Blaze Pizza vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Blaze Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Investment $545,500 - $1,210,500$200,000 - $350,000
Franchise Fee $30,000$15,000
Royalty Fee 5%5%
Advertising Fee 2%3%
Year Founded 20121948
Year Franchised 20121986
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Blaze Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Experience Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza is seeking multi-unit development partners. To be considered, our franchise candidates will preferably meet the following criteria:
  • You must commit to spending 100% of your time in the day to day operation of your restaurant(s). Alternatively, you may designate an Operating Principal to fill this role. (This person should have at least 10% equity in the franchise).
  • You or your Operating Principal should have a proven track record as a multi-unit owner or operator in QSR, fast-casual or restaurant dining.
  • You or your Operating Principal should have familiarity with the trade area that you plan to develop.
  • You, your Operating Principal and all of your partners must demonstrate the enthusiasm, drive and passion required to operate a Blaze Pizza restaurant to our high standards.
  • Including all your partners, you should have a minimum liquidity of $250k (i.e. cash reserves) per restaurant to be developed.

    • 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
     
    Blaze Pizza Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees -/--/-
    Start-up Costs -/--/-
    Equipment -/--/-
    Inventory -/--/-
    Receivables -/--/-
    Payroll -/--/-

    Training & Support
     
    Blaze Pizza Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 60 hours Classroom Training: 20 hours

    Cottage Inn offers a world-class training program

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

    Support

    You get access to our brand, recipes & procedures, vendors, training, store build-out & trade dress, website, social media, online ordering, gift card program, etc. Most importantly, you get to be a part of a dynamic organization that is dedicated to serving custom-built, artisanal pizza in a completely new way. Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection 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 Ad Templates Social media SEO Email marketing Loyalty program/app

    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 -

    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
     
    Blaze Pizza Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion -Yes
    International Expansion Yes-

    Company Overviews

    About Blaze Pizza

    IT'S A PIZZA JOINT WITH A MORE CURRENT TWIST. The concept is centered around delivering an unbelievably great pizza - crazy fast - and a great deal of attention has been put against speed of service. Menu boards are prominently placed, simple and easy to navigate. Our 8 signature pizzas give customers a suggested starting point for their perfect pie, making ordering even easier. Our goal is for guests to spend their time enjoying their meal - not waiting for it.

    The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Blaze Pizza Restaurant franchised business is between $541,500 and $1,150,500. This includes $20,960 to $30,960 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate(s). The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Blaze Pizza Area Development franchised business ranges from $548,000 and $1,210,500. This includes $26,920 to $84,600 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate(s). The total investment necessary for an Area Development franchised business includes the investment necessary to begin operation of one Restaurant, plus a development fee of $5,000 multiplied by the number of Restaurants (excluding the first Restaurant) which you must open. The high estimate includes the development fee if you elect to open ten Restaurants.

    "Entrepreneur
    #99 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
    #156 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