Edible Arrangements - Essay Example

Edible Arrangements Edible Arrangements International is a limited liability entity based n the U.S., which majors inthe vast and highly competitive franchising industry. The company specializes in the sales entailing fresh fruit arrangements, which takes the concept of fruit baskets from a design whose inspiration id a concept of the floral business. This company, vast in its operations specializes in sales entailing a variety of composition f fruit gift items, including premium chocolate dipped fruit and fresh fruit products ready for delivery. This private company leverages on the vast market opportunity accordingly, investing its efforts towards creating a brand whose name is notably gaining ground as a household name in the minds of many of its customers (OConnor 8). The founding of the company entailed the key head of the company, Tariq Farid, who partnered alongside his brother Karman Farid to establish the initial Edible Arrangements store, located in East Haven Connecticut in U.S. 1999. Consequently, the store gained franchising capacity in 2001, when the founders captured the entire concept and set the systems and manuals for training, managing and tracking supply chains, production, and profitability (OConnor 8). In effect, they established the initial official franchise in Waltham, Massachusetts, and the business gained ground. Protecting the brand from counterfeit The brand Edible Arrangements is a core exemplification of an ambitious idea established and natured to success in all its aspects, a factor that puts the business on the watch of many public entities, including those attempting to copy the concept accordingly. The international coverage entailed in the franchise investment is an element, which effectively challenges the management of the business, as this vast company establishment requires essential management skills and experience to protect and grow. The founders of the business realized the entire significance entailed in creating a brand that customers would engage accordingly and relate with from all levels and status of their lives. Consequently, the brand establishment in this course becomes a major asset for the franchise. Compromising the brand mission and objective compromises the entire promise made to the customers. Counterfeiting can adversely impair the entire trust, which takes years to build. Thus, protecting the brand accordingly from issues of counterfeiting is the best measure to engage. In undertaking the establishment to protect the brand from counterfeiting, several measures are indeed available for many franchises. Consequently, these measures are available for all franchises including the Edible Arrangements International. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection E-Recordation Tool is one tool that facilitates the businesses with a platform for recording their copyright and trademark in an online database (Mitchell 22). The businesses registered in this tool effectively have the capacity to identify the suppliers facilitating fake merchandise and false labeling which would lead to counterfeits. Thus, Edible Arrangements International should actively engage in this platform to protect from possible counterfeiting issues that may arise. Attending workshops, panel discussions and case studies organized by the Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection Summit for brand owners, which gathers in the New York to discuss brand protection is another platform which will effectively allow the franchise to engage the latest developments in managing its trademark name and the supply chain management, as well as, corporate security (Mitchell 22). Thus, such measures are key for the franchise to engage accordingly in brand protection and to guard against counterfeiting. Additionally, counterfeiting is a conceptual crime that takes an international and vast formulation, a factor that requires a collaborative approach to avert accordingly. Thus, the franchise, in its endeavor to protect against counterfeits, since Edible Arrangements is an internationally operating franchise, it should join the international anti counterfeiting coalition. The entire mission of this coalition is to combat the vice, promote regulations and laws and create directives and relations that effectively render the theft of intellectual property impossible. Thus, many franchises from vast industries engage accordingly, applying the structures developed and agreements made by the coalition to fight effectively against counterfeits. Further, it is notable the counterfeiting crime is a highly evolving concept that requires any brand to engage actively in the procedural developments that facilitate the protection of the antics of the business. Consequently, private provisions such as established software for monitoring and detecting counterfeit occurrences are available (Mitchell 23). These automated systems also facilitate the businesses with quick response mechanism to guard the value of the investments and maintaining brand quality and customer loyalty. Such platforms include the Mark Monitor Brand Protection among other anti-counterfeiting establishments (Mitchell 23). Thus, the franchise, Edible Arrangements ought to engage all possible structures in place in the fight against the grand crime of counterfeiting. Co-branding involvement The concept of branding is another element that facilitates the success and growth of any franchise as established in engaging with the customer base (Young, Casondra and Audhesh 218). Consequently, the development of co-branding practice is another aspect of branding whose successful establishment can effectively and significantly grow a single product or service through versions that depict it from a multiple perspectives of the customers. Consequently, Edible Arrangements as an operational franchise takes all the available opportunities accordingly to establish its brand as a household name in all the markets it engages, locally and internationally (OConnor 8). The brand exemplifies the entire concept entailed in launching the co-branding practice to facilitate exposure of its products to the consumers as well as, support the marketing of the various products and services. Further, co-branding helps the franchise to establish and expose its core competencies to the consumers, a development that Edible Arrangement franchise is keen in exploiting. Edible Arrangements engages a cross-faceted marketing platform, which is key in establishing a relationship with the consumers. This includes the application of a variety of media channels, particularly the online media. The company co-branding entails the various entities including Stern Advertising and Hot Dish Advertising, which are the regional advertising agencies for the Edible Arrangements marketing development efforts. These concepts facilitate the combination of the reputation entailed in these two agencies, to the reputation of Edible Arrangements accordingly, to combine the perception of the consumers towards the franchise. A key illustration of the effect of this co-branding strategy is the successful launch and achievement of the Mothers Day Campaign that gained effect from the engagement of the various platforms, increasing the brand awareness of Edible Arrangements. Further, the brand takes multiple of its brand products and displays them as different entities on its online platform, a factor that develops the perception of its vast product composition, effectively achieving co-branding practice; hence, its growth and success in engaging the consumers. The packaging Edible Arrangements facilitates a variety of products and services to its customers, a factor that makes it a unique one-stop platform for all needs of the customers. The franchise offers products ranging from bouquets and neat arrangements of sculpted fresh fruit, in addition to the chocolate dipped fruit and fresh fruit smoothies and fruit salad (Middle East Company News). From its platform label, the entire essence of the franchise is to allow the customer to treat themselves with a variety of fruit toppings, decorated to perfection and the liking of the customer accordingly. The brand in its objective does state accordingly that they make any occasion special with the vast array of products. However, the core product used as leading provision for the franchise is he gourmet chocolate dipped fruit. This collection is entirely for grabs, as it gives the consumers a composition of products to engage (OConnor 8). The label on the packaging at the delivery depends on the product purchased, as the company facilitates a vast composition of products. The only label standard is the brand name and its objective, which is to wow the guests. These aspects constitute the entire aspect of Edible Arrangements, which continues to offer a vast composition and array of products to its customers. Product lifecycle The franchise Edible Arrangements has been in existence since the year 1999, although it began its expansive franchising in the year 2001. Consequently, it is evident from the statements released by the company and the developments occurring in the company that the company is on an upward trajectory in growth a factor that reflects in the product lifecycle accordingly. Notably, at the launch of the franchise, the fresh fruit bouquet and all other product components entailed in the business services constitute the basis of the success that the franchise continues achieving. Thus, in view of the projected developments, it is evident that indeed Edible Arrangements is on a growth stage and has been in that trend since its inception. The evidence of the upward growth is the vast expansion and revenue growth the company is establishing. For instance, from the first franchise in Waltham, Massachusetts, today the franchise has over 1100 stores serving in the various international locations (Middle East Company News). Thus, this notably depicts the continuous growth trajectory of the franchise. Further, the company is continually growing in revenue gained. For instance, n 2008, the franchise announced annual revenues at $195 million and in 2014, the revenues stood at $480 million (Edible Arrangements, LLC - Company Capsule 1). This is a notable depiction of the growing phase of the product in its establishments. Conclusion The Edible Arrangements franchise is notably a core establishment in whose growth remains steady since its inception. The franchise has over 1100 stores in 14 countries spanning the globe, depicting its expansive growth. The aspects of branding and marketing are evidently core factors if this growth as established from the franchise engagements. Issues in the business platform including counterfeiting can, however, be detrimental to the reputation of the franchise when not properly addressed. Thus, from all its conceptualization, even as Edible Arrangements International continues to achieve its emphatic success, the franchise ought to remain objective and operate accordingly. Works cited Edible Arrangements, LLC - Company Capsule. Basingstoke: Progressive Digital Media, 2014. ProQuest. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. "Edible Arrangements, Americas Fastest Growing Franchise is Set to Launch and Expand its Foray in the UAE." Middle East Company News: 1. Dec 05 2007. ProQuest. Web. 7 Apr. 2015 . OConnor, Clare. "How Edible Arrangements Sold $500 Million Of Fruit Bouquets In 2013." Forbes.Com (2014): 8. Business Source Complete. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. Mitchell, Robert L. "How to Protect Your Brand." Computerworld 43.27 (2009): 22- 3. ProQuest. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. Young, Joyce A., Casondra D. Hoggatt, and Audhesh K. Paswan. "Food Service Franchisors and their Co-Branding Methods." The Journal of Product and Brand Management 10.4 (2010): 218-27. ProQuest. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. Read More