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.
What an honor that Edible Arrangements has been named to Inc. Magazine’s “10 Promising Franchises for 2011”! I feel genuinely privileged to be able to work with the fine people who make Edible Arrangements work so well for so many. Our amazing franchisees have turned this concept into the popular holiday and everyday products their customers want, and by doing such a great job making customers happy every day, they have made Edible Arrangements a truly successful franchise! Of course, I also want to recognize a hard-working corporate staff that does so much to support our franchisees on a daily basis – with the technical assistance, marketing materials and operational excellence that enable them to run their stores seamlessly. Thanks also to Inc. Magazine for their recognition of our franchise, and congratulations to the other franchises recognized by Inc this year. It is truly an honor to be acknowledged this way, and a tribute to the exceptional people in our organization who make it work seven days a week! Here’s what Inc. Magazine has to say about Edible Arrangements:(http://www.inc.com/ss/10-most-promising-franchises-2011#5)
“Edible Arrangements, as its name implies, sells hand-sculpted fresh-fruit arrangements. The company, which began franchising back in 2001, has grown remarkably well over the last 10 years. In fact, it recently signed its 1,000th new store franchise agreement. In 2010, Edible Arrangements opened 84 stores in the U.S., and plans to open several more stores—from Massachusetts to Mumbai—in the next several months. ‘We started franchising in 2001 and the continuous growth of Edible Arrangements has been very exciting,’ said founder and CEO Tariq Farid, in a statement. ‘Our proven franchise system, healthful high-quality products, and our franchisees are the keys to our success.’”
Edible Arrangements has been recognizable for its fresh fruit creations since its inception in 1999. Now, the brand is adding a layer with the launch of a quick-service concept called Edible To Go.
Edible To Go was officially introduced in February and features a “grab and go” menu including fruit salads, “Fruithies” (fresh fruit smoothies), FruSundaes, chocolate dipped fruit, parfaits, and natural, freshly-squeezed fruit beverages.
As its sister brand centers on special occasion fruit bouquets often ordered ahead of time (walk-in orders have recently been accepted), Edible To Go is a quick and simple extension of that business and was inspired by a confluence of trends, including an increased demand for healthier food and faster service.
“Consumers are on the go all the time, and they want healthy alternatives when it comes to reaching for a snack or a beverage,” said CEO Tariq Farid. “Unlike other (chains) that would have to introduce fresh fruit to their menus, fruit is the staple of our business. We wanted a menu for grab-and-go items to complement our line of arrangements.”
Adding convenience to speed, the company has focused on opening the cobranded stores at malls and other high-visibility, high-foot traffic areas. These nontraditional locations also generate increased interest in the brands.
“As we grew and evolved our product line, we knew that attracting customers to our actual storefronts was important so they could see our products, sample them and have an amazing shopping experience with us,” Farid said. “These high traffic areas are perfect for the new concept.”
The two brands have different marketing strategies and logos. However, they (for now) coexist under the same roof and pull from each other’s strengths – Edible To Go benefits from its parent company’s brand power, while Edible Arrangements is starting to see new business.
“Being in the quick-serve business has taught us more about providing better, faster service to our Edible Arrangements customers and allowed us to reach new customers,” Farid said. “Our existing customers expect premium quality fruit, so leveraging our fruit expertise into the quick-service concept was a natural progression for our business.”
Such progression came after extensive testing by the research and development team, which experimented with a range of products for the QSR market and eventually decided on all-natural items that don’t stray too far from the original Edible Arrangements concept.
“We settled on the current product line because it stays true to our fresh fruit heritage, yet still offers an exciting variety of snacks and beverages,” Farid said.
Edible Arrangements’ growth led to new concept’s launch
The timing for Edible To Go’s launch was influenced in large part to Edible Arrangements’ overall growth. The company recently turned in its most successful Mother’s Day week to date and recorded another double-digit increase in systemwide sales compared to the same period last year.
Such accomplishments have also provided momentum for an aggressive expansion – the company plans on opening 150 new locations by the end of 2011, and another 200 locations in 2012. These new units will be a cross between standalone Edible Arrangements and those that are co-branded with the To Go concept.
Edible Arrangements began franchising in 2001 and now includes nearly 1,000 locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Italy, Turkey, Hong Kong and Jordan.
The new Edible To Go is already offered in the Middle East with “great success,” according to Farid, and is set to grow in Asia and South America.
“Right now, we have great momentum with numerous new store openings on the horizon and are looking to use this success to continue to build the brands,” said Farid. “People all over the world celebrate with food and fresh fruit is a universal language. The Edible Arrangements and Edible To Go concepts are complementary and work beautifully together.”
Tana opened her first store at 5501 N 7th Avenue in Phoenix (602-265-8600)after learning about Edible Arrangements through a relative in California. She has just signed an agreement to open a second store in Phoenix. Tana previously worked for a Bio Tech company as DNA researcher. Her favorite arrangement is the Chocolate Banana Bouquet.
Jude and Gwendolyn, EA franchisees since August of 2007 currently own two Edible Arrangements stores, one at 20669 West Lake Houston Parkway, Suite E in Humble, Texas (281-852-1335) and another at 225 Main St in Houston (713-247-0700). They have recently signed an agreement to expand their business enterprise by opening four additional stores: two more in Houston, one in Baytown, and one in Pasadena, Texas.
What an honor that Edible Arrangements has been named to Inc. Magazine’s “10 Promising Franchises for 2011”! I feel genuinely privileged to be able to work with the fine people who make Edible Arrangements work so well for so many. Our amazing franchisees have turned this concept into the popular holiday and everyday products their customers want, and by doing such a great job making customers happy every day, they have made Edible Arrangements a truly successful franchise! Of course, I also want to recognize a hard-working corporate staff that does so much to support our franchisees on a daily basis – with the technical assistance, marketing materials and operational excellence that enable them to run their stores seamlessly. Thanks also to Inc. Magazine for their recognition of our franchise, and congratulations to the other franchises recognized by Inc this year. It is truly an honor to be acknowledged this way, and a tribute to the exceptional people in our organization who make it work seven days a week! Here’s what Inc. Magazine has to say about Edible Arrangements:(http://www.inc.com/ss/10-most-promising-franchises-2011#5)
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