Auntie Anne’s, alongside Jamba, opened its first drive-thru, and signed deals for 33 more co-brand locations across the country. Focus sold a record 561 franchises last year and opened more than 175 stores in the U.S. In 2001, Roark purchased Carvel, followed by Cinnabon (2004), McAlister’s (2005), Schlotzsky's (2006), Moe’s (2007), Auntie Anne’s (2010), and of course, Jamba (2018).Įntering 2022, the company is performing as well as it ever has. READ MORE: Why Has Restaurant M&A Activity Slowed Down in 2022?įocus Brands’ story dates back more than 20 years.
“It's a very competitive market to buy something, but between ourselves internally, with Roark’s help, we're always looking for what's available in the market,” the executive says. umbrella company CKE Restaurants.ĬFO Mike Dixon says the company has been active since its $200 million purchase of Jamba in 2018. I think if nothing else, it's just going to accelerate just simply because, how do you afford the tools we're talking about or the world-class supply chains or anything else that you need to compete?”įocus promises to be an important part of that M&A future, especially with the backing of private equity group Roark Capital-the same company that oversees Sonic and Arby’s parent Inspire Brands and Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. “There’s power in a portfolio because of its scale,” Holthouser says. His prediction is that in the next decade or so, there will be the emergence of five to 10 mega players. Jim Holthouser, CEO of Focus, the parent of Moe’s, Jamba, Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Carvel, Schlotzsky’s, and McAlister’s, believes consolidation in the food and beverage space is only going to gain momentum. There’s also Jack in the Box’s $575 million purchase of Del Taco and BurgerFi’s $156.6 million buy of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings. FAT Brands won in terms of frequency, with four acquisitions ( Global Franchise Group, Fazoli’s, Twin Peaks, Native Grill & Wings) valued at roughly $892 million. Restaurant Brands International topped the list with its $1 billion purchase of Firehouse Subs. However, as 2021 proved, a lot of other brands felt the same way. WOWorks also finds strength in numbers with co-branded Saladworks and Frutta Bowls locations, which the company says offer greater efficiencies due to shared back-end operations and equipment.Coming out of the pandemic’s early days, Focus Brands-equipped with a strong balance sheet-saw an industry ripe for M&A, CFO Mike Dixon says. Most recently, Fat Brands announced it will continue to expand its co-branded Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery locations, along with co-branded Fatburger and Buffalo’s Express locations and co-branded Johnny Rockets and Hurricane Grill and Wings locations.Īnd, in February, Inspire Brands opened its first co-branded Dunkin’ and Jimmy John’s location. Other multi-brand restaurant companies also have been known to pair their brands. It plans to roll out the first Cinnabon Swirl location in early 2023. Now, Focus Brands is in the process of developing the Cinnabon Swirl prototype, operationalizing the business model and identifying test markets.
Last year, Auntie Anne’s got its first drive-thru as part of a co-branded location with Jamba, and the company says the combination continues to grow, with 33 franchise agreements signed last year for Auntie Anne’s/Jamba drive-thru locations. The restaurant company also has been developing other co-branded locations. Last November, Focus Brands announced it signed a deal with Fresh Dining Concepts to bring 10 co-branded, streetside Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon locations to New York City over the next four years, and it opened a co-branded Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon location at the University of Cincinnati last October. This won’t be the first concept Cinnabon has been paired with for streetside locations. While many of the company’s brands have significant footprints in malls and nontraditional locations, Focus Brands says there’s strong consumer demand for greater streetside accessibility. “The newest dual-brand combination, Cinnabon Swirl, meets consumer demand for greater brand accessibility by bringing Cinnabon streetside, paired with iconic Carvel soft serve, to create the ultimate treat destination,” says Focus Brands in a press release.Ĭinnabon Swirl comes as Focus Brands’ latest investment in dual branding, a development approach that integrates two brands within one retail space, and effort to bring more of its brands streetside.
The concept will be a one-stop shop for the restaurant company’s Cinnabon and Carvel brands and will feature classics from both, as well as unique baked goods and soft-serve ice cream mashups of customer favorites. Focus Brands is pairing two of its specialty brands to form an all-new concept: Cinnabon Swirl.
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