How former Wall Streeter created a 25-unit smoothie brand

When financial adviser Bill Loesch decided to leave Wall Street in 2016 to open Baya Bar — an acai smoothie and bowl concept in Brooklyn — he was determined to create a niche market with scalability in the food and beverage sector.

Six years and 25 locations later, it's safe to say the Monmouth University graduate succeeded as the concept now spans three states and plans to double nationally over the next 18 months.

"People are simply recognizing our hard work, integrity and top product in the market," Loesch told FastCasual. "Our franchisees are buying into our culture, our product and our team. We want everyone to not only succeed at opening a successful Baya Bar, but we want everyone to learn from each other and grow together on this journey."

Although Loesch would like Baya Bar to eventually become a global brand, he plans to first focus on the U.S. and dominate in the brand's current markets.

"Sometimes growing too fast kills a business," he said. "We are focusing on excellent operations, top-quality products and franchisees who believe in the brand. I believe we will be at 200-plus locations by 2028."

Behind the smoothie curtain

Loesch said having solid operations in place is imperative for growth, which is why he's hired a third-party company to integrate his customer ordering system.

"Instead of having our app orders, Doordash, UberEats, Grubhub and other platform orders come in all separately through tablets or emails, we have them all integrated into one seamless system that auto enters orders into our POS system without any additional work for our employees," he said.

The chain also relies on an app and is releasing an updated version in Q1 of 2023.

"Our new app is going to allow our customers to order delivery through third-party platforms (and) order our new merch right to their doors," Loesch said. Customers will also be able to buy gift cards and stack rewards points. "Best of all, when you download the new app, you will receive a free smoothie on us," he said.

The menu

It may seem strange for a money man to leave the finance world to create smoothies, but it made sense for Loesch, who was looking for something new.

"I saw an opportunity to capitalize on a new emerging market and had to dive in head first," he said.

He started his journey with research and development — visiting smoothie shops, bowl shops and juice bars all over the country.

"I wanted to offer a product that was of the highest quality, largest quantity and most aesthetically pleasing all for the same price as the competition, and that's what we did at Baya Bar," he said.

The result was handcrafted smoothies and bowls made with organic coconut milk and packed with healthy fats and nutrient-rich ingredients. Menu standouts include the Bella Nutella, which features blended acai topped with banana, strawberry, granola, coconut shavings and Nutella, and the Acai U Later, made with blended acai topped with pineapple, banana, strawberry, granola and honey.

Popular smoothie flavors include The Brooklyn Smoothie, which has strawberry, banana, fresh squeezed orange juice, coconut milk and vanilla protein as well as the Mocha Muscle Smoothie, featuring bananas, peanut butter, chocolate protein, almond milk and cold brew coffee.

Loesch, who is seeking franchise partners to help scale across the U.S., said it costs between $155,000 and $210,000 to open a shop.

"That's roughly 50% less than our competitors," he said.