Dawn Ray’s Post

GoTo Foods, the parent company of brands including Auntie Anne's, Jamba and Cinnabon, has approximately 150 airport locations in 20 countries. Two-thirds of those locations, or about 100 of them, are in United States airports.🛬 Matt Von Klemperer, director of non-traditional development for the restaurant platform company, wants to increase that number. “We’ve been in airports for over 30 years and we were one of the first, if not the first of the national brands to go into airports. From a visibility standpoint alone, there’s no better venue to be in with millions of customers passing through every year,” Von Klemperer said. https://lnkd.in/eDGEH4VS

Along with Missouri Western State University (MWSU) and Auntie Anne's franchisee, Steve Craig, Auntie Anne’s is giving college graduates the fantastic opportunity to own their own franchise. The Center for Franchise Development and the Applied Entrepreneurial Program has been incredibly successful, with a success rate of over 90% since its launch, showing our dedication to caring for people.   This year, we're absolutely thrilled to have awarded a well-established Auntie Anne's franchise to Caleb Keling, an outstanding graduate from MWSU. Caleb's journey involved a rigorous mini-internship and a comprehensive business plan presentation, which truly showcased his suitability as a franchise owner. He's now joining a network of previous franchise recipients, who are more than willing to lend a hand to new entrepreneurs.   Over the past 15 years, MWSU has played a pivotal role in helping 25 franchisees establish 56 franchises across the United States, resulting in over $34 million in annual sales. The most recent two Auntie Anne's recipients have achieved remarkable success, nearly doubling their sales and expanding their entrepreneurial ventures. We're incredibly excited to support Caleb on what we're sure will be a successful entrepreneurial journey— a huge congratulations to Caleb!

Dunkin's social media team is always cracking me up. For April Fool’s Day, Dunkin' posted to its 3.3 million TikTok followers: “ANNOUNCEMENT. we’re changing our name. again. Now we’re just DONUTS’. We will have coffee still. Pls don’t ask any other questions. Just going thru it rn.” Read more from my interviews with SOCi, Inc. Director of Market Insights Damian Rollison, GoTo Foods SVP of Communications Dawn Ray, 7 Brew Coffee's head of digital Cory T. Hinton, Dave's Hot Chicken CMO Brad Haley, MBA and Playa Bowls social media specialist Rebecca Steinberger: https://lnkd.in/ggc2dfKx

Whether they are new to restaurant industry -- or franchising -- or have been around the business for a while, our franchisees are the heart of our business. We work with them on refining our prototypes, product innovations and even creating mashups like Cinnabon Swirl. Thanks to Okey M. Reese and David Ingenito for being so actively involved in our #cobranding efforts. A special thanks to Emilee Wentland for helping tell the GoTo Foods story. Always a pleasure to take the time to talk to the media about what our brands are doing to be the "GoTo" franchisor. https://lnkd.in/eaiHKNWE

Great job opp on the GoTo Foods Comms team! Learn more: Brand Public Relations Specialist