Friday, March 4, 2011

How is "Freshii" a high performing organization today?

As of last month, Freshii has shown a growing trend in franchising that has surpassed that of Subway restaurants, and even those of McDonald's and Starbucks, as early as the opening of the chain's first 100 restaurants.


This is significant because purchasing a franchise means keeping attuned to the demands of the public. Restaurants often fail when the public is no longer interested in the food they offer. Therefore, Freshii succeeded in tapping on a growing market of people who prefer healthy eating with the benefit of fast-food expedience.


According to the founder of the franchise, Matthew Corrin, Freshii, which is based out of Canada, not only looked into the healthy-eating population as a starting point for demographics as potential customers. It also looked into the entrepreneurial trends of investors who are willing to put money into fast-food endeavors that follow a current zeitgeist known as the "Chipotle Effect." This is a powerful and ongoing trend that shows people avidly seeking the same calorie and fresh-food options provided traditionally in a resturant model such as Subway's, but for totally different kinds of meals.


What Chipotle did was offer one of the most popular foods consumed by Americans, Mexican, and serve it using the Subway's restaurants' customized "made to order" format. They also offer fresh ingredients just like Subway's restaurants do. This business model tapped into the fitness-savvy and calorie conscious consumer demographics as well. Those factors that made Chipotle so successful were the inspiration behind the creation of the Freshii brand.


According to an article on CNBC by Uptin Saiidi, Freshii founders looked into the Chipotle consumer behavior to decide upon what Freshii will offer, and that these points of consideration are the secret of the franchise's success. 


All this being said, in terms of supply and demand, model of operation, and attention to trends, Freshii can certainly be considered to be quite successful. It has obviously caught the attention of consumers, as well as the attention of entrepreneurs that wish to make Freshii their business. The current popularity of the brand is causing for it to expand across Canada, and the trend seems to continue to grow as of today. 


The growth of Freshii is also successful in terms of how the CEO and financial investors studied how Freshii will be branded and expanded.


First, they chose to follow the Starbucks model of operating either on separate buildings, or within other business' buildings. As a result, Freshii franchises operate inside Canadian Target stores offering food options there. They also partner with fitness centers.


Second, they are going global offering meal box options to ship around the world. This is a cheaper franchise opportunity for potential entrepreneurs who still want to sell the brand without having to find a brick-and-mortar location to branch out of. 


Third, they are copying Chipotle's creative marketing methods, going as far as appearing in TV shows like Undercover Boss, and writing open, combative letters to McDonald's challenging them to offer healthy food items. 


However, there is always a danger of over-saturation. If Freshii allows for too many franchises to open, chances are that the public may or may not feel the same urgency in obtaining the much coveted healthy product that they want. This, however, will be a question of time and whether they can sustain the interest across their consumer demographics. So far, however, Freshii seems to be in full power and its diversification may mean more customers worldwide. 

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