Nautical Bowls
Nautical Bowls is a Minnesota-based fast-casual restaurant franchisor founded in 2018, serving health-conscious consumers premium gluten-free açaí bowls, superfood smoothies, and refreshers across 50+ franchise locations in 19 U.S. states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersMinnetonka, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Nautical Bowls does
Nautical Bowls (legal entity Nautical Bowls Franchising LLC) is a Minnesota-based fast-casual restaurant franchisor founded in May 2018 by Bryant and Rachel Amundson. The company sells premium açaí and superfood bowls, smoothies, and refreshers built on proprietary bases including açaí, pitaya, Blue Majik (spirulina), mango, coconut, cacao, and chia pudding, with all menu items being gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, plant-based, and free of artificial additives. Customers can order dine-in, takeout, delivery via DoorDash and Uber Eats, pickup through the Thanx platform, or through a Paytronix-powered native mobile app tied to a loyalty program that offers a free bowl after the first order. The product line is anchored by signature bowls (Nauti, Paddle, Sunrise, Protein) plus a fully customizable Build-Your-Own-Bowl option.
Nautical Bowls firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nautical Bowls
- Legal name
- Nautical Bowls Franchising LLC
- Website
- https://nauticalbowls.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Nautical Bowls is a Minnesota-based fast-casual restaurant franchisor founded in 2018, serving health-conscious consumers premium gluten-free açaí bowls, superfood smoothies, and refreshers across 50+ franchise locations in 19 U.S. states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Nautical Bowls is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minnetonka
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Nautical Bowls business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Retail Bowl Sales: Direct sales of açaí bowls, superfood smoothies, and refreshers to consumers at franchise locations. Customers pay per bowl with three size options (Dinghy, Cruiser, Yacht). Prices range from $10.95-$19.70 depending on bowl type and size.
- Catering Services: Bulk orders for events including office meetings, graduation parties, family gatherings, weddings, and sporting events. Lead time requirements based on order size ($100-$199 needs 2 hours, $1000 needs 48 hours).
- Franchise Fees: Franchise opportunities with approximately $300-400k initial investment. Company generates revenue through franchise fees and ongoing royalties from franchise locations.
- Loyalty Program: Mobile app-based loyalty program (Thanx) that rewards customers with free items and drives repeat purchases. Customers earn points toward free bowls.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Nauti Bowl - Signature açaí/pitaya bowl |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Paddle Bowl - Tropical Blue Majik bowl |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sunrise Bowl - Pitaya-based bowl |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Custom Signature Bowls (T4-T12) |
| One time/ perpetual license | One-time | Franchise Investment |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Nautical Bowls product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nautical Bowls is a fast-casual restaurant franchise that sells premium açaí and superfood bowls, smoothies, and refreshers made with organic, all-natural, plant-based ingredients that are gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. The company operates 50+ franchise locations across the United States and supplements retail sales with catering services, a fundraising program, and a mobile loyalty app built on the Paytronix platform.
Product overview
Nautical Bowls is a fast-casual restaurant franchise offering premium superfood bowls and smoothies. The core product lineup consists of Signature Bowls (Nauti Bowl, Paddle Bowl, Sunrise Bowl, Protein Bowl), a Build Your Own Bowl customization option, Superfood Smoothies, and Refreshers. The company operates a franchise model with supporting services including Catering and Fundraising programs. A Loyalty App provides customer rewards, while the Franchise Program enables national expansion. All products are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, plant-based, and made with all-natural organic ingredients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Nauti Bowl
Quantifiable outcome
- Strong net profits to the bottom line after royalties
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Nautical Bowls
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Nautical Bowls technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature2 records
Nautical Bowls partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Venture OrganizationcoreNautical Bowls partners with Venture Organization for their 'Buy a Meal, Give a Meal' program. For every meal purchased at Nautical Bowls, a meal is donated to a child in need. Venture Organization works to bring justice to unreached communities. This partnership is central to Nautical Bowls' community mission and 'Others First' values.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Nautical Bowls competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Playa Bowls: Direct açai and superfood bowl franchise competitor with a comparable build-your-own bowl menu, similar franchise-based GTM, and a substantially larger national footprint. The closest head-to-head comparable for Nautical Bowls.
- Vitality Bowls: Specialty açai bowl franchise acquired by FAT Brands. Overlaps directly on menu (açai bowls, smoothies), customer segment (health-conscious consumers), and franchise model. Closest product-and-model comparable.
- Frutta Bowls: Smaller açai/superfood bowl franchise with similar menu architecture and target customer. Direct niche competitor with overlapping consumer proposition.
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe: Large smoothie-and-healthy fast-casual franchise with a substantially bigger system. Targets health-conscious consumers via smoothies and wraps; competes for both franchisee capital and consumer share of stomach.
- Nekter Juice Bar: Health-focused juice, smoothie, and bowl franchise. Direct overlap on the bowl/smoothie menu and clean-label positioning; franchise-driven GTM mirrors Nautical's.
Emerging players
- Clean Juice: USDA-certified organic juice and bowl franchise. Partial overlap on clean-label positioning and target demographic; smaller scale than Nautical but more stringent certification positioning.
- Salad and Go: Fast-growing drive-thru healthy fast-casual chain with strong unit economics narrative. Competes for the same health-conscious, convenience-oriented consumer wallet and franchisee attention, even though menu centers on salads rather than bowls.
Broad incumbents
- Jamba: Established national smoothie/specialty beverage chain now operating under a franchise-heavy model post-FAT Brands deal. Overlaps Nautical on smoothie and açai-adjacent menu items but with a much broader convenience-driven customer base.
- Robeks: Established smoothie and açai bowl chain with national footprint. Older incumbent offering similar product categories; franchise model overlaps Nautical's distribution approach.
- Sweetgreen: Large fast-casual healthy restaurant chain, primarily company-owned but serves as a benchmark for premium healthy fast-casual and digital-first guest experience. Adjacent competitive set in health-driven fast-casual.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nautical Bowls social profiles
Digital presenceNautical Bowls financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nautical Bowls leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Nautical Bowls funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nautical Bowls M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nautical Bowls
What does Nautical Bowls do?
Nautical Bowls is a fast-casual restaurant franchise that sells premium açaí and superfood bowls, smoothies, and refreshers made with organic, all-natural, plant-based ingredients that are gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. The company operates 50+ franchise locations across the United States and supplements retail sales with catering services, a fundraising program, and a mobile loyalty app built on the Paytronix platform.
Is Nautical Bowls a public or private company?
Nautical Bowls is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Nautical Bowls founded?
Nautical Bowls was founded in 2018. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Nautical Bowls based?
Nautical Bowls is headquartered in Minnetonka, United States, in the North America region.
How does Nautical Bowls make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Retail Bowl Sales are the primary driver. The others are catering Services, franchise Fees and loyalty Program.
Who are Nautical Bowls's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Playa Bowls, Vitality Bowls, Frutta Bowls, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Nekter Juice Bar. Emerging players are Clean Juice and Salad and Go. Broad incumbents are Jamba, Robeks and Sweetgreen.
Does Nautical Bowls have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nautical Bowls.