Jet's Pizza vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Jet's Pizza vs Cottage Inn Pizza including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Jet's Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Investment $437,500 - $631,000$200,000 - $350,000
Franchise Fee $25,000$15,000
Royalty Fee 8%-10%5%
Advertising Fee Up to 1%3%
Year Founded 19781948
Year Franchised 19901986
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee $2K-


Business Experience Requirements
 
Jet's Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • Customer service & management skills

    • A minimum net worth of $100,000 A minimum of $60,000 in liquid assets or financing or a combination thereof Five Star Customer Service for staff and customers alike Product Quality — using only approved ingredients and the amounts set forth by the Cottage Inn Standard Operating Procedures Professional Image — uniforms should be clean and pressed, and employees should be well-groomed at all times. The Right Personality As a member of the food service industry, our franchisees must have the right personality, too. We look for clean-cut professionals who will take pride in being a Cottage Inn franchisee. We also look for candidates who are strong leaders, can motivate a staff, and treat customers with the utmost care and respect. In the food service industry, it’s important that your store pass the white glove test every day. Safety is always a concern when it comes to proper food handling. To be a successful Cottage Inn franchisee you must also understand profit and loss statements. You need to input tools to measure your expenses on an on-going basis. We lay out what has been successful for Cottage Inn throughout our corporate stores and we want to make sure each franchisee who joins the Cottage Inn family follows the same equation to success.

    Financing Options
     
    Jet's Pizza Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-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
     
    Jet's Pizza Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 270 hours Classroom Training: 30 hours

    Cottage Inn offers a world-class training program

    On-The-Job Training: 240 hours Classroom Training: 6 hours

    Support Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform

    On-going support to keep your store running successfully and smoothly. We want you to succeed, which is why we offer our support and advice gained from years of experience in the pizza industry. We’ve been in the business since 1948 and operate 40 locations in two states, so it’s safe to say we know how to run a business. 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 Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing

    We collaborate with a digital marketing agency to help make Cottage Inn the top-ranked pizza company in relevant markets across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Cottage Inn employs an in-house creative team and offsite agency to produce a myriad of digital marketing vehicles, including e-blasts, mobile CRM, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, FourSquare, Instagram). We also leverage traditional print solutions such as bulk mail menus, EDDM (every day direct mail) cards, magnets, box toppers and door hangers. We also invest in branding the Cottage Inn name, making us more desirable across all relevant markets. Cottage Inn is the Preferred Pizza Provider at MIS (Michigan International Speedway) where we serve over 100,000 guests at NASCAR events and the Country Music Festival. Cottage Inn engages franchisees in strategic marketing meetings to receive their input on marketing campaigns and new product development. We also help franchisees market their specific stores via community fairs, business expos, entertainment venues and more. We are family first at Cottage Inn, having been owned by the same family for over 65 years! How we market each of our franchises: Dynamic corporate website with pages dedicated to each franchise location Convenient online ordering A loyalty program to attract and retain customers Mobile marketing to engage with the on-the-go world E-marketing to offer the best deals to our dedicated customers Traditional print marketing menus, direct mail, door hangers, box toppers, magnets and specialty pieces Social media to engage our most dedicated consumers. Branding by way of special event sponsorships

    Operations International franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 0% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (99% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    Cottage Inn maintains control of its product and distribution by operating a 22,000 square foot commissary in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fresh products are delivered weekly and our warehouse staff is always on call in case of emergency. Cottage Inn produces fresh dough daily. For locations more than 200 miles away from Ann Arbor, we encourage and assist franchisees with setting up their own dough production. This assures a fresh, high-quality product and will help you secure a customer for life.

    Absentee Ownership Allowed

    Number of Employees Required to Run: 15


    Expansion Plans
     
    Jet's Pizza Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion NoYes
    International Expansion No-

    Company Overviews

    About Jet's Pizza

    Based in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Jet's Pizza was founded in 1978 and began franchising in 1990.
    Jet’s Pizza® regularly receives “Best of the Best” and “Reader’s Choice” awards. Pizza Today magazine named Jet’s Pizza® as the eighteenth largest pizza chain in the nation in its “Top 100 Company” report (Pizza Today, 2010). Entrepreneur Magazine has consistently ranked Jet’s Pizza® as a “Top 500 Franchise,” opportunity (Entrepreneur, 2010). Jet’s Pizza® has rapidly risen through the ranks to become the twelfth largest pizza chain in the nation, by sales (PMQ, 2016), with over 400 locations and plans for rapid future growth. While the quality and taste of the food is number one for Jet’s Pizza®, there is also a simple belief throughout the company; “Pizza should be fun,” says John Jetts. “You’ll always have a smile on your face when you’re eating a Jet’s pizza®.” That fun attitude can be summed up in the company’s simple slogan says Jetts, “Life is short. Eat better pizza®. Let’s Get Jet’s®!”

    That is something that Jet’s Pizza® is betting that people across the nation will agree with. They’ve found that it’s working so far.

    Franchise Ranking History
    Franchise 500: #132 (2014), #146 (2013), #136 (2012), #145 (2011), #207 (2010),
    Fastest-Growing: #67 (2014), #82 (2012), #94 (2011)
    Veteran Incentives  50% off franchise fee or area development fee
    "Entrepreneur
    #220 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
    #340 in Franchise 500 for 2021.





    About Cottage Inn Pizza

    At Cottage Inn we believe that if you're going to craft a pizza, it should be to a certain degree of perfection and that you should never skimp on the quality of your ingredients. It's these two simple statements that drive our process for constructing truly gourmet pizzas.

    Veteran Incentives  10% off franchise fee