GFA launches local donut and pretzel franchisees
Mouawad: Still room for new players.
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Local restaurant franchise GFA Corp (Thailand) has added two new brands to its stable - The Donut Baker and Golden Pretzel.
The company spent Bt15 million building production facilities, its chairman and chief executive officer Fred Mouawad said yesterday.The Donut Baker makes donuts and Golden Pretzel produces chocolate-chip and chocolate-coated pretzels. Both are aimed at children and families. The Donut Baker's baked goods cost from Bt10 to Bt17 - about the same as competitors Dunkin' Donuts and Mr Donut. Golden Pretzel charges between Bt32 and Bt42 - 10 per cent more than competitor Auntie Anne's. Mouawad is not concerned about the competition's established position in the local market. There is room for new players, he said, adding that Golden Pretzel has a quality advantage and The Donut Baker offers variety. Nor is he worried about saturation of the donut market in Thailand, saying that GFA products are a global franchise. However, he expects eventually to achieve a 25-per-cent market share in the local pretzel market and 20 per cent in donuts. Golden Pretzel's first shop will open at Jungceylon shopping and entertainment complex in Phuket on Tuesday, and The Donut Baker will debut at The Esplanade in Bangkok on December 15. Mouawad declined to say how many branches would open next year because locations that fit both the company and foot traffic are yet to be identified. Spending on marketing will depend on the number of branches opened, but Mouawad said between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of sales would be earmarked for advertising in the first two years. Individual and cross-brand marketing will feature an "emotional connection between enjoyment and the products and consumers", he said. Franchise fees for both Golden Pretzel and The Donut Baker are Bt600,000. Franchise fees abroad are US$20,000 (Bt722,300) for The Donut Baker and $15,000 for Golden Pretzel. All branches should break even within three years. The company's four existing brands are Coffee World, The Cream & Fudge Factory, New York Deli and Pizza Corner, with a combined 171 branches in Thailand, Reunion Island, Bangladesh, Dubai, Burma and India. Fifty-two of these outlets opened this year. Coffee World has 84 branches globally, Pizza Corner has 72 branches, Cream & Fudge eight and New York Deli seven. He said GFA branches would increase an estimated 23 per cent this year in Thailand and 44 per cent globally. GFA recently appointed Emperor Food Franchise Concepts (Hainan) to be its first franchisor in China. There will be 12 stores in Hainan within three years. A master franchisor in Indonesia will open 26 stores within three years. New brand Stone Fire Pizza Kitchen opens in Dubai in January and in other countries later. Nitida Asawanipont, The Nation
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