Archive for February, 2008
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(FranchisePick.Com) Related: Cena Meal Prep Franchise Claims Business is Booming, Cena Meal Prep Franchise by the Numbers
When other “meal prep” or “meal assembly kitchen” franchises seem concerned with holding on to what they’ve got, meal prep franchise Cena is planning to increase corporate revenue by 20% in 2008. Cena Franchising Founder Tammy Badinger plans to open 7 new franchise locations in the next month, and 17 total this year. Cena’s founder claims they know how to get customers in the door, and maximize their revenue by offering a variety of options, according to an article (Meal-prep chain serves up success) in the Spokane Journal:
Badinger states Cena should outperform the industry.
She states that Cena stores have profit centers that in some cases bring in as much revenue as the meals themselves, making the franchises unique in the industry. Those profit centers include full wine shops, bakery products, side dishes, and facility rentals.
Cena even sells its own signature coffee, an all-organic, free-trade blend roasted here by 4 Seasons Coffee Co., of Spokane. The coffee is fresh roasted to order for each Cena outlet.
Badinger says Cena prides itself on its selection of “a tiny better wines at very competitive prices,” and franchisees are encouraged to help customers pair wines with meals.
Cena outlets also can serve wine in the stores, so customers can sample wine as they put meals together.
Cena facilities can be rented for private celebrations, Badinger states. Corporations sometimes use a facility as a new twist on an office party, or as a team-building exercise.
“When you’re done, you’ve something to take home,” Badinger says.
She says franchisees also are encouraged to hold special events such as local wine tastings.
The events, she adds, aren’t very profitable, but introduce potential customers to the Cena concept.
“Our forte is getting people in the door,” she says. “Cena is a fun place to be. You can have a glass of wine and get some work done.”
…In addition to having customers put together meals themselves at the stores, Cena also offers a service, called Gourmet to Go, in which it prepares meals for customers to pick up, and that segment of the chain’s business is growing, Badinger says.
Read the entire article.
Are you familiar with the Cena or the Cena franchise? Can this schoolteacher - who franchised within a year of opening - succeed where others are struggling? Leave a comment; share your thoughts.
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(FranchisePick.Com) Despite reports of slowing sales, franchisees in distress and the cooling of the “meal assembly kitchen” franchise before it finished preheating, the founders of meal prep franchise Cena are bullish on growth, according to this article in the Spokane Journal:
Meal-prep chain serves up success
Spokane-based Cena has sold franchise rights for 33 outlets
What began here as a single meal-preparation store on the North Side in 2004 has quietly become a fast-growing franchisor with 23 outlets in 17 U.S. states and one Canadian provinceTami Badinger, who owns the company, called Cena Franchising Inc., with her husband, Bruce, says the couple always planned to create something more than a single store.
We knew from the moment we thought of it, we wanted to franchise,” she states.
The following year, they sold their first franchise, to a couple in Elk Grove, Calif.
Now, with 22 franchise openings plus the original store under their belts, the Badingers plan to expand further, despite industry projections for slow growth in their niche. Seven Cena outlets are expected to open across the U.S. within the next month or so, and franchise rights have been sold for four other new stores, bringing the total number of franchises the company has sold to 33.
In all, Cena Franchising anticipates to open about 17 franchise outlets this year, Badinger states, giving it a total of 40 outlets. Read the entire article.
Are you familiar with the Cena or the Cena franchise? Can this schoolteacher - who franchised within a year of opening - succeed where others are struggling? Leave a comment; share your thoughts.
Tags: , CENA, cena franchise, franchise, franchising, MAK franchise, meal assembly franchise, MEAL PREP franchise
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Out of the Gate: Endo Pharma shares rise
CNBC - This should mitigate some of the current investor concerns and rally Endo shares.” Endo now anticipates to earn $2.18 to $2.22 per share on $1.23 billion to $1.25 billion in revenue, up from a range of $2.10 to $2.15 per share on $1.22 billion to $1.24
Oil up near $99, Turkish incursion supports
Reuters - Oil’s March contract hit a record high of $101.32 on Wednesday, taking it near its all-time inflation-adjusted high of $102.53 hit in April 1980, boosted by a tide of investor cash chasing commodities as a safer investment option at a time of rising
Companies must give more details of exec pay
The Province - When an investor is looking at buying or selling [a company’s shares], this is an important input.” The new rules largely mirror changes already adopted in the United Says, where critics have lashed out at skyrocketing executive pay.
Solar sector set to shine through credit crunch
Reuters - This year will be a very volatile year,” said Sven Hansen, chief investment officer at clean technology investor Good Energies, which has about 7 billion Swiss francs ($6.38 billion) under management.
Parent of Palmyra company might end up for sale
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Steel Partners II LP, controlled by investor Warren G. Lichtenstein, proposed an acquisition of EnPro last June. But EnPro’s board rejected the idea, saying the company could obtain greater long-term value through its own acquisitions and investment
ThermoGenesis Corp. Announces Voluntary Recall of Selected Lots of AXP
Forbes - Investor Relations +1-916-858-5107, or ir@thermogenesis.com SOURCE ThermoGenesis Corp.
Company Profile for Music Shine Media, LLC
Forbes - Terence Fitzgerald Investor Relations Contact: Michael Rudy Phone: 425-922-0556 Email: michael@musicshinemedia.com Artistic Director Contact:
F.N.B. Corporation Executives to Present at Bank Investor Conferences
Forbes - HERMITAGE, Pa., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), a diversified financial services company, this day announced that Stephen J. Gurgovits, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation, and Brian F. Lilly
Russia’s UES starts taking bids for TGK-6 stake
Reuters - At the same time as the sale of the government stake, TGK-6 is holding a public offering for 31.2 percent of its shares, giving a strategic investor the chance to buy control of the firm, which provides heat and power to five regions in central Russia
Coldplay said to be releasing on EMI
Reuters UK - The album will be a key test for private-equity investor Guy Hands, who led a 3.2 billion pound buyout of EMI last year. He swiftly unnerved musicians by looking for ways to trim the fat in an industry known for its wanton excess and loss-making deals
Acrongenomics to Present at Leading Global Investor and Partnering
Forbes - Acrongenomics, Inc. (OTCBB:AGNM), this day announced that Mr. Patrick Gontard, Business Development Associate, will be presenting at the Sachs Associates 7th Annual North America Forum for Investing and Partnering in Biotech in Boston. The Company will
RevenueShares Investor Services Launches New Line of ETF Offerings
Forbes - “For investors using an S&P Index as a benchmark, RevenueShares ETFs deliver the benefits of a passively managed index investment with the upside potential of weighting the S&P Indexes by revenue,” explains RevenueShares Investor Services’ President
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Odinga In Nigeria, Meets Obasanjo -230208
Nigeria Guardian - The new investor, they agreed, must be a player in the telecommunications industry with requisite focus, technical expertise, managerial experience and financial ability to take over the controlling share of both organisations.
Sector Glance: Telecom
Boston Globe - NEW YORK— After two days of declines amid investor fears over growing price competition and the economic slowdown, shares of AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. inched slightly higher Thursday. Shares of both fell sharply in the past couple
Celebrity mom knows ideal (or how to dress your baby)
The Independent - Celebrity dad designers are somewhat rarer, even though Bon Jovi’s drummer Tico Torres has his own baby products company called Rock Star Baby, and Martin Sheen is an investor in the childrenswear company Jackson Clay, which has links to his family.
Staktek Holdings, Inc. to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2007
Forbes - In addition, the live audio conference call, a replay will be available on the investor relations section of the company’s web site at http://www.staktek.com.
Investor pursues Furniture Brands
Winston-Salem Journal - Get the latest news from Washington, D.C. A Florida private-investment group is trying to do what was once inconceivable - become the owner of Lexington Home Brands and Thomasville Furniture Industries Inc. Furniture Brands International Inc., the
Balance portfolio in volatile market
Economic Times - The first step in designing an investment portfolio is to identify the investment objective and risk tolerance of the investor. The investment objective could be funds to buy a home, savings for retirement, saving for children’s education
Northern Rock: Has Alistair Darling bitten off more than he has the ability to chew?
Times On the internet - There will be less sympathy for speculators, such as Jon Wood, the hedge-fund investor, who piled in late, hoping to make a large profit. But Wood might still have the last laugh by launching a judicial review.
UPDATE 1-Motorola names private equity exec as CFO
Reuters - The company is also under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns a 5 percent stake in Motorola and states breaking up the company could unlock more value for shareholders.
Mosaic has perfect formula for growth
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Even a novice investor noticed something uncommon about Mosaic Inc. last year: For a huge company, it grew — by a lot. The Plymouth-based fertilizer giant defied gravity as its stock price soared 342 percent, enriching its shareholders as it topped
SKorean shares lower after bleak US data - UPDATE
Forbes - Investor sentiment is changing literally day by day, and that is because they don’t have any confidence in future market direction, which we usually see in a bearish market,’ stated Kang Moon-Sung, analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
iBasis Initiates Investor Relations Campaign
Forbes - iBasis (NASDAQ: IBAS), a KPN affiliate, this day announced plans to initiate an investor relations campaign designed to introduce the company to prospective new investors in Europe and the U.S. The company has posted its updated investor presentation on
Loan restrictions amount to a kind of redlining
Baltimore Sun - The upscale residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., where Fannie Mae , another mortgage investor, has its headquarters was rated at an elevated risk of C.
Nasdaq plans blank-check company listing standards
Reuters - We believe that listing them on Nasdaq, subject to these important investor protections, will benefit investors and issuers.” Continued
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Records fall as investor inflows gather speed - Financial Times
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(FranchisePick.Com) The bankrupt Pure Weight Loss (formerly LA Weight Loss) chain and owner, Vahan Karian, who left thousands of former members and employees without hundreds of thousands of dollars in services, products, refunds and paychecks is due in court March 14. FranchisePick.com contributor Sue wrote:
I just received a notice from Bankruptcy Court regarding the case of PWL [Pure Weight Loss]. There will be a “Meeting of Creditors” at 10 am, March 14th at the William J. Green Federal Building in Philadelphia (600 Arch St., 2nd floor conference room, 10:00 am).
I don’t know if I have the ability to make it (don’t have to attend if I file my complaint by mail) but I think it would be great to go if I could get a bunch of their “creditors” (that’s US) to be there to face this shmoe down!
Anyone want to come to Philly??
If you are owed money by Pure Weight Loss, you should file a claim form through the bankruptcy court. Click here for Pure Weight Loss Bankruptcy information and forms.
Road Trip Idea: Why not come to Philadelphia for the Pure Weight Loss Creditor’s Meeting on the 14th and stay over ’til St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th? We can throw a Pure Blarney Party & I’ll teach you all the acclaimed Sean Kelly Corned Beef & Guinness Diet. We’ll invite Vahan Karian (A fine Irish lad) along and get him to run out on the tab. I hear Vahan sings a version of Danny Boy so sweet it could bring tears to yer glass eye.
Tags: bankruptcy, LA WEIGHT LOSS, meeting of creditors, PURE WEIGHT LOSS, vahan karian, weight loss franchise, weight loss scam
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Giants’ Rowand disappointed that Phillies considered him a long-term
Philadelphia Daily News - The fact that he isn’t doesn’t mean that there were good guys and bad guys. Just that there was a difference of how much of an investment the Phillies were willing to make.
Asia-Pacific research networking boosted by new €18 million
PublicTechnology.net - Collaboration between researchers in the Asia-Pacific region and their peers across the globe has been extended by an €18 million investment in the new TEIN3 high speed research and education network from the European Union and its Asian partners
Activision to Present at Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium
MSN MoneyCentral - Activision, Inc. ATVI this day announced that Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO of Activision Inc., will be presenting at the Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium 2008 Conference on Tuesday, February 26th at 11:40 a.m. (PST) at The Venetian in
Japanese stocks lower on renewed fears about US economy
International Herald Tribune - Moves in the Japanese economy are slowing down for now due to the weakness in housing investment,” he told a Lower Home fiscal and financial panel.
Nasdaq Goes After Blank Checks
Blackenterprise.com - Clearly Nasdaq views this as a product that has legs and is contemplating structural changes in the product to provide for a longer period of investment, he added.
Local hoteliers plan huge expansion in India
Greenville News - In addition, officials with JHM and Interstate stated they’ll invest in U.K.-based Duet India Hotels Ltd., a real estate investment fund dedicated to investing in India.
Consumer crunch benefits Wal-Mart
St. Petersburg Times - Citi Investment Research analyst Deborah Weinswig stated Wal-Mart’s “low-price message” resonates superior with consumers, who are trying to scale back on spending and get the most for their dollar.
Amsterdam shares TFN at a glance outlook
CNN Money - of institutional investors (IVBN) says ’shocked and amazed’ by allegations of fraud in various real estate transactions (FD) COMPANY NEWS -KPN states will begin previously announced 1 bln eur share buyback today -Wereldhave FY direct investment result
RUXX investment index set to open 2.63% up
RIA Novosti - MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s investment index will open Friday at 877.12 points, up 2.63% following Thursday evening’s sessions on major world trading floors. The Russian Industrial Leaders Index (RUXX) is a composite economic index
Marriages spell big bucks for dotcoms
Hindustan Times - Once confined to ‘pundits’, match-making has moved on to the virtual world and has become a booming business, attracting investment not only from domestic companies and funds but even from US world wide web giant Yahoo.
A credit-card substitute
Baltimore Sun - And the company raised almost $72 million in venture capital investment last quarter, the biggest take in the state and the seventh largest in the country.
Chinese Mills Reject Rio’s Ore Price Push, People State (Update3)
Bloomberg - It’s inconceivable to me that they couldn’t achieve some higher outcome,” Ken West , who helps manage the equivalent of $2.8 billion at Perennial Investment Partners Ltd. including Rio shares, said by phone from Melbourne.
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Man faces sentencing in big investment scam targeting seniors
Modesto Bee - William Miller had dreamed of traveling to Italy with his wife and fixing up their modest house with the money he had saved while working for 36 years for Chevron Corp. Instead, he lost $450,000 - half of his retirement nest egg - after investing
Brazil Became Net Creditor for First Time in January (Update2)
Bloomberg - Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) — Brazil, the world’s largest emerging-market debtor for decades, became a net foreign creditor for the first time in January. International reserves, swelled by record exports of agricultural commodities, oil and investment
KBS Real Estate Investment Trust buys Billerica office park
Boston Business Journal - KBS Real Estate Investment Trust acquired a 285,772 square-foot office park for $45.2 million, or about $158 per square foot. The seller’s name was not disclosed. The property, called Rivertech Park, is located in Billerica, Mass., and is fully
Catch in Northern Rock nationalization
CNBC - Shareholders are angry that they’ll receive either very tiny or nothing for their investment under the proposed nationalization structure.
Bahrain’s Gulf Intl Bank affirmed as capital increase balances
CNBC - The bank wrote down 965.7 mln usd in structured investment vehicles (SIVs), residential mortgage-backed collateralized debt obligations, and other structured assets, resulting in a net loss of 757.3 mln usd in 2007.
ITEX CEO to Present at Roth Capital Conference
Forbes - A primary interest of the attendees is revenue growth and cash flow - key metrics which define a business’s success and potential interest by the investment community.
New Keywords for Japanese Market
Donga.com - The Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) released Thursday a report examining changes in the Japanese market. The report titled “The trend in the Japanese consumer market and its implications” said, “While going through a cycle of
British PM calls for outward Europe
CNBC - As France and Germany try to block EU efforts to break up national energy monopolies that EU regulators state keep prices high and curb needed investment, Brown put himself forward as a free market advocate.
Chelsea losses: Abramovich spend tops £500m
Daily Telegraph - The latest loss, while some way short of the record £140m announced by Chelsea in 2004/2005, takes owner Roman Abramovich’s total investment in the club to an eye-watering £578m since he purchased the club in a £140m deal in 2003.
First Industrial up on 2008 guidance
CNBC - NEW YORK - Shares of First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. climbed Thursday a day after the real estate investment trust offered 2008 guidance that handily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. Shares of the Chicago-based REIT rose $1.46, or 4.6 percent
The Hartford Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.53 Per Share
MSN MoneyCentral - The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; car and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance.
Sector Snap: Dialysis Providers
Boston Globe - UBS Investment Research analyst Justin Lake reaffirmed a “Neutral” rating with a $59 price target on Davita, saying Congress will likely have to work to fill some of the unknown factors in the proposal, including the focus on a patient’s background
Standard & Poor’s Initiates Factual Stock Report Coverage on Epsilon
Forbes - This report will also be accessible on an ongoing basis to the investment community —- scores of buy-side institutions and sell-side firms that utilize S&P research and information platforms daily.
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(FranchisePick.Com) See related story: Is Super Suppers for Stupid Suckers? And Other Meal Prep Franchise ???s
A common new business pitfall is the entrepreneurial tendency to become enamored so with a “solution” that one forgets to make sure it’s preceded by an actual need… and a need great enough to support multiple competitors who are also enamored with stated solution.
Case in point: “Meal prep” or “meal assembly” kitchen franchises. This is where, to my hazy understanding, ex-yuppie soccer mothers with more money than time can go and slurp Merlot with other ex-yuppie soccer moms while assembling meals to bring home, freeze, and serve later to their families as if they had actually used those recipes they downloaded to their PDAs from GoodHousekeeping.com.
These current darlings of hot franchise lists and their advertising sales reps have clever names like Super Suppers, Dream Dinners, My Girlfriend’s Kitchen, Pass Your Plate, Entrée Vous!, Entrees Made Easy, Mr. Food, and Supper Thyme USA.
But are women who are NOT inclined to cook really looking for a way TO cook? It’s the same kind of question the Curves and 30 minute fitness franchise buyers wished they’d asked: Are couch potatoes really going to halt being couch potatoes, even if it only takes 30 minutes and they don’t have to shower?
My suspicion that the meal prep franchise concept is a solution in search of a problem seems supported by the current New York Times article It’s on to Plan B as a Hot Trend Cools Off. Here are some excerpts:
The concept boomed, as the number of stores mushroomed from four in 2002 to 1,400 in 2007, almost exclusively by catering to women who wanted to provide home-cooked meals for their families, according to the Easy Meal Preparation Association.
_________
The loyalty of these wives and moms landed meal assembly companies on various lists of top franchises and hot new businesses throughout 2005 and 2006.
But growth in the industry has slowed sharply, long before reaching expectations. Industry revenue, which two years ago was forecast to reach $1 billion annually by 2010, is now projected around $650 million by then, stated Bert Vermeulen, an industry consultant and founder of the simple meal association.
Some 264 meal preparation stores closed during 2007, Mr. Vermeulen stated, more than three times as many as in the previous year. He forecasts fewer than 50 openings in the United States this year, compared with 562 in 2006.
It turns out that lots of people are simply not motivated to plan so many meals in advance. The desire for last-minute convenience remains powerful in America, often trumping the more ephemeral rewards of home cooking.
_________
Super Suppers, which is based in Fort Worth, once forecast it would have 600 stores by the end of 2006; it now has about 200. Dream Dinners, based in Snohomish, Wash., originated the concept. It has 236 stores, not quite meeting expectations. No single competitor of Super Suppers and Dream Dinners has more than 70 stores.
The majority of owners bring in less than $25,000 a month, or $300,000 a year, in revenue, according to Mr. Vermeulen’s data. He figures that’s about $5,000 a month short of what they need to stay out of financial trouble.
Book It N Cook It, an independent store in the Tampa, Fla., suburb of Lutz, never exceeded $4,000 in monthly revenue in its eight-month life, stated Terry Warner, its former owner. Monthly expenses averaged about $7,500. Mrs. Warner and her husband shut the store in November after losing about $250,000.
The Warners, retired insurance adjusters who spent two years studying the industry before jumping in, state they underestimated the public’s aversion to meal planning.
“People here have a grab-and-go mentality,” Mrs. Warner stated of Florida, where free time can be spent outdoors year-round. “The last thing anyone wants to do here’s plan dinner.” She stated that the burger joint next door to her shop seemed to be doing great.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHOULD THE WARNERS HAVE BOUGHT A BURGER FRANCHISE? CAN THE MEAL PREP KITCHEN CONCEPT BE SAVED? SHARE YOUR OPINION BELOW.
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Tags: dream dinners franchise, meal assembly franchises, MEAL PREP franchise, mr girlfriend’s kitchen franchise, super suppers franchise
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