Happy Belly Food Group's smoothie bowl brand expanded a 10-unit Texas commitment to 150 with an operator whose first store opened in October.
One store, open since Oct. 3, across the street from Texas Tech in Lubbock. That is the Texas footprint behind the largest development agreement Happy Belly Food Group has ever signed.
The Toronto company, which buys and franchises emerging restaurant brands, said Nov. 2 that its Heal Wellness smoothie and acai bowl concept signed a binding agreement with The Curative Group for 150 locations across Texas. The group, led by Kendall Howard and Paul Fioroni, runs that Lubbock store and expects to open its second in early 2027. The deal expands a Texas commitment the company had previously put at 10 locations.
"Signing a 150-unit binding agreement for Texas is the largest and most impactful development agreement Happy Belly has ever signed, marking our most significant step toward building Heal Wellness into North America's leading smoothie bowl brand," said Sean Black, Happy Belly's chief executive.
The pipeline now dwarfs the system. Heal started 2026 with 30 locations and has 54 open today, the company said, with 60 expected by year end. Signed development agreements cover 460 units. Put another way, for every Heal operating today, more than eight are promised on paper.
The Texas release is lighter on detail than the company's last big signing. In June, Happy Belly announced a three-year, 45-unit agreement with a group led by Alex Rechichi, its former board chairman, and Bedford Park Capital. This time there is no timetable for the 150 stores, only a note that site selection is underway. The release describes The Curative Group as an operator of several franchised brands in Texas but does not name them.
Smoothies are drawing big commitments elsewhere, too. Last month Tropical Smoothie Cafe signed a 40-unit Northeast deal with Aurify Kingstar, a group that has developed, operated or acquired more than 300 restaurants. The difference is the starting point. Tropical Smoothie has more than 1,750 cafes behind its operator. Heal is asking one Texas group to build nearly three times the brand's current footprint in a single state.
For suppliers and prospective franchisees sizing up the brand, the gap between signed and open is the number to watch. A development agreement is a promise to build on a schedule, not a store. The first real test arrives in early 2027, when Lubbock is supposed to get store number two.
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