How Fast-Food Disruptor Konala Is Driving Franchise Growth With High-Protein Meals and a Quick-Serve Strategy

Small business takeaway: 

• Konala, the fast-casual startup chain serving high-protein bowls through drive-thru windows, offers three takeaways for businesses across industries: growth is strongest when a concept leans into rising consumer demand, as Konala has with protein-forward meals; speed and simplicity can become brand differentiators; and scalable operations matter as much as product appeal. Its two- to three-minute service and low-labor “kitchenless kitchen” model show how strategy and execution reinforce each other.

Trace Miller and his wife Jammie were operating a successful burger restaurant and bar in Post Falls, Idaho, but despite winning Idaho’s Best Burger and Best Bar titles three years in a row, they had an appetite for something bigger and better.

“We wanted to do something we could grow a lot larger and really impact communities, something that aligns with our lifestyle,” Miller told CO—. “Our lifestyle is health and wellness, not burgers, fries, and alcohol.”

In May 2023, they opened the first Konala drive-thru, selling protein bowls designed to serve up a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fats.

More than half of young adults are seeking higher-protein meals

Konala is tapping into America’s craving for more protein in their diets. Bain & Company research found that 44% of U.S. consumers want to increase their protein intake. The percentages are even higher among young consumers, with 51% of millennials and 59% of Gen Z seeking higher-protein meals.

Konala’s menu is similar in some ways to competitors like Sweetgreen and Cava. It serves customizable bowls of rice or greens topped with chicken or beef in six different flavors, ranging from Asian-influenced to Southwest barbecue.

But at Konala, the focus is on getting the right balance of macronutrients — protein, carbs, and fats — and its bowls are designed to pack an unrivaled protein punch in the fast-casual restaurant space. Konala bowls contain between 37 and 54 grams of protein, with one special seasonal offering containing 82 grams of protein.

Konala is also aiming to make speed something else that sets it apart. All Konala locations have drive-thru windows, allowing customers to get their meals in two to three minutes. Early Konala locations have opened in spaces formerly occupied by burger chains such as Carl’s Jr. or sandwich shop Arby’s.

Franchise industry heavyweights bet investment dollars on Konala: ‘The right concept at the right time’

The new company is quickly attracting the attention of franchise industry veterans.

Dan Rowe, CEO of franchise development company Fransmart, and Co-Managing Partner of The Kitchen Fund, which invests in emerging restaurant brands, calls Konala “the right concept at the right time.”

“I think it’s going to be enormous,” Rowe told CO—.

Rowe has built a career on his ability to find “the next big thing,” and he is betting on Konala. Fransmart has launched national franchising programs for restaurant brands, including Five Guys and Qdoba, helping them to expand nationally. The Kitchen Fund has helped grow Sweetgreen and Cava, along with other restaurant brands, as an early-stage investor.

Konala reached out to Fransmart for help setting up a franchise program, and when Rowe tried the food for the first time, he “couldn’t stop eating it,” he said. “It’s craveable.”

The first Konala was an instant hit, and since then, the company has opened three additional corporate locations and one franchise location and has franchise development deals in place for 38 additional locations across the country.  The company also has 10 more corporate locations in the works.

The sixth Konala opened recently in Belleville, New Jersey. Locations in Southern California, Nevada, and Philadelphia are queued up to open soon.

[Read more: How CPG Disruptors Are Leaning Into the Protein-Fortified Food Trend to Unlock Growth]

A low-cost ‘kitchenless kitchen’ operating model

The food is cooked with special ovens that can act as combination steamers, air fryers, and ovens and that can add moisture to make meat extra tender.

The menu includes different flavor profiles, from Southwestern barbecue to Mediterranean to teriyaki, and is intended to appeal to a wide range of tastes. Prices for meals range from $9.95 to $15.95.

Konala, Rowe said, has created a model that is cheaper to operate and has the potential to generate sales that are equal to or greater than more labor-intensive fast-food chains. For one, in addition to a limited menu and a small store footprint, Konala’s "kitchenless kitchen" model is built around its high-tech ovens, eschewing traditional restaurant equipment such as fryers and grills, reducing labor and operating costs.

Amid a fast-food sales dip, ‘customers will pay a premium for healthier options’

Although fast-food restaurants are expected to ring up $416 billion in sales this year, with burger chains drawing 40% of the market, sales are expected to decline slightly as consumers cut back on spending due to higher costs, according to a 2026 report from research firm IBISWorld.

Consumers are demanding healthier options, causing shifts in the industry, the report found. 

Fast-food brands now “must continuously innovate and adapt to evolving dietary preferences to draw customers,” the report states.

While it’s a tough time to break into the quick-serve industry, with rising costs, declining consumer visits, and increased competition from channels such as grocery and convenience stores, Konala has some advantages it can leverage, R.J. Hottovoy, Head of Analytical Research at Placer.ai, told CO—. 

In addition to its low-cost operating model, it’s tapping into the growing interest in health and wellness, Hottovoy said. 

“We’ve seen that consumers will pay a premium for healthier options,” he said.

[Read more: Three Company Founders Disclose How They Discovered Their Niche]

A passion for healthy eating that started in childhood

Miller’s interest in healthy eating started long before he created Konala. At age 2, he was diagnosed with a form of childhood epilepsy that caused him to have over 100 seizures a day. His mother found a doctor who was able to use a combination of medical treatments and nutrition to cure him.

Later, while in the military, Miller started helping others eat better and creating meal plans for them, and it grew into a personal passion.

Since opening the first location in 2023, Konala has seen that its customer base tends to be about 60% moms and families, 30% gym goers and fitness enthusiasts, and 10% are other types of customers, Miller said.

“Gym junkies say it’s a gym junkies dream — they get high protein quickly,” Miller said. “Moms say they feel like they’re a better mom because they’re able to get better food for their kids while on the run.”

Konala franchisee: ‘This is something I could eat multiple times a week and not feel bad about it’

Tyson Adams opened Konala’s first franchise location in Provo, Utah, in May, after previously working as a district manager for the Jersey Mike’s Subs sandwich chain. He connected with Konala after hearing about the new company from his father, a pharmaceutical rep who was wondering why all the medical offices he visited in Idaho were asking him to bring them meals from Konala when he made sales calls.

Adams tried Konala and thought, “This is what I want from my normal everyday meal. This is something I could eat multiple times a week and not feel bad about it.”

Adam’s location opened in a converted Arby’s next to Brigham Young University, and sales in the first two months have exceeded expectations.

Average startup costs for a Konala restaurant are between $567,500 and $1.2 million, according to the company’s franchising brochure. Konala’s 2025-2026 Franchise Disclosure Document shows the first two Konala locations generated annual net sales of $1.5 million and $1.8 million from fall 2024 to fall 2025, and a third location did $1.2 million in sales in half a year, from January 2025 to June 2025.

Eyeing franchise partners with a passion for healthy eating: ‘Selling something you believe in is much easier’

When choosing franchise partners, Miller looks for people with previous experience as a multiunit franchise owner, or team-building experience. But the No. 1 trait he wants to see in a new Konala operator is a passion for healthy eating that matches his own.

“We want people that believe in our mission,” he said, and who enjoy eating the Konala meals they are selling.

“I don’t understand how franchise owners can have 100 units of a concept that they don’t even eat,” Miller said. “Selling something you believe in is much easier.”

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