Açaí bowls and smoothies galore: The world's largest and fastest-growing açaí brand coming to Kelowna and Victoria

The açaí craze is coming to Kelowna and Victoria.

Oakberry -- the world's largest and fastest-growing açaí brand -- will open a location in Kelowna's Orchard Park mall as part of an aggressive Canadian expansion.

The projected opening date is sometime mid-to-late August and location is unit 1599 within the mall -- the former T-booth Wireless store space.

The Kelowna opening is as part of a 2026 rollout of 13 locations across Canada.

Three other of those locations will be in Victoria -- at Tuscany Village, downtown and in Saanich.

In case you've been living under a rock, açaí is the purple berry superfruit from the Amazon that is taking the world by storm.

Blended to be the base of a fruit bowl or smoothie, enjoying açaí is not only trendy, but healthy and oh-so tasty.

The deep-purple açaí berry earns its superfood status for its high concentration of antioxidants, bibre and essential fatty acids the combine to act as an anti-inflammatory, support the immune system and boost energy.

Açaí is also naturally low in sugar, vegan, organic, gluten-free, cholesterol-free and trans fat-free.

To top it off, Oakberry's açaí berries are sustainable harvested in the Amazon rainforest.

The emblem of Oakberry is a purple parrot -- purple because the açaí is so intensely that colour and a parrot because they call the Amazon home.

Oakberry, which already has 1,000 stores in 40 countries, prides itself of whipping up fully customizable açaí bowls, smoothies and iced matcha lattes in under two minutes for excited customers.

Açaí bowls are priced at $12.50 for a 12 ounce, $15.50 for a 16 ounce and $19.50 for a 24 ounce.

The bowl is actually a tall cup and features layers of açaí soft blend with crunchy and-or creamy ingredients like granola, crispy quinoa, peanut butter, coconut and cacao nibs and topped with fruit (think banana, strawberrys and or blueberries) and nuts, seeds and-or honey.

There are 8 signature açaí bowls with the original being açaí, granola, peanut butter and banana. But you can always mix and match for a fully customizable treat.

Also on the menu are breakfast bowls (9 ounces for $9) combining açaí with your choice of overnight oats or chia pudding.

Oakberry has 6 standard açaí smoothies with names like berry blast, blue fairy, coffee punch, super glow and tropical beats.

They can also be customized. As well, there are 8 different iced matcha lattes, granola snacks, dried fruit snacks and protein bars.

Oakberry was founded in 2016 by Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis with a kiosk in San Paulo.

He picked the name Oakberry because it sounded good for worldwide franchising, the 'oak' standing for strength, endurance and longevity and the 'berry' for the star-of-the-show açaí berry.

Oakberry spread quickly with franchises, which is how Carter Friesen from Winnipeg came across it in Australia while travelling.

Friesen loved the concept and became the master franchiser for Canada, opening the first Oakberry here in 2023 in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood.

Since then, 24 more stores have opened in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. 15 more stores will launch this year, including the aforementioned Kelowna and Victoria locations, plus more in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Windsor, London, Hamilton, Ottawa and Kenora.

"We're excited about the momentum Oakberry is seeing across Canada," said Friesen.

"Our goal is to make Oakberry accessible to more Canadians by opening stores in vibrant communities across the country -- bringing our premium Brazilian açaí to people looking for something customizable, energizing and delicious."