOWorks acquired two new restaurant brands in May, raising its number of health-positioned franchises to six.
On May 12, WOWorks finalized the deal to buy Barberitos Southwestern Grill and Cantina, a fast-casual Mexican chain with 54 locations, and Zoup Eatery, a 68-unit restaurant chain that serves soup, sandwiches and salad. Zoup’s retail broth brand, Zoup Specialty Products, will operate separately from WOWorks with founder and former CEO Eric Ersher at the helm.
The two new acquisitions, like all of WOWorks’ brands, fall under what CEO Kelly Roddy calls a “healthy halo,” meaning the chains sell food made of ingredients without additives or preservatives.
“We’re interested in brands that are clean and good for you,” Roddy said. “We don’t like large brands. We’re looking for brands that are of a certain size, so under 200 units or so.”
WOWorks acquired four brands in the first five months of its existence: Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and The Simple Greek.
The company formed in fall 2020, when it debuted a new parent company for its existing chain, 108-unit Saladworks, and added Frutta Bowls and Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh to its portfolio shortly thereafter. In March 2021, WOWorks acquired The Simple Greek.
WOWorks’ brands each follow a build-your-own meal, fast-casual model. At least for now, the company isn’t interested in acquiring any brands that fall outside that category, Roddy said.
“We really like that model,” Roddy said. “It allows us to be really good at one thing.”
Consumers enjoy the customization aspect of these meals, Roddy said.
WOWorks, backed by Centre Lane Partners, did not disclose the amount paid for each of the brands.
To find new franchises to fit under WOWorks’ umbrella, staff will cold call CEOs whose companies fit WOWorks’ criteria, and ask if they’re looking to sell or merge their company, Roddy said.
When WOWorks—the WOW stands for Watch Out World—acquires a new brand, it invests heavily “to get the marketing more robust,” Roddy said.
For Zoup, WOWorks aims to market the brand’s offerings that go beyond soup. The franchise is similar to popular bakery and eatery Panera Bread. Zoup’s soup offerings are well known, Roddy said, so WOWorks aims to market its salads and sandwiches to stand out from its competitors. WOWorks is excited to “get that story out there,” he said.
Roddy sees an advantage for smaller chains like Barberitos and Zoup to fall under a large company like WOWorks.
“For example, Zoup is about a 70-unit brand, it now has the buying power of a 400-unit brand,” Roddy said. “That’s the advantages of them coming into a portfolio like WOWorks.”
The company uses a shared service model, so all the brands tap into the same administrative services. Until WOWorks acquired Barberitos and Zoup, the company outsourced its IT and accounting services, but it brought those services in house to ensure it was ready for buying two more brands.
WOWorks is open to merging with brands in the future, but Roddy said the six under its umbrella were purchased outright.