Auntie Anne’s Franchise
The Auntie Anne’s Franchise was founded in the year 1988 and has been franchising ever since the year 1989. Anne Beiler, who is the founder of this company, has been baking for almost all her life. It was while she was still a manager in Maryland at a stand in a farmer’s market that she decided to start running her own business. She used to serve chips, candy pretzels and pizzas while still working at Maryland and this is where she noticed that the pretzels used to sell like hot cakes. After a while, she bought her own stand and named it Auntie Anne’s where two of her brothers were quick to jump on board her business venture.
At the present moment, Auntie Anne’s Franchise has 861 franchises in the United States and 14 in Canada. The number of foreign franchises at the moment stands at 247 which are spread across Asia, Venezuela, Middle East and the United Kingdom. This is quite impressive especially when you take into consideration that only 4 out of these franchises are owned by the company. The company has stores that are usually found in airports, train stations, and shopping centers and they mainly serve various types of drinks, dipping sauces and of course pretzels.
The company offers plenty opportunities for potential franchisees in the US and the world over as well. This is mainly owing to the reason that start-up and ongoing support is offered so that the potential franchisee can be just as successful as the rest. Training is usually available for up to 2 weeks when it is conducted at the headquarters and up to 5 days at the location of the franchisee. The Auntie Anne’s Franchise conducts meetings, field operations and evaluations, and offers security & safety procedures for all of its franchisees. There are also regular newsletters that are normally sent regularly so that everyone can be up-to-date on the happenings of the entire company as a unit.
There is no financial support that is offered by the franchise with regards to start up capital. On the other hand, there is plenty of support from Auntie Anne’s Franchise when it comes to marketing. The tools that are mostly used in marketing include: Ad slicks, regional advertising and an online toolbox. The qualifications that potential franchisees must meet include: A net worth requirement of $300,000 and business experience which normally covers industry experience & general experience in business.