Pokemoto
Pokemoto is a fast-casual poke bowl franchise operating 43 locations across 20+ US states and Puerto Rico, serving bowls, wraps, salads, and boba teas to individual consumers via a franchise model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersFairfield, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Pokemoto does
Pokemoto is a fast-casual poke bowl franchise founded in 2017 by Thomas Nguyen in New Haven, Connecticut. The company operates through a franchise model with 43 open locations across 20+ US states plus Puerto Rico, plus 5 locations in development and 12 signed development agreements. The chain serves poke bowls, wraps, burritos, salads, boba teas, and sides including musubi, miso soup, hot plates, and Dole whip to individual consumers seeking Hawaiian-inspired fast-casual meals.
The franchise economics consist of a $30,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% ongoing royalty on gross sales, and a 2% marketing fund contribution, with a total initial franchisee investment range of $212,500 to $422,700. The system is SBA-approved, lowering the financing barrier for prospective franchisees, and each location typically operates with approximately 10 staff members. Digital ordering is delivered through order.online, with off-premise reach provided by UberEats, Grubhub, and DoorDash, and gift card infrastructure provided by SnackPass and TableUp.
The company was acquired by MARV Brands in December 2025 and is led by CEO Matteo Gentile, who brings 38+ years of restaurant industry experience. Pokemoto earned Franchise 500 #1 rankings in both 2024 and 2025, positioning it as a top-ranked brand in the fast-casual poke category. The underlying technology stack is third-party dependent across ordering, delivery, and loyalty layers, with no disclosed proprietary platform architecture.
Pokemoto firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pokemoto
- Legal name
- Pokémoto
- Website
- https://pokemoto.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pokemoto is a fast-casual poke bowl franchise operating 43 locations across 20+ US states and Puerto Rico, serving bowls, wraps, salads, and boba teas to individual consumers via a franchise model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pokemoto industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fast-Casual Restaurant
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee Chains & Franchise Cafes (THAFADAB)
Keywords
Where Pokemoto is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fairfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices42 records
Markets served
Pokemoto business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Franchise Fees: One-time initial franchise fee of $30,000 paid by new franchisees for the right to use the Pokemoto brand, operating systems, and support services
- Royalty Fees: Ongoing royalty fee equal to 6% of gross sales paid by franchisees for continued use of brand, trademarks, operating systems, marketing support, new product development, and business consulting
- Marketing Fund Contributions: Brand Development Fund contribution of 2% of gross sales (one source mentions 1%) from franchisees for collective marketing initiatives and brand development
- Retail Food Sales: Revenue from direct food and beverage sales at restaurant locations including poke bowls, wraps, boba teas, and sides through dine-in, takeout, and delivery channels
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Initial Franchise Fee |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Ongoing Royalty and Marketing Fees |
| Unit Pricing | One time/ perpetual license | Complete Initial Investment Breakdown |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Space Requirements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Pokemoto product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pokemoto operates a fast-casual poke bowl restaurant franchise serving customizable Hawaiian-style poke bowls, wraps, salads, and boba teas through 43 franchise locations across North America. Customers build their own meals by choosing base, protein, mix-ins, sauce, and toppings, with menu options including raw fish (ahi tuna, salmon), cooked proteins (chicken, tofu, shrimp), and signature chef-designed bowls. The franchise model also generates revenue through initial franchise fees, ongoing royalties, and brand development fund contributions from franchisees.
Product overview
Pokemoto is a fast-casual restaurant franchise offering Hawaiian-style poke bowls as its core product. The company operates a customizable build-your-own-bowl model where customers select bases (sushi rice, brown rice, or salad greens), proteins (including ahi tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken, tofu, and lobster), mix-ins, sauces, and toppings. The product portfolio includes Poké Bowls, Poké Wraps/Burritos, and Poké Salads as main offerings, complemented by signature chef-designed bowls (Hawaiian, Miso Salmon, Sweet and Spicy Shrimp, Sesame Ginger Chicken, Pokemoto Tofu). Additionally, the menu features Boba Teas in both milk and fruit varieties, and sides including Hawaiian Musubi, Angry Musubi, and various Miso Soup options. Hawaiian Hot Plates provide cooked protein alternatives for customers preferring non-raw options. The franchise model supports dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and digital ordering across 43 open locations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Poke Bowls Customizable Hawaiian-style poke bowls where customers select base (sushi rice, brown rice, or salad greens), protein (ahi tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken, tofu, lobster), mix-ins, sauces, and toppings for a personalized meal.
- Poke Wraps (Sushi Burritos) Handheld poke wraps featuring signature poke flavors rolled in roasted nori with sushi rice, offering portability for on-the-go dining.
- Poke Salads Low-carb poke option featuring romaine lettuce and/or mixed greens as the base with the same protein, mix-in, and topping customizations as bowls.
- Signature Bowls (Hawaiian, Miso Salmon, Sweet and Spicy Shrimp, Sesame Ginger Chicken, Pokemoto Tofu) Pre-designed chef-inspired poke bowl combinations offering curated flavor profiles for customers who prefer signature combinations over customizing.
- Boba Teas (Milk and Fruit Varieties) Bubble tea beverages including milk teas (Original, Matcha, Taro, Thai, Cappuccino, Mango, Coconut, Watermelon) and fruit teas (Mango, Peach, Guava, Strawberry, Lychee, Passion Fruit).
- Sides (Hawaiian Musubi, Angry Musubi, Miso Soup Varieties) Complementary menu items including Hawaiian Musubi, Angry Musubi, Miso Soup, Spicy Shrimp Miso Soup, and Chicken & Rice Miso Soup.
- Hawaiian Hot Plates Cooked protein options expanding menu appeal beyond raw fish to attract customers preferring non-raw protein alternatives.
- Pokemoto Franchise Opportunity Turnkey fast-casual restaurant franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs to open and operate Pokemoto poke bowl locations, including brand licensing, training, marketing support, operational systems, and supply chain support. Initial franchise fee of $30,000 with total estimated investment of $212,500 to $422,700.
Quantifiable outcome
- 43 Pokemoto locations open across North America
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Pokemoto
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Pokemoto technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature3 records
Pokemoto partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- UberEatscoreThird-party delivery platform integration enabling customers to order Pokemoto for delivery. Franchisees receive discounted group rates through this partnership arrangement.
- GrubhubcoreThird-party delivery platform integration enabling customers to order Pokemoto for delivery. Franchisees receive discounted group rates through this partnership arrangement.
- DoorDashcoreThird-party delivery platform integration enabling customers to order Pokemoto for delivery. Franchisees receive discounted group rates through this partnership arrangement.
- Order Online PlatformcoreDigital ordering platform (order.online) integrated for direct online ordering and pickup at Pokemoto locations.
- Sn ackp assminorMobile ordering platform available at select locations including Colchester, Fairfield, Shelton, and Foxwoods for convenient ordering.
- TableUpminorGift card platform integrated at select locations for digital gift card purchases and management.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pokemoto competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aloha Poke: Chicago-based poke franchise concept offering build-your-own bowls with raw fish, cooked proteins, and similar customization. Directly competes with Pokemoto for franchisees and end customers in the same poke-specific niche.
- Poke House: Fast-growing poke-focused franchise concept offering Hawaiian-style customizable bowls. Closely aligned business model (custom bowls, dine-in/takeout/delivery) targeting the same health-conscious Millennial/Gen-Z customer base.
- Honeygrow: East Coast-based fast-casual chain offering customizable stir-fry, salads, and bowls. Operates in similar geographies as Pokemoto and targets overlapping health-conscious, customization-driven customer segments.
- Just Salad: Fast-casual customizable salad and bowl franchise with strong Northeast presence. Overlaps with Pokemoto on build-your-own format, fresh ingredient positioning, and Millennial/Gen-Z targeting.
Broad incumbents
- Sweetgreen: Large publicly-traded fast-casual salad/bowl chain emphasizing fresh, healthy, customizable meals. Overlaps directly on the customizable bowl format and target demographic, but operates as a corporate-owned chain with significantly larger scale.
- CAVA: Public fast-casual Mediterranean bowl/mezze chain with build-your-own format. Comparable customizable bowl experience, demographic appeal, and digital ordering infrastructure, though Mediterranean rather than Hawaiian/Asian positioning.
- Chipotle Mexican Grill: Largest fast-casual customizable bowl/burrito chain in the US. Sets the benchmark for build-your-own fast-casual economics, digital ordering, and consumer expectations Pokemoto must compete against.
- Qdoba Mexican Eats: Franchised fast-casual customizable bowl/burrito chain. Competes for franchisee capital and consumer occasions, though Mexican positioning rather than poke.
Regional players
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe: Large franchise smoothie/food cafe concept. Comparable franchise structure (initial fees, royalty model), target demographic, and lower-complexity buildout, but focused on smoothies and wraps rather than poke.
Emerging players
- Maui Wowi Hawaiian: Hawaiian-themed franchise concept offering smoothies and coffees. Shared Hawaiian cultural positioning with Pokemoto and similar target customer, though non-overlapping product category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pokemoto social profiles
Digital presencePokemoto financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pokemoto leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Pokemoto funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pokemoto 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 Pokemoto
What does Pokemoto do?
Pokemoto operates a fast-casual poke bowl restaurant franchise serving customizable Hawaiian-style poke bowls, wraps, salads, and boba teas through 43 franchise locations across North America. Customers build their own meals by choosing base, protein, mix-ins, sauce, and toppings, with menu options including raw fish (ahi tuna, salmon), cooked proteins (chicken, tofu, shrimp), and signature chef-designed bowls. The franchise model also generates revenue through initial franchise fees, ongoing royalties, and brand development fund contributions from franchisees.
Is Pokemoto a public or private company?
Pokemoto is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Pokemoto founded?
Pokemoto was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pokemoto based?
Pokemoto is headquartered in Fairfield, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pokemoto make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Franchise Fees are the primary driver. The others are royalty Fees, marketing Fund Contributions and retail Food Sales.
Who are Pokemoto's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aloha Poke, Poke House, Honeygrow and Just Salad. Broad incumbents are Sweetgreen, CAVA, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba Mexican Eats. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is listed as a regional player. Maui Wowi Hawaiian is listed as an emerging player.
Does Pokemoto have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pokemoto.
What industry is Pokemoto in?
Pokemoto's product category is Fast-Casual Restaurant. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAB, Coffee Chains & Franchise Cafes.