April 28, 2026 // Scottsdale, Arizona, — HB Protein Smoothies locked in two Florida multi-unit deals in one month. First, restaurant investor John Oswald committed to a multi-unit deal across Southwest Florida. Now, husband-and-wife duo John and Shelly Parra have signed on for South Florida — marking the brand’s second major multi-unit commitment in the Sunshine State in just one month.
“We looked for quite a few different franchises, and HB was the only one that passed the test,” said John Parra.
After moving to the States from Brazil, John worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years, went to college, worked in investments, and then operated a tree service franchise for five years before moving to Florida and looking for his next franchise. His wife, Shelly, has worked in the biotech industry for 25 years — together, they decided to build this for their family, already planning for two of their children to work in one of the stores.
In pursuit of their family business, John shared that one of the unique selling points of HB Protein Smoothies is the ease of operations and minimal equipment needed — just blenders, a freezer, an ice machine, and a refrigerator. The simplicity especially stood out to him, given his previous tree service franchise required trucks and expensive heavy equipment. In that business, he could only employ people with the right level of experience, due to the high risk to property and life.
“We didn’t want to repeat that; it was a very dangerous business. We wanted something different. You know, shakes are less risky,” said John.
In addition to noting how feasible the operational requirements were, John and Shelly knew after visiting HB Protein Smoothies that it was equal parts product and people.
“There was a human click factor with Daniel and Ethan. When we met them, we felt that they were trustworthy people who wanted to be reliable business partners,” said John. “Other people were interested in selling us something. We knew that this was a two-sided partnership.”
“We are looking for franchisees who are kind and wellness-minded above all else,” said Daniel Boone, co-founder of HB Protein Smoothies. “Prior operational experience isn’t a huge deal as long as you’re committed to the franchise model and community vision of HB.”
After meeting with Daniel and Ethan Boone, the father-and-son founder team behind the smoothie brand, the Parras knew that Florida was the ideal location to launch a health-first franchise like HB.
“People are very health-conscious here. You’re in sunny weather all the time,” said Shelly. “You want to look good; you want to feel good.”
Echoing her sentiments, John said, “When you’re up north, if you put on a couple of pounds, you have the luxury of covering up more easily. It’s too hot here to do that; people are exceptionally health-conscious here. That’s how we knew this was the right place to do this.”
Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart and franchise architect behind the expansion of Five Guys, QDOBA, and the Halal Guys, saw the same opportunity — and the numbers to back it up.
“We’ve done this before, we know how it works. We don’t just find locations, we find the right people to own them,” said Rowe. “The right franchisee in the right market — that’s the whole game. We do our research and always know before we go.”
John traded dump trucks for blenders — but his ambitions didn’t shrink with the equipment.
“Down the line, we would love to surpass 100 locations, because there are franchises that have more than 100 stores here. Whatever the competitors have, we will have even more with HB,” said John.