Health bowl bar, Poke Me has today announced plans to expand across Australia with a number of franchising opportunities.

The brand, which already has company-owned stores in Melbourne and Adelaide, has seen great success across its three existing locations, laying the foundations for potential franchisees to step in.

Founders Toby Yap and Leigh Morgan opened their first store in 2016 with the aim of curbing Australia’s growing obesity problem with healthy and delicious food.

“In Australia alone, over 65% of the population is classified as being obese and this is predicted to climb to 85% by 2025. Change needs to happen now and we see Poke Me as being a leader in this change,” Yap says.

“We want to show people across all areas and demographics that you can eat a balanced, healthy, fulfilling and delicious meal that won’t break the bank. Our goal is to grow a strong tribe of licensees across Australia who share our vision of fresh, healthy and most importantly delicious food.”

With a number of new franchise locations confirmed, the group intends to amplify their presence across Australia in all major cities and popular suburbs.

“The long term plan for Poke Me is to be a leading disruptor in the global healthy QSR space…We’re working with our franchising partner, DC Strategy, to find suitable candidates,” Yap says.

The pair plan on opening five new health bowl bars on the Eastern seaboard this year, with the potential for a Poke Me franchise store in each state by 2019.

“Over the past six months, we have been collaborating with Head of the Recruitment James Young, who has been actively involved in our franchise programme, identifying relevant candidates and qualifying potential leads. We currently have a number of exciting prospects.”

While Poke Me is still a relatively new player in the health food game, there’s no doubting the influence health food franchises have played on the millennial QSR market.

Foodmag.com.au reported in May that millennials are now the largest healthy eating group in Australia, breaking with previous generations to embrace a healthy, fast alternative.

The report also states that healthy-eating commercial consumption accounted for $5.8 billion and 644 million visits within foodservice in 2017, a growth of 6%.