Category: Edible Arrangements

Edible Arrangements was named one of America’s fastest-growing privately held businesses in America by Inc. Magazine and has been ranked first in its category by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Annual “Franchise 500” Ranking for the past seven consecutive years. In 2011, Edible Arrangements was ranked 9th on Forbes.com ‘Top Franchises for the Money” listing. In February of 2009, Tariq was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the International Franchise Association, whose members include more than 1,300 franchise systems, 11,000 franchisees and 500 suppliers. In June 2009 Tariq was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award in the Retail and Consumer Products category in Metro New York.

  • Edible Arrangements
Maurice

At last year’s Edible Arrangements convention, it was my pleasure to bestow the President’s Award—the highest honor an EA franchisee can achieve—to Maurice Welton, a Texas-based owner in our system who has quite literally set the bar as far as positive attitude, enthusiastic determination and work ethic. I’ve been watching Maurice’s progress and growth for years, which is why it was so gratifying to see him recently featured in the March 2013 edition of Black Enterprise magazine.

With his unflagging passion for his business—the business of delivering certified happiness to his many loyal customers—it’s no wonder that Maurice is also a veteran. His can-do spirit and untiring passion has enabled him to expand his Edible Arrangements enterprise from his original McAllen, Texas store to three stores, with plans to expand to a fourth location soon.

Maurice - Edible Arrangements
Maurice – Edible Arrangements Texas Franchisee Owner

It all started due to Maurice’s desire to be his own boss. Interestingly, it was an appearance by my brother Kamran and me on CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch that originally convinced Maurice that EA was the answer he was looking for. I believe it was our passion that connected with Maurice—it was something he also felt within himself. He challenged himself to match our enthusiasm. After researching our company, he decided it was the right fit for him, and started putting together his strategy for success.

Like the most successful of our franchisees, Maurice walked in the door with a plan. He hit the ground running. Every dime he got out of EA, he reinvested in EA. It’s that kind of approach that helped make him into one of the shining stars of the Edible Arrangements franchise system. It’s no surprise to me that he was profiled in Black Enterprise, but it does make me proud. I’d like to take this opportunity to send my warmest congratulations, and wish him continued success in the years to come!

To read the entire article, go here:

http://www.onlinedigitalpubs.com/article/Small+Biz/1343765/0/article.html

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  • Edible Arrangements growing staff

One of the great joys of watching this company grow is knowing that we are able to provide so many people with rewarding careers. And here at Edible Arrangements International, we’re growing in leaps and bounds, which really gives us the opportunity to do just that. Earlier this month, we were proud to announce that we’re expanding our corporate staff to more than 150 with the addition of 42 new employees in 2012 and 12 more in the first two months of 2013. Overall, Edible Arrangements plans to hire an additional 75 corporate employees this year.

This is the kind of growth that‘s needed to support our rapidly expanding franchise network of more than 1,100 franchise locations in the U.S. and 14 countries worldwide.

Our 2012 corporate expansion included the addition of three new vice presidents as well as an expanded field support staff for Edible Arrangementsand sister companies, Netsolace Inc., EA Connect and Berry Direct.

In fact, to handle this year’s anticipated expansion, we recently purchased a commercial building adjacent to our Wallingford, Connecticut headquarters, adding an additional 23,057 square-feet of available office space!

There was no doubt in my mind that this was the way to go, and I’m proud to call Wallingford, Connecticut the corporate home of Edible Arrangements International. Simply put, we‘re committed to both the town and the state. Not only is it a great place to live and raise a family, but there is a tremendously talented workforce from which we are able to recruit new employees.

It’s been so gratifying witnessing the tremendous growth of this organization, and I look forward to further growth and more exciting developments in the years to come!

 

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The Hero’s Welcome Mission

  • Veterans Program
  • VetFran Program
Edible Arrangements veteran program

I’m very thankful to the dedicated men and women who serve our country, as is the entire Edible Arrangements International organization. As I discussed a couple of weeks ago, we recognize the employment challenges some veterans may face upon returning home from deployment or after being discharged. That’s part of the reason for instituting Hero’s Welcome.

We have created a two-path program that provides our veterans the opportunity to achieve success, by one of two ways: Owning their own business as an Edible Arrangements franchisee, or working in one of our stores as a contributing team member with a promising career path.

It’s going to take some hard work and strong initiative to make this happen. One thing we certainly will need is a dedicated group of mentors and coaches amongst our current franchisees to help steer the program along and help our candidates achieve success as new Edible Arrangements franchisees or team members.

If you are a veteran and a member of the Edible Arrangements franchise system who feels qualified to provide such mentorship, and you’d like to help us make Hero’s Welcome a reality, please email us at heromentors@edible.com and we will send you additional information!

I’m beyond exciting for this wonderful opportunity to give back to those who have given so much.

Edible Arrangements veteran program

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Helping Veterans Become Business Owners and Enter the Workplace

  • Edible Arrangements
  • IFA
  • International Franchise Association
  • VetFran Program

The brave men and women of our military are the ones who have made it possible for each of us to enjoy the American Dream. I believe it’s our obligation to help those who have sacrificed so much by doing what we can to give them the tools and support to achieve that dream themselves.

Yesterday, Edible Arrangements International announced a major contribution to the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) VetFran program and the launch of “Hero’s Welcome,” a nationwide initiative designed to help veterans become business owners and re-enter the workforce.

Edible Arrangements contributes VetFran Program

We’re going to contribute $125,000 to VetFran, the IFA’s program through which franchise companies help military veterans make the transition to civilian life. In addition, Edible Arrangements will launch its own “Hero’s Welcome” program this year. The program, part of our Edible Cares umbrella initiative to give back, will be designed to provide special support to help veterans become franchisees. It will include specialized training, a franchise fee discount and mentoring from existing Edible Arrangements franchisees who are also veterans. In addition, we’ve set a goal of providing job opportunities and a career path for an additional 1,000 veterans throughout our franchise locations nationwide.

Through the IFA, I’m also participating in a new Veterans Business Accelerator program established by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which will provide free courses and resources for all veterans interested in entrepreneurship, including providing financial support to wounded veterans doing the coursework.

Within the Edible Arrangements system, former veterans already own and operate some of the most successful franchise locations. So I know from personal experience that veterans bring an exceptional level of passion and discipline to their business. I also know that they often face employment challenges once their service to their country is complete.

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Breaking Barriers – One Store at a Time

When I first started Edible Arrangements® in 1999 in a corner of my flower shop in East Haven, I never dreamed that we would have over 1,100 locations in the U.S. and around the world. Like many entrepreneurs just starting out, my first and main concerns were having enough money to stay open and getting customers. Opening a store overseas never even crossed my mind. I was more concerned about keeping my first Edible Arrangements store open and making it a success.

Well, what a difference a few short years make. Like many businesses, growth overseas is a tremendous opportunity to increase awareness of your brand and build your customer base. As a franchisor, opening your concept in a new country is daunting and nerve-racking. For me, finding the right partner to establish and build the Edible Arrangements brand in an international market is the most important decision I can make. Why? Well, I am entrusting the brand image, trade secrets and systems to someone to run with it –basically build the Edible Arrangements brand from scratch and introduce our products to a new market.

One of the first international countries we entered was Saudi Arabia. The person who we sold the rights to open Edible Arrangements in Saudi Arabia is an amazing woman, Nourah Al-Roassais. The first time I met Nourah I knew we found the perfect partner to introduce Edible Arrangements in Saudi Arabia. She had so much energy, enthusiasm and passion –she had the “wow” factor we look for in our international partners. She had everything we needed to make Edible Arrangements very successful, and that is what she has done. She has far surpassed our expectations. I cannot say enough about Nourah. She is probably the most inspiring, courageous person I know, and she not only inspires me and all of us at Edible Arrangements, she also inspires her staff and everyone she comes in contact with. The word ‘no” or ‘cannot’ has no place in her vocabulary. Her positive attitude and can do energy grabs us all. What she has accomplished as a businesswoman and role-model in Saudi Arabia is awe-inspiring.

Nourah is also a perfectionist. I’ve seen a lot of Edible Arrangements stores in the past 11 years. But I tell you, I have never been more blown away by the beauty and design of Edible Arrangements stores than when I visit Saudi Arabia and see Nourah’s stores. Only one word can describe her stores –phenomenal. I included just a few pictures of her stores in this blog for you to see. Nourah has pushed me –pushed all of us at Edible Arrangements -to make us better. Her only concern is making Edible Arrangements amazing. In three short years, Nourah has opened 11 stores and has built a tremendous loyal following. I know she will open many, many more successful stores soon, and keep giving us ideas that we can use to improve the system everywhere.

I just have to let you know the effect she has on people. At the annual Edible Arrangements convention this August, Nourah received the international franchisee of the year award. When Nourah came up to accept the award she received the biggest, loudest standing ovation that I have ever seen at our convention, or anywhere else for that matter. Franchisees wanted their picture taken with her, as did I. She is a true rock-star in our world. Her story and what she has accomplished makes the obstacles that I and others had to overcome seem very small. Thank you, Nourah –for inspiring all of us and making all of us at Edible Arrangements want to work a little harder, fight a little longer and give us a little more –well, a lot more – motivation to just go out and make it happen.

 

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