Auntie Anne’s is the largest hand rolled soft pretzel franchise in the world.
It all started in 1988 when ‘Auntie’ Anne Beiler started selling handmade pretzels and fresh lemonade at a Pennsylvania farmer’s market. Fast forward to 2024, and Auntie Anne’s has over 2000 stores spanning 30+ countries worldwide.
So, what makes us world famous? Our pretzels, and for good reason - they are the best! Every single Auntie Anne’s Pretzel is made from scratch on site and is sold within 30 minutes of coming out of the oven. This guarantee allows us to be completely confident in our product.
Our menu has developed in recent years to include an extended range of on-the-go portable snacks with a variety of sweet and savoury options, hot and cold drinks, gelato, and innovative concepts such as pretzel pizzas and breakfast buns.
Auntie Anne’s worldwide is owned by Focus Brands Inc based in Atlanta USA, owner and operator of seven global food brands - over 6000 retail bakeries, cafes, restaurants and ice cream shops. Focus Brands are a leading developer of global, multi-channel food service brands and the international team has taken 40 different brands to over 60 countries.
Auntie Anne’s has ambitious plans for significant growth across the UK and internationally.
Auntie Anne’s franchise opportunity
We’re looking for fantastic franchisees who have the perfect mix of staff and retail management, who are operationally focused and passionate about the brand to turn these simple ingredients into a great business.
Our stores are currently situated inside shopping centres and travel hubs.. Our models include:
- Inline store design - A traditional in-line unit within a shopping centre can host seating and a full shop set-up including ice cream cabinet, coffee machine and chiller. Typically these stores range from 300 -500sq ft.
- Kiosk design - A kiosk can benefit from maximum exposure of customers who can walk 360 around the store. These stores only need 100-150sq ft and therefore we can be flexible with the design to suit the space available.
Key benefits
- Strong reputation with UK landlords
- Strong profit margin - a chance to earn between 10-20% EBITDA on average per year.
- Very competitive gross margin - there are not many food businesses where you can expect to operate with a Gross Margin in the region of 75-80%.
- Turnkey solution - full project management for opening your new store.
- A fun and satisfying work place - everyone knows the smell of freshly baked bread is something that can ignite strong cravings and desires in most people!
Our support
At Auntie Anne’s we work continuously to provide the best support for our franchisees in a number of ways:
HEAD OFFICE
The Head Office team contain all the skill-sets to, not only support you, but also show you the ways to run a profitable business. Combined, we have over 50 years’ experience in franchising. Our operations team contains ex food and beverage managers and franchisees who know how to professionally run a food business.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Our network is supported by a one-stop shop supply chain who facilitate all of our stores and products. This means all your food products, packaging, cleaning products and smallwares can be ordered in a single place at competitive commercial rates.
FOCUS BRANDS
Auntie Anne’s worldwide is owned by Focus Brands Inc, a leading developer of global, multi-channel food service brands and the international team has taken 40 different brands to over 60 countries. They support their brands in a number of ways including operational best practices, research and innovation and professional marketing assets and campaigns.
TRAINING
Every franchisee must complete a thorough training course which takes place at the Head Office and in your store once built. This course takes you through operations training, marketing, HR and general business practices. We have a fully equipped training kitchen at our Head Office meaning your pretzel rolling skills will be perfected by the time your store is ready to open!
The investment
Set out here are the expected start up costs for an Auntie Anne’s Franchise. These are liable to change based on the type of store you have and equipment options, such as whether you have a coffee machine, ice cream cabinet etc.
- Initial franchise fee - £18K
- Equipment - £35-£50K
- Construction - £55-£100K
- Total investment - £145K - £200K
We also advise you have some working capital. You will need to invest at least £50,000 of your own capital (the rest could be funded through the bank).
Ideal Partner
We’re looking for fantastic franchisees who are operationally focused and passionate about the brand to turn these simple ingredients into a great business. No hospitality experience required.
Interested in Auntie Anne's?
Contact Basil Samaan
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