Our Healthy Food Franchise Founder Made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List!
First, it was the consumers. Then the Franchise Owners caught on. Soon the industry followed suit. Now, one of the most reputed publications on the planet has recognized Brianna Keefe. The Founder of Toastique, the breakfast franchise that’s expanding all over the country, has been featured in the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30!
An exclusive club
One of the most renowned media companies in the world, Forbes has become synonymous with news on business, entrepreneurship, technology, lifestyle, and investing. With over 100 million visitors exploring their website over six months, it’s the go-to name for credible news across categories.
Launched in 2011, the Forbes 30 under 30 is a carefully chosen list of 30 entrepreneurs under the age of 30. These are trailblazers that the company believes have already proven their mettle and are redefining the spaces they operate in. This year’s exclusive club of Forbes 30 under 30, for example, has collectively already raised over $1 billion in funding.
A worthy member
Brianna’s inclusion in this exceptionally exclusive list shouldn’t surprise anyone who has known her or worked with her. She has made a mark for herself in the restaurant industry for her entrepreneurship and the pathbreaking idea that’s making waves and finding customer acceptance all over the country.
She didn’t join a family business or venture into a tired and tested area. She opened a whole new category that offers fast-casual food for health-conscious people. And the business she started, Toastique, the breakfast franchise, has now become a movement with a healthy lifestyle. With every week, more and more Franchise Owners are placing their trust in her.
The fact that Brianna Keefe’s just 28 makes the achievement nothing short of incredible.
A combination of all her passions
Toastique wasn’t just another dream for Brianna. It’s the combination of all her dreams. Since childhood, she had been passionate about food, health, and hospitality. As she says it, she was interested in “clean living in all its forms.” The budding entrepreneur used to make smoothies in high school almost every day. At that time, her dream was to open a “smoothie shack by the beach.”
At the James Madison University (JMU), Brianna as a D1 athlete cheerleader soon realized that the existing options in fast food were anything but healthy. They were certainly convenient but not at all wholesome. That’s when she started her experiments with toast, the staple of the classic American breakfast.
But Brianna didn’t want to make ordinary toasts. She wanted to see how she could make it nutritious, something that had carbohydrates, healthy fats, and of course, proteins. She soon expanded her original avocado toast to several others while being mindful of the fact that what she came up with had to be easy to carry.
In other words, she wasn’t just experimenting with the ingredients. She was also looking for an easy format that would appeal to busy professionals.
A movement is born
Brianna’s passion finally saw fruition when she was walking around the District Wharf, DC’s new waterfront area. It was still under construction but she could see the potential and thought to herself, “This is it.” Toastique, the breakfast franchise that would redefine brunch, was finally born.
Of course, the fact that Kyle Izett, her boyfriend, had experience in commercial construction helped her launch the concept. From design to the eventual construction, all it took was 40 days for the first Toastique location to come to life. That lean buildout and the minimal investments it requires is another reason why the brand’s Franchise Owners love its business model.
Stunning response
The success of the first location was beyond the wildest dreams of Brianna and Kyle. In its first year of operations, the Wharf location of Toastique generated more than $1 million in sales! What’s stunning about this feat is that the breakfast franchise didn’t use any professional advertising or marketing to generate brand awareness.
It was all word-of-mouth from its customers. They did the marketing for Toastique.
This spectacular success soon led to the opening of two more locations, one in Alexandria, Virginia, and another in the Navy Yard district. What’s striking about the performance of these Toastique locations is that although they were opened during the worst days of the pandemic, they turned out to be phenomenally profitable.
The best is yet to come
It’s not just customers who have become believers in Toastique. The response from Franchise Owners has also been extraordinary. This has been extremely gratifying to Brianna and the team since her focus has always been on the collective success of all the entrepreneurs who’re part of the Toastique family.
In under three years, Brianna and her team have opened four locations of Toastique. There’s also a sister concern, a salad restaurant called Chopsmith. Toastique has also awarded a whopping 37 new franchise locations to new Franchise Owners across the United States. These will open over the next two years.
With a steady increase in the number of daily customers which is now at around 1200, Brianna and her team believe that Toastique will clock close to $7 million in revenue this year.
So, what inspires this Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneur? “A sense of adrenaline” is how Brianna puts it. As soon as she wakes up, her mind begins to race with excitement about all that she has to get done by the end of the day.
Calling all entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, according to Brianna. You need to have passion, drive, and commitment. You also need to be hardworking, optimistic, and have a long-term commitment to the community you serve.
If you believe you have it, click here to learn more about the franchising opportunities at the breakfast franchise that’s redefining brunch and empowering entrepreneurs.