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Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Zoup! Fresh Soup Company vs The Submarine Station including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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Investment | $355,900 - $648,500 | N/A |
Franchise Fee | $39,900 | $8,000 |
Royalty Fee | 6% | $500/mo |
Advertising Fee | 1% | - |
Year Founded | 1998 | - |
Year Franchised | 2003 | - |
Term Of Agreement | 5 years, Renewable for 3 additional 5 year periods | 5 years |
Term Of Agreement | 5 years, Renewable for 3 additional 5 year periods | 5 years |
Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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Experience | - | |
Financing Options |
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In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
Franchise Fees | No/Yes | -/- |
Start-up Costs | No/Yes | -/- |
Equipment | No/Yes | -/- |
Inventory | No/Yes | -/- |
Receivables | No/Yes | -/- |
Payroll | No/Yes | -/- |
Training & Support |
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Training | On-The-Job Training: 72 hours Classroom Training: 40 hours | - |
Support | Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform | - |
Marketing | Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app | - |
Operations |
30% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 10 - 14 Absentee Ownership Allowed | - |
Expansion Plans |
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US Expansion | No | - |
Canada Expansion | Yes | - |
International Expansion | No | - |
The first Zoup! opened in 1998 in Southfield, MI, a suburb of Detroit. Over the next five years, the founders opened five more Detroit-area locations, and in 2003 they began to franchise the concept. Zoup! restaurants feature 12 rotating daily varieties of soup, including low-fat, vegetarian, gluten and dairy free options. Made-to-order salads, sandwiches and baked goods are also available.
As a company grows there are three main methods of growth to choose from: sole proprietorship, joint venture, or franchising. The franchise system is an exciting model because of the common shared interest in the founding company (the Franchisor) and the small business owner (the Franchisee) that both want the system to work. The problem with most franchising models is that a Franchisee is under such stringent restrictions from the Franchisor. Understandably, the Franchisor has a huge interest in protecting the brand. This interest in protecting the brand has inherent drawbacks that now become the Franchisee's issues. A few of these drawbacks are: real estate long-term leasing or purchasing, expensive proprietary equipment, forced product price points, etc. Who pays for this in the end? Well, the Franchisee does. Who looks out for the Franchisee? The Submarine Station will!