The other day I was reading my e-mails when I came across one from an amazing franchisee, Cathy, who owns the Edible Arrangements stores in Catonsville, MD and her latest store featuring the Edible To Go extended product line that opened in Elkridge, MD in February of this year. But before I discuss what makes Cathy a role model for the system, and her incredible public relations and marketing savvy that we all can learn from, her e-mail reminded me of something I wanted to write about previously.

There are many challenges and decisions that businesses, both new and established, face every single day. Whether it is identifying your target market (yes, your ‘customer’ will evolve), staying ahead of the competition, continuously analyzing your company’s strengths and weaknesses, improving customer service, cutting costs without sacrificing quality and service, increasing productivity, figuring out what new markets to enter and when, and how to grow your brand, to name just a few. First, I have to just say that challenges should be welcomed and embraced, not feared. As an entrepreneur you should look forward to what the challenge will be that day –then set out to conquer it. Second and more importantly, make sure you don’t go too far outside your mission, outside your company’s DNA, too soon and introduce new products or services just to grow your market share and increase sales.

Cathy’s pictures in her e-mail of her latest store’s grand opening showcasing Edible To Go Products reminded me of this and sent back some searing memories of a new product Edible Arrangements was considering introducing a few years ago. It was a time when we were contemplating menu options in addition to our world-famous arrangements to drive traffic to our now 1,000+ stores –a precursor to our Edible To Go, grab and go product line we now have. I will not get into all the products and details we were considering but one item we came close to finalizing was fruit sandwiches. Yes, I said it –sandwiches made mainly from fruit, and a few other ingredients. I know most of you are saying to yourselves what on earth were we thinking, but those of you in business know that sometimes an idea takes on a life of its own and grows. Luckily, a mentor to my brother Kamran and I (the importance of having a mentor will be one of my blog entries soon) woke us up to the fact that no customer would buy such a concoction.

The valuable lesson we learned is do not step too far too soon outside what you do and know just to drive sales and reach a goal. A business must look inside itself, perfect what it does and what it is known for, master it and become experts. At Edible Arrangements, we are the fruit experts. We know fruit. We learned from this near mistake and created our Edible To Go extended product line –products made simply from fresh fruit – for customers to come into one of our stores for a healthy, pick-me-up snack such as our fresh fruit smoothies, fruit salads, fruit sundaes, many kinds of chocolate dipped fruit, pineapple pops in many of our signature pineapple shapes dipped in chocolate, and much more. This is all in addition to our signature bouquets. Not all Edible Arrangements stores carry the Edible to Go extended product line -yet, but all stores carry our grab and go items like salads, smoothies and dipped fruit. Yes, we are expanding our menu options, but we are staying true to our roots and our expertise, and the product we know best –fresh fruit and nothing else.

Now that I digressed a little bit, I wanted to showcase Cathy not only because she is one of our most successful and passionate franchisees, but because she is also really good at marketing and staging an event. Case in point, she recently held her grand opening celebration for her new store in Elkridge on April 14. The community turned out in droves. Why? Because she planned, drafted a personal, localized press release, created eye-catching invites, and executed the event perfectly. I couldn’t be more pleased by her professionalism, commitment to her community, customer service skills, and hard-work. Cathy never does anything half-hazardly, nor should you. In business, a customer can see right through imposters and those who simply are not prepared. Lose their trust and you may never get it back. Show them you are prepared, professional and engaging, you will have a customer for life.

Likes Likes Created with Sketch. Dislikes(0)
Share

Those of you who have read many of my previous blog entries know that I strongly believe that anyone can live their dreams so long as they work hard, stay true to themselves, treat others like they are family and be passionate – act with intelligent passion- about what you do. The dream -the American dream – of having the freedom and opportunity to do what you want and accomplish your goals is alive and well in the United States.

Every day I’m awed by the passion and hard work demonstrated by our hundreds of franchisees who operate over 1,000 Edible Arrangements locations in the United States and around the world. They inspire me to keep improving, and I hope their success and stories inspire you to maybe take the first steps of fulfilling your dreams, whether that dream is becoming an entrepreneur and opening your own business, learning a new language, going back to school, or getting involved in public service. Nothing pleases more than speaking with a new franchisee, or any business owner who stops me to talk or person I meet in my everyday life (I meet the most amazing people when I’m ordering my favorite drink at Starbucks), and learning about their background and what inspires them.

We all need inspiration and it’s available to anyone who simply takes a moment out of their busy life to look for it, listen and learn from others. I love every night, after I spend time with my young children before they go to bed, to simply read a biography of someone who has accomplished their goal, watch an informed news show such as Piers Morgan on CNN who always delves deep into the issues when interviewing a guest and always focusses on the American Dream, or read about what make people tick in reputable newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal, NY Times or USA Today. Learning about what others are doing, what obstacles they are overcoming, recharges me every night.

So, I was humbled yesterday when a story on Edible Arrangements was featuredin USA Today as it perfectly reflected my belief that the dream is alive and well in America, and that anyone can do what my brother Kamran and I did. If my story –the Edible Arrangements story –can inspire just one person to go for their goal then it will have served its purpose. It also gave me much pleasure to see that our very first franchisee, Chris Dellamarggio, who now has multiple locations, was quoted in the article, and another one of our very best multi-unit owners, Tom Stratford (you look marevlous, Tom), was pictured in the story. Why was I so pleased? Because they both took a chance in the very beginning on a new concept to open their very first Edible Arrangements store. They both took the time to listen to their hearts and take that first step in living their dreams, knowing very well that the path before them was not yet clear or guaranteed. They were driven by the belief that they can succeed no matter what and live their dreams so long as they worked hard and were passionate about what they are doing. They found their inspiration –they and all our franchisees give me mine –and I hope you one day find yours and take that first step in living your dreams.

Likes Likes Created with Sketch. Dislikes(0)
Share

As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, and now Edible Arrangements is getting bigger in the Lone Star state as well with 2 new stores opening soon. And the enterprise of one of our most talented franchisees, Reva Gartzke, is also getting bigger as she has signed an agreement to open another Edible Arrangements store in the Cedar Park, TX region. This will be Reva’s fourth store in Texas. Her other three stores are located in Austin and Round Rock, Texas. Reva has been an Edible Arrangements franchise owner since 2006, and a mentor for many franchisees and role model for the brand. Not only is she passionate about her business and taking care of her customers, but her passion, and compassion, extends to the many charitable causes she participates in, none more so than her leadership role as a mentor and volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Reva is a big part of our system, and we are proud of her and her accomplishments.

In addition, I’m happy to welcome a new franchise owner to the Edible Arrangements system. Carlman Daniel and his family are making the big move to Texas as he will be opening an Edible Arrangements store in Conroe, and a second location in Texas shortly thereafter. Carlman and his family embody the community spirit that is prevalent in so many of our franchisees. Carl and his wife were actively involved in their community in New York, and opened and managed several preschool and nursery schools, as well as a beauty supply store. I’m certain the great people of Texas will welcome the Daniel family as they start building a new life in Texas, and getting heavily involved in community activities.

Likes Likes Created with Sketch. Dislikes(0)
Share

I always feel so proud when one of our franchisees gets called upon to participate in an educational business event. I am a big believer in continually learning from your peers and other successful business owners, and strongly advocate that you attend various discussions and business related forums to hear from others who have walked and are walking in your shoes as a business owner.

So I was thrilled to read that one of our Edible Arrangements franchisees, Lauren Little, proud owner of two Edible Arrangement’s stores in Jacksonville, Florida, was asked to offer her advice to other business owners at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center’s ‘The Sweet Taste of Success’ event in celebration of Women’s History month. Please click here to read the story.

Lauren is the perfect example of a business owner who sets goals and challenges herself to take the next step in her business, and life. She is an amazing franchise partner as she exudes the community spirit and engagement that is so prevalent throughout the Edible Arrangements system. On behalf of Edible Arrangements, and the approximately 799 stores that are partially or fully owned by women business leaders, we congratulate Lauren for being a role model not only for all business owners, but in particular women business owners. Thank you Lauren and keep up the great work!

Likes Likes Created with Sketch. Dislikes(0)
Share

It was only 3 short years ago that Dr. Fausto Petruzziello approached my brother Kamran and I with a proposal to bring the Edible Arrangements brand to Italy. Since that time a lot has happened. The economies in both the United and Italy hit a snag to put it lightly, but none more so than in Italy. But amazingly, Dr. Petruzziello, the Master franchisee, has been able to grow the Edible Arrangements brand in Italy.

I’m pleased to announce that on March 28 two new stores opened in Italy, the 4th and 5th store openings in that country since 2009 under the leadership of Master Franchisee Fausto Petruzziello since 2009.

The first of the two stores is owned and operated by Paolo Conti. It’s the first store outside Rome, located in Varese, a city in the Northern region of Lombardy, in the vicinity of Milan. Paolo said it was ‘love at first site’ when he first saw an Edible Arrangements boquet in a flyer. I have to quote him next as his passion speaks volumes:

“I knew immediately that Edible Arrangements was going to be successful in my city due to the simplicity of the product, its innovativeness, the freshness, joyfulness and the originality. Once I saw an Edible Arrangement basket up close and not on a flyer, my love at first sight was confirmed and my enthusiasm grew even stronger.”

I’ve always said passion –intelligent passion –is what you need to succeed in business, and Paolo has an overabundance of it.

Please click the following to view video of the Varese opening celebration: Varese one and two

The second store that opened is owned and operated by Paola Lovaglio and Stefano Sedmok. Paola and Stefano are excited to be opening a location in downtown Rome, and we are just excited to have them as an Edible Arrangements partner. The new location will be supported by their main store just outside the city of Rome.

Edible Arrangements now has 32 international stores located throughout the world including China, India, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and the UAE, with 12 set to open over the next several months. I never imagined that in 11 short years we would have stores around the world and thousands of passionate customers. It surely is a dream come true for me, and for the hundreds of franchisees in our system. If you have dream –don’t put it off –if you work hard, work with intelligent passion, and believe in yourself, you can make your dream come true.

Likes Likes Created with Sketch. Dislikes(0)
Share