Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon signed a deal with franchise group Fresh Dining Concepts to bring 10 co-branded Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon locations to the five New York City boroughs over the next four years. The agreement between Fresh Dining Concepts and Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon will help the brands accelerate ongoing efforts to become more accessible to guests by expanding beyond their traditional shopping mall settings.
"We're looking to accelerate our multi-brand franchise development efforts in new and existing markets. Our insights are showing that guests want more convenience and are looking to access our brands in a variety of ways. Putting brands like Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon together makes them far more accessible than they would be individually," says Brian Krause, chief development officer of Focus Brands. "Partnering with an industry leader like Fresh Dining Concepts, who really understand the power and benefits of co-branding, gives us the chance to expand in priority markets like New York City."
"In recent years, we've seen strong consumer demand for brands like Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon to be more accessible outside of malls, so when the opportunity presented itself to grow our portfolio with street-side co-branded locations, we immediately jumped on board," says Luis San Miguel, president and CEO of Fresh Dining Concepts. "Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon are iconic brands that are similar from an operations standpoint and the menus complement each other very well. There's immense value in co-branding, not only from the operations and real estate perspective, but it's also becoming the guest's preference as a one-stop shop for snacking, no matter their craving. Focus Brands' specialty brands are leading the way in this area and we're excited to work together to give our guests across the five boroughs more access to Auntie Anne's and Cinnabon."
Focus Brands has invested in research and development to build a more robust co-brand and multi-brand strategy with its specialty brands, Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon and Jamba. Among the specialty brands, there are already 150 co-brand locations in airports, malls, street-side venues, college campuses, travel plazas and entertainment venues.