Franchising News

bUFF city soap Brings PlantBased Products to Alexandria

customizable Soap ‘Makery’ to continue expansion in louisiana

Buff City Soap – a rapidly expanding handmade retail franchise known for its plant-based soap and body products made instore daily – recently opened its first location in Alexandria. The new store is located at 1416 Macarthur Drive. This will be the fourth louisiana location to be opened by local owners, Jeff and stacey lauseng. “Our guests fall in love with our products once they find out that they are completely plant-based and handmade by locals in the community,” said stacey lauseng. “We pride ourselves on the interactive retail experience we offer each person who walks in through our doors and we can’t wait to begin forming relationships with new Buff city soap fans here in alexandria.”

Founded in 2013, Buff city soap has created a high-quality alternative to commercial soap products full of harsh chemicals, detergents, animal fats, and sulfates.

Each Buff city soap store offers more than 30 unique and customizable scents across dozens of handcrafted soap products; including its famous soap bars, bath bombs, foaming hand soap, and even laundry soap. The brand’s products are crafted by local artisans at the in-store Makeries, which allow guests to customize the scent and ingredients used in the process to create a unique scent profile.

For more information, please visit www.buffcitysoap.com

Since 2018, Weed Man – the fastest growing lawn care franchise in North America - has grown exponentially, fueled by the rapidly-growing green industry and spike in home service needs.

Weed man laWn care Reports 21.9% Growth Compared to 2021

The 765-plus territory-strong lawn care franchise reported over $259 million in total system wide sales and signed 67 additional territories last year. “Our organization, built to support the most dedicated, hands-on business owners, had a phenomenal year in 2021, as we surpassed sales projections and continued to celebrate organic growth throughout the U.s.,” said Jennifer lemcke, cEO of Weed Man. “There are over 1370 trucks on the road to continue providing health and beautification of residential lawns, through our extensive lawn care control, perimeter pest services and mosquito control services through our sub-brand Mosquito hero.”

Mosquito hero, powered by Weed Man, generated over $5.8 million in sales revenue for 2021 alone.

at the company’s annual conference, the franchisor recognized 33 north american franchisees at different revenue tiers. recognition consisted of: customer loyalty, Mosquito hero growth, inbound marketing success, top marketing performance, rookie franchisee spotlights, most improved and emerging leaders within the network, referral engagement, online outreach, brand ambassadors, community champion, and multi-unit franchisee of the year. The success of Weed Man franchisees is built upon the twin pillars of training and support. Each owner is equipped by the franchisor with all aspects of business operations, including administration, technical, marketing, business planning and budgeting. as an additional layer of local support, every Weed Man franchisee is supported by their experienced regional franchisor who serves as a personal consultant and mentor, providing experience, guidance and encouragement.

east coast Wings + grill Promotes Whitney Mann to Executive vice President of Operations

East Coast Wings + Grill, a full-service casual-dining franchise that spotlights Buffalo wings and fresh crafted burgers, has promoted 18-year company loyalist Whitney Mann to Executive Vice President of Operations. Mann first joined East coast Wings + grill in 2004 as a server at one of its restaurants. shortly after her career began, her leadership traits and tenacity were recognized, and she was named general Manager of the king, nc location in 2007. With an eagerness for learning the corporate side of operations, she joined the corporate team as a part-time administrative assistant in 2008. since joining the corporate team, she has been promoted to corporate Training coordinator, Unit level systems analyst, Brand Field consultant, Director of Functional analytics and finally VP of Field Operations before settling into her newlyappointed role. “having done every job at the restaurant level and by gaining additional experience at corporate, i have a unique perspective that has helped me provide strong operational guidance across the organization. i know the day-today challenges franchisees and their employees face on the front-lines,” said Mann. “since my career began with East coast Wings + grill 18 years ago, i’ve been focused on going the extra mile – whether it’s for customers, fellow employees or franchisees. i look forward to continuing that approach in my new role and look forward to continued success with this amazing brand.” in this new role, Mann will focus on sustaining brand growth that has been achieved after a record-breaking 2021. her primary objective will be ensuring franchisees and their teams maintain brand compliance, while also closely watching marketing and social media trends to ensure the brand remains an industry leader in offering best-in-class technologies and resources. “During her long tenure with our brand, much of Whitney’s achievements can be tied to her entrepreneurial spirit and relentless pursuit of providing the highest level of customer service across all the stakeholders in our organization,” said East cast Wings + grill cEO, sam Ballas. “she is truly the embodiment of our corporate mantra, ‘never Be satisfied.’ i’m confident our brand will continue to grow under her operational watch.” For more information about East Coast Wings + Grill franchising opportunities, visit www.eastcoastwingsfranchise.com

rita’s italian ice and Frozen cUstard Opens First Casino Location in Rivers Casino Philadelphia

Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, the beloved brand known for its delicious Italian Ice and Frozen Custard treats, recently opened its first casino shop at the Rivers Casino Philadelphia, located at 1001 N Delaware Ave. The milestone opening is part of Rita’s ongoing strategy to expand into non-traditional locations. “as a Philly favorite, we’re excited to open within rivers casino Philadelphia to create more opportunities for guests to experience rita’s, especially in a non-traditional, entertainmentfilled atmosphere like a casino,” said linda chadwick, cEO of rita’s italian ice & Frozen custard. “The rita’s model lends itself well to compact, high-volume spaces, so we expect this new shop will be a positive addition to the casino’s food lineup and a big hit with guests.” While this opening marks rita’s first entrance into casinos, this location will join a variety of existing non-traditional units in theme parks and stadiums, and rita’s first airport location coming soon. The location and build out flexibility of the brand is attracting new sites and even new franchisees, plus it’s creating more opportunity for existing franchisees opting to purchase and expand their existing brick and mortar shops with other nontraditional options, like mobile food trucks and trailers. Due to all the new developments, the rita’s team is further streamlining processes to support a superior non-traditional performance.