The world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops, Baskin-Robbins, is seeking entrepreneurs in Canada who want to serve up fun, not just ice cream.
This global ice cream franchise has more than 7,500 locations and serves 300 million customers a year their favorite ice cream flavours from a library of more than 1,200 flavour creations. The brand is looking to recruit ice cream lovers who are interested in owning and operating a new or existing Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in Canada, where the brand has more than 40 years of heritage and nearly 100 ice cream shops open throughout the country.
“We have tremendous opportunity for growth in the Canadian provinces and with more than six decades of experience refining our business system, Baskin-Robbins offers a fun, rewarding new business opportunity to franchisees,” said Grant Benson, CFE, vice president of global franchising and business development, Dunkin’ Brands. “As our brand continues to develop, we are looking for entrepreneurs in Canada with strong financial backgrounds and a passion for their local communities to own their very own ice cream shop in the Toronto area, as well as other territories throughout the country.”
Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by two ice cream enthusiasts who shared a dream to create an innovative ice cream store that would be a neighborhood gathering place for families. Today, it is a globally franchised organization and one of the leading brands for hard serve ice cream in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) category in the United States. Baskin-Robbins started with 31 flavours – one for each day of the month – but has broadened its offerings over the years to reflect its current slogan, “More Flavors. More Fun.” In addition to its expansive ice cream library, many of its ice cream shops offer a full array of frozen treats including ice cream cakes, frozen beverages and sundaes.
A Network of Passionate Owners
As a franchise, Baskin-Robbins relies heavily on its individual store owners to expand the brand around the world. A lot of care goes into selecting the right franchisee for the business. So, it’s not surprising that part of the criteria for ownership is passion for the Baskin-Robbins brand.
“Canadian franchisee, Laury Hollend, is an example of someone who exemplifies passion for Baskin-Robbins,” added Benson. “He has grown up in the Baskin-Robbins family and has been an innovative, committed owner, since the day he joined the shop in Toronto, purchased by his parents Phil and Anna Hollend and his uncle Norman Hollend.”
Hollend has been a franchisee with Baskin-Robbins since 1983. He was recruited straight out of university to become a general manager of the store. Then, he became a business partner, and eventually bought out his parents and his uncle to own the store outright. Laury Hollend now has four locations in Toronto, Thornhill and Peterborough, Ontario. One of those locations was an existing shop he purchased with his business partner of other Kernels Popcorn locations, Sako Ghazarian, and the other three were new stores. For the resale location, he liked the challenge of taking an existing store and turning it around.
“One of my locations was an underperforming shop that I decided to purchase. It was a great opportunity to expand in my territory and take a store that was struggling and grow the business exponentially,” said Hollend.
Hollend is a natural problem-solver. His Baskin-Robbins mall location, at the Promenade Mall in Thornhill, was positioned adjacent to a Kernels Popcorn. One day, he noticed that families would stand in front of his Baskin-Robbins and Kernels Popcorn and decide who wanted popcorn and who wanted ice cream. He instantly thought, “What a great concept to sell both brands under the same roof.” So, 11 years ago, he pursued special permission to own both brands and co-brand at his street-front location. And, now, he’s not the only franchisee in Canada to co-brand with Kernels Popcorn. Others have teamed up with the popular popcorn shop to bring salty and sweet treats to customers.
As a long-time franchisee, Hollend says that running his own business and not being tied to a desk job is the best part of being an owner. “This was right up my alley,” he added. “In addition, you really get out what you put into the business. An active, positive franchisee can earn endless opportunities.”
To become a Baskin-Robbins franchisee, the company requires liquid assets totaling at least $100,000 per restaurant and a minimum net worth of $250,000 per restaurant. The Baskin-Robbins business model allows franchisees to enjoy convenient hours of operation, requires minimal equipment, and benefits from the fact that its inventory has a long shelf life with proper storage. Franchisees also benefit from award-winning training programs and comprehensive operating systems designed to help franchisees run their business.
To learn more about franchise opportunities in Canada, please contact Brian Savage at [email protected] or (847) 341-7619 or visit www.baskinrobbinsfranchising.com. For existing Baskin-Robbins locations for sale, visit: http://restaurantsforsale.dunkinbrands.com/.
*This material is not an offer of a franchise, which is subject to the receipt of a Franchise Disclosure Document.