When it comes to the fastest-growing retail brands in the U.S., two New Jersey-born ventures are at the top of the list.

In online review platform Yelp’s first ranking of 50 companies that have executed successful growth strategies over the past year, Manasquan-based Jersey Mike’s Subs was named No. 10, while Belmar-headquartered Playa Bowls came in at No. 44.

Jersey Mike’s

With more than 2,700 locations nationwide, Jersey Mike’s is the second largest sandwich chain in the U.S., behind Subway.

According to founder and Chief Executive Officer Peter Cancro, the chain expects to open 350 more stores between 2024 and 2025. In 2026, he anticipates between 400 to 450 openings. After that, Cancro expects about 15% annual unit growth.

Ultimately, Cancro said he hopes to have 10,000 units, a number he feels is achievable thanks to the brand’s focus on quality, training and franchisee support system.

The privately owned sandwich chain is also reportedly looking for a buyer. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that investment giant Blackstone’s interest has cooled but that Jersey Mike’s may still be open to a sale, either to another private equity firm or another company.

Playa Bowls

As consumers become more health conscious, superfruit bowl franchise Playa Bowls is seeing a spike in interest nationally, as well as locally, Yelp reported.

In addition to coming in at No. 44 on the overall list, Playa Bowls was the fastest-growing brand in New York. According to Yelp, consumer interest in the Empire State for Playa Bowls soared 111% between 2022 and 2023.

Founded in 2014, Playa Bowls offers acai, green pitaya and coconut bowls as well as juices, cold brew and smoothies. Now considered a leader in the national superfruit bowl shop segment, the chain’s footprint has grown to over 200 locations in 22 states. There are 75 shops in New Jersey.

Methodology

For the compilation, Yelp used a blended metric that included net new openings, searches on its platform between 2022 and 2023 and consumer interest measured by page visits, posted photos and written reviews.

“From newly public companies to those scaling regionally to industry mainstays broadening their footprint, the brands featured on the list are expanding at a fast rate nationally, by state and geographical region. We ranked businesses based on Yelp data, including net-new location openings, consumer interest and searches, which together highlight how quickly businesses are opening new locations and growing existing ones,” Yelp wrote.

Based on Yelp’s research, these are the top 10 fastest-growing brands:

• No. 1: Mediterranean fast casual Cava
• No. 2: Midwestern coffee chain Scooter’s Coffee
• No. 3: Casual dining chain Longhorn Steakhouse
• No. 4: California-based burger chain Habit Burger Grill
• No. 5: Convenience and gas chain Wawa
• No. 6: Chicken chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
• No. 7: Midwestern burger joint Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
• No. 8: Sports apparel retailer Rally House
• No. 9: Italian-inspired chain Olive Garden
• No. 10: Jersey Mike’s Subs

Of the list makers, Yelp noted that 70% are “challenger brands,” which are defined as businesses that are not market leaders but aim to compete by disrupting their industry. Challenger brands on the list include Wawa, The Habit Burger Grill, Cava and LongHorn Steakhouse.

Yelp also pointed out that 35 of the chains on the list are restaurant brands.

What is New Jersey hungry for?

Comfort food! Between 2022 and 2023, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers made major headway into the tri-state area, with a groundswell of consumer interest in New Jersey – up 232%. After making its Garden State debut in August 2021 in Linden, Freddy’s added a second location last summer in Toms River. 

Wawa continues to be a favorite, with the chain seeing some of its highest consumer interest in New Jersey, as well as in Virginia and Florida. The Pennsylvania company’s footprint of nearly 1,000 c-stores includes over 260 locations in New Jersey. By 2030, Wawa aims to have 1,800 outposts nationwide.

Other popular brands in New Jersey include Cava, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Ashley.

Within the Northeast, the top five chains are Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Rally House, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Cava and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.