• Edible Arrangements
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It’s hard to believe we are nearing the end of 2020 and, before we know it, the holidays will be over and we’ll be starting fresh with a new year. If nothing else, 2020 will leave us with plenty of memories — both good and bad.

For us at Edible, we haven’t been immune to the lows brought on by this year. At the same time, we’ve been fortunate to have experienced some of the highest of highs, including sales numbers like we’ve never seen in 21 years of business.

There are many other milestones we’ve achieved this year, and as a result I’ve recently been repeatedly asked by the media and others in the industry: “How did you do it?” The answer is simple. We did it TOGETHER. 

There’s no “I” in “TEAM” 

A successful business is like a champion sports team. The different players on the team depend on each other, challenge each other and ultimately will only achieve their championship dreams if everyone is doing their job effectively. A team made up of all the best players working together toward one common goal is unstoppable. 

It’s taken time to find this perfect combination for us, but the team we have assembled at this point continues to produce incredible results regardless of the challenges put in front of them. I’m fortunate to be surrounded by a group of men and women who are singularly focused on our brand’s mission to “WOW” our customers with everything we do. 

As simple as this mission may be, keeping it at the core of our efforts has resulted in what will be a record-setting year for us despite all odds. As I look back on what has led us to this point in what is a relatively short amount of time, I’m reminded of what a team effort it’s truly been.

It takes an army

Between our nearly 200 corporate team members and our 1,100 franchise locations worldwide, the Edible team is a large and mighty force. With everyone pulling their weight, some amazing things have happened for us this year.

First, you have our HR team. As concerns took over regarding how the pandemic would impact our organization, this group probably had it worst of all as they struggled with how to keep us afloat by potentially having to take away the livelihoods of people they’d grown to love and respect as their colleagues. But thanks to HR Vice President Tom Horn and his team, we not only maintained a majority of our original staff, but we’ve expanded our headquarters team by an impressive 27% since March and plan to grow by another 25% in the coming months. 

A major driving force behind us actually growing our team during this crisis has been our finance department, led by Vice President of Finance Carey Malloy. Without Carey and her team keeping our fiscal affairs in order, we not only would not have been able to grow our team, but we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the profits we’ve seen this year. 

Meanwhile, our innovation and marketing departments have made a perfect team in the face of all this uncertainty. Thanks to Vice President of Innovation Cindy Mockler and her people, the creativity Edible has put forth this year has been unmatched. We’ve launched multiple new product categories this year, including Fresh Produce Boxes, FruitFlowers, Bakeshop, Printible, and Edible Music. And each new launch has made a major splash thanks to Vice President of Marketing Laura Rueckel and her marketing and PR teams. 

And of course we can’t forget the complete 180 we’ve seen from our eCommerce platform in the past year since Somia Farid Silber took over as Vice President of eCommerce. The timing couldn’t have been better for our eCommerce platform to excel like it has, as this aspect of our business has been more essential than ever this year. 

Naturally, implementing so many exciting new innovations and adjusting to the world as it is now meant making a LOT of changes to our standard way of doing business. But transitioning to this “new normal” was seamless under Cheikh Mboup as our President and Chief Operating Officer, with VP of Operations Scott Wakeman and their teams by his side. They worked tirelessly with our franchise network to figure out the best way to respond to all the changes, coordinating with our Vice President of Supply Chain & Berry Direct Jamie Davis to ensure that we had all the resources in place to actually accomplish their grand plans. 

Speaking of franchisees, ours certainly deserve special recognition. Their trust in us and their willingness to adapt to everything this year has thrown at them really blows me away. Not only did they take everything we threw at them in stride, but they went above and beyond, making major, lasting impacts on their local communities all the while.

And best of all, thanks to the tireless work of the team under Patricia Perry, Edible’s Vice President of Development, our global network of passionate and driven franchise owners continues to grow at astounding rates. As of September, we’d signed 63 new franchise agreements this year, and I know this number will pale in comparison to our end-of-year development results. 

Round of applause

Clearly, there are so many individuals I could thank for making our organization what we are today, and a single article doesn’t do them all justice. 

So, after the new year, I’ll be highlighting different members of our Edible team every month on LinkedIn. These people are the real reason why Edible is the company it is today, and they deserve my eternal gratitude and all the applause for their hard work.

You can follow along on LinkedIn by following #EdibleTeamSpotlight. 

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  • American Dream
  • Edible Arrangements
  • employment
  • Holidays
  • Memorial Day
  • Military veterans
  • Philanthropy
  • VetFran Program

With the approach of Memorial Day and all the summer kickoff backyard barbecues and pool parties, I once again want to take a moment to pause and reflect on the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Continue reading “Honoring America’s Heroes on Memorial Day”

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  • children
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  • HUBCAP Wallingford
  • Non-profit support
  • Philanthropy
  • Tariq Farid
  • Tariq Farid donations
  • Tariq Farid Foundation
  • Youth

Through the Tariq Farid Foundation, we have been able to support many different worthwhile organizations. Most recently, we have had the opportunity to team up with the Spanish Community of Wallingford (SCOW), which helps members of the Hispanic community who are experiencing temporary financial setbacks.

Continue reading “Tariq Farid Foundation Aids Families Experiencing Temporary Financial Setbacks”

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  • Edible Arrangements
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  • employment
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  • franchisee
  • Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA).
  • Military veterans
  • Tariq Farid Veterans
  • Veterans Day. VetFran

Meet Manny, one of Edible Arrangements’® amazing franchisees.

Manny is a compassionate man with a big heart who seems to have non-stop energy! He also is one of the many military veterans who have become successful Edible Arrangements franchisees.

Manny is originally from a factory town, Lorain, Ohio, where “it was expected that after graduation from high school, you would go work in a factory. That’s just what people did.”

After high school, however, Manny found himself in Vietnam as a member of the 101st Airborne combat infantry. Once his service to his country had ended, he enrolled at California State University Northridge where he earned a BA in Communications. After a successful career as a headhunter, he established his own business and grew it to an $8 million company prior to selling it and retiring.

Manny was not content to stay still for long, however, and soon began considering yet another career path! Franchising caught his attention as a great way to get back into business and he began researching various franchises ranging from Subway to ebay. Then, one day in 2005, he saw an arrangement from Edible Arrangements for the first time.

“I was truly WOWED,” Manny remembers. “I now know that Edible Arrangements’ goal is to WOW people and when I saw the product that was exactly my reaction!”

Manny opened his first Edible Arrangements store in 2007 in Victorville, California, a somewhat isolated area in the high desert. “I was planning on working at the store a few times a week, but then when the economic downturn happened in 2008, that was not an option,” he said.

Manny ended up working every day to grow his business and protect his investment during tough times. His main focus was on marketing and WOWING people with Edible Arrangements’ visually stunning arrangements.

As a result, he began to interact with his local community as never before. Not only was he successful in growing his business despite the difficult economy, but he found that he truly loved being engaged with the community. And he found himself getting more and more involved.

He has served or now serves on numerous boards of area non-profits and business organizations, including the State of California’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club, Victor Valley Medical Center Foundation, Adelanto and HD Hispanic Chambers. Edible Arrangements is one of the major sponsors for The Phoenix Foundation, which pays funeral costs for victims of tragedies, and Manny is Executive Director of his local Boys and Girls Club of Victor Valley. This year the High Desert Hispanic Chamber of Commerce representing the Inland Empire recognized Manny’s Edible Arrangements store and awarded him the “Small Business of the Year Award. The Visionaries and Leaders Organization also recognized Manny as one of the 10 most influential people in the High Desert during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Manny has now opened his second Edible Arrangements store in San Gabriel, California.

To what does he attribute his success?

“I have great parents,” he says. “And my family and the military.”

Manny says that he would not be the person he is today without the guidance, love and support of his parents and his family. And he says he would not have achieved the business success he has enjoyed if not for the leadership and other training he received from the military

“We are leaders,” Manny says of his fellow military veterans. “We are persistent and tenacious. We’ve gone through the worst, so we can handle the rest. All of my military training and experience has helped me get through this—all of the ups and downs with my business due to the economy. If you have been trained well, even when things go wrong or fear strikes, your training takes over and you will make it. These qualities have helped me successfully grow my Edible Arrangements stores.”

As a result, “my life has far exceeded my dreams,” says Manny.

On this Veteran’s Day, don’t forget that Edible Arrangements is providing a way for you to salute the men and women like Manny who served in our military. Through tomorrow we will donate $1 for each Edible Pop sold to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the first and largest organization for new veterans and their families. These funds will assist in employment support programs including the creation of a tool kit for Edible Arrangements franchisees to locate and hire qualified veterans across the U.S.

 

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  • Edible Arrangements
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  • Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA).
  • Military veterans
  • Tariq Farid Veterans
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  • Veterans Day. VetFran

As I wrote about earlier this week, Edible Arrangements has forged a partnership with an amazing and esteemed organization that provides support and services to the 2.8 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan — the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA).

The organization’s founder and Executive Director, Paul Rieckhoff, is a veteran (and an all-around amazing person) who has built an organization that works tirelessly to improve the lives of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families.

Edible Arrangements’ partnership with the IAVA will allow us to significantly expand our efforts to recruit and employ veterans. At the same time, we want to raise awareness from coast to coast about how veterans make ideal employees, small business owners and franchisees, and show how businesses like Edible Arrangements can help.

Additionally, we have donated $15,000 to IAVA and have a goal to raise an additional $50,000 through sales of our Edible Pops™.

On Thursday, employees from the Edible Arrangements corporate office visited VA hospitals at locations across the nation. We handed out Edible Pops and spent time chatting with the veterans and having a good time. It was out way of showing we care and we appreciate the sacrifices they made for all of us.

Many of the veterans we visited were from earlier wars and were older. Many had health problems. Yet, they were so happy to have visitors and an opportunity to chat. They appreciated our time and, of course, the Edible Pops! These veterans really touched my heart, and the hearts of all employees who took part in these visits.

Veteran’s Day is Tuesday and I hope you will join us in doing something nice for these men and women who have given so much — for they are true our heroes. As you can see from these photos of our visits, everyone comes out a winner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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