<\/p>\n
Chatime, which has about 1,500 global stores, wants to strength its U.S. footprint.<\/p>\n
At the Global Franchise Summer Summit in Denver this July, many international brands made their pitches to expand into the United States.<\/p>\n
Restaurant, cafe and entertainment brands made their case for why they\u2019re poised to grow in the U.S. market. Some are well established in their respective markets, while others have just a few units.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are a handful of brands that presented at the conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Candoo Crew<\/p>\n
Candoo Crew can do it all. The New Zealand-based franchise styles itself as an all-in-one property care company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe acquired underperforming, vertical businesses and rebranded them to Candoo and turned it into a franchise machine,\u201d co-founder James McGovern said. \u201cWe built a high-performance engine that gives us serious results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its many cleaning and property services include lawn care, fence repair, carpet cleaning, general maintenance, HVAC\u2014you name it. In its first year, Candoo had 52 franchisees, said McGovern.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ever looked at your phone book and said, \u2018Why am I chasing five different contractors to do five different jobs,\u2019 we do have a better way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Candoo\u2019s corporate team takes care of acquiring customers, sending quotes, invoicing and payment collecting. He said a lot of companies hire employees who are trained to perform several services, while not doing any of those services particularly well. But Candoo, McGovern said, hires specialists who work in one of its service categories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means every service is delivered by someone who knows it inside out, not someone googling how to do it whilst they\u2019re in the van,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Chatime<\/p>\n
Boba tea brand Chatime has lofty aspirations. It has roughly 1,500 units worldwide, mainly in Asia and Australia, but just 16 stores in the United States as of July. CEO Carlos Antonius said he intends to bring that number to 1,000 in the U.S. by 2034.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aim to revolutionize the tea-drinking culture and become renowned as a beverage brand,\u201d Antonius said. \u201cOur brand vision is to be the most culturally relevant and most loved tea brand in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cost to open a Chatime franchise ranges from $293,100 to $479,900, according to its franchise disclosure document. Of five Chatime locations open for all of 2024, net sales varied from $125,407 to $793,037.<\/p>\n
Immersive Gamebox<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Immersive Gamebox is an interactive gaming franchise looking to grow in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Gamer customers have a new option in Immersive Gamebox, the interactive gaming brand in which players use their whole bodies and special headwear to participate.<\/p>\n
Franchisees can have multiple \u201cgameboxes,\u201d which service two to six players each. Venues typically have eight to 10 boxes and guests play 30- to 60-minute games with their friends.<\/p>\n
As a customer moves, so does their character. The technology also picks up which team a player is on and some boxes have touch screens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an incredibly scalable and consistent experience that\u2019s being delivered,\u201d Franchise Development Director Nick St. George said. \u201cWe have a library of games that our customers use around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game themes include Batman, Squid Game, Angry Birds, Ghostbusters and Paw Patrol, among others.<\/p>\n
Chaiiwala<\/p>\n
Indian street food is popular in the United Kingdom for takeaway service. Chaiiwala takes its menu a step further with hot and cold chai, desserts, ice cream and breakfast.<\/p>\n
The brand offers franchisees several options for store layouts, including main streets, shopping malls, medical centers and universities, which U.S. Country Manager Nazibur Rahman said perform well in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents really like the brand,\u201d he said. \u201cThey appreciate the value that you\u2019re getting for your money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of its street food items are a vegetable kebab, butter chicken roll and an aloo tikki burger. Chaiiwala also sells traditionally brewed chai, plus variations like a chai latte or pink chai. Pistachio milk cake and a gulab jamun (fried donuts) sundae are some of many desserts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see a large amount of opportunity,\u201d Rahman said. \u201cWe\u2019re really ready to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piccolo Me and SolBowl<\/p>\n
Sibling brands Piccolo Me and SolBowl have presences in Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Coffee franchise Piccolo Me is expanding in India and Iraq and is targeting U.S. growth.<\/p>\n
Piccolo Me, an Australian coffee franchise, signed agreements for India and Iraq and now is pushing for U.S. expansion. The brand has more than 70 locations with plans to open another 25 this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look at the U.S. market and we know that it\u2019s a pretty sophisticated market for coffee,\u201d said Doug Downer, the international head of recruitment for SolBowl. \u201cWe have some views on the quality of coffee that exists in the U.S. market and we believe that we have an opportunity to bring what is a really strong brand to the U.S. market.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acai bowl brand SolBowl has seven stores in Australia.<\/p>\n