Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2017 | Page 50

2017 MVP AWARDS
BY HELEN BOND
The Wowi Factor
From corporate executive to Hawaiian shirts
W
hen Mitchell York first came
across Maui Wowi Hawai-
ian Coffees & Smoothies as
a possible investment, the
corporate executive immediately passed
on the brand, vowing he’d never wear a
Hawaiian shirt.
Turns out the extraordinary laid-back
vibe of Maui Wowi was just what York
needed to fully depart from his corporate
career in magazine publishing and other
e-commerce ventures. York signed on as
a franchisee in 2002. He even wrote a
book on how the move changed his life.
Some 50 Hawaiian shirts later, York is
the recipient of the 2017 MVP Innova-
tion Award for expanding the ways Maui
Wowi serves up fresh fruit smoothies and
gourmet coffee, ultimately developing
the Tiki Hut catering model the brand
uses today. York admits he stumbled upon
the catering idea after an event planner
booked him for a college event.
“That was a big success and very prof-
itable—and a lot easier than retail sales,”
he says. “So I started focusing on colleges
and it snowballed. I now have over 150
regular college accounts and it grows all
the time. A lot of things in business seem
NAME: Mitchell York
TITLE: Franchisee
NO. OF UNITS: 3 Maui Wowi
Hawaiian Coffees & Smoothies
AGE: 60
FAMILY: Married, 3 children, 1
grandchild
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 15
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 15
48
MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE III, 2017
“The franchisee
has to think
and act like an
innovator and
business owner
no matter what
the franchise is.”
2017 MVP AWARDS
Innovation Award
Why do you think you were recognized
with this award? Maui Wowi’s business model
15 years ago was based on selling smoothies at
public events—venues like stadiums and arenas, as
well as fairs and festivals. I got my first location at
Yankee Stadium. A few years later, I saw an oppor-
tunity to create a catering model. The franchisor was
flexible enough to allow me to specify new equip-
ment that would be more transportable. At their
request, I wrote a catering operations manual and
trained new franchisees. Today, almost all franchi-
sees in the system derive significant revenue—and
very high margins—from their catering operation.
How have you raised the bar in your
own company? Growing sales every year, adding
new products (like coffee and espresso catering).
What innovations have you created and
used to build your company? I developed
the campus activities market very early on because
I believed college students were a prime market for
our products. I now have 150-plus college accounts
across the country. I established partnerships with
our best operators in other regions so we can coop-
erate and jointly benefit from this market.
What core values do you think helped
you win this award? Fairness to employees
and partners, courtesy to clients, and remembering
that no one needs what we sell.
How important is community involve-
ment to you and your company? We cater
numerous charity events for diseases and causes we
feel strongly about.
What leadership qualities are most im-
portant to you and your team? Everyone
needs to be a leader. We are a small company. All
our people represent me, and the brand, every day.
I try to influence my team to do the right things and
not take shortcuts.