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Updated RecentlyCottage Inn Pizza vs Unique Pizza Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cottage Inn Pizza vs Unique Pizza including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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| Investment | $200,000 - $350,000 | $62,800 - And Up |
| Franchise Fee | $15,000 | $30,000 - $100,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 5% | 5% |
| Advertising Fee | 3% | 3% |
| Year Founded | 1948 | - |
| Year Franchised | 1986 | - |
| Term Of Agreement | - | 10 years |
| Term Of Agreement | - | 10 years |
| Renewal Fee | - | $1,000 |
Business Experience Requirements |
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| Experience | 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 |
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| In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
| Franchise Fees | -/- | -/- |
| Start-up Costs | -/- | -/- |
| Equipment | -/- | -/- |
| Inventory | -/- | -/- |
| Receivables | -/- | -/- |
| Payroll | -/- | -/- |
Training & Support |
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| Training | Cottage Inn offers a world-class training program On-The-Job Training: 240 hours Classroom Training: 6 hours | - |
| Support | 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 | 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 |
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| US Expansion | Yes | - |
| Canada Expansion | Yes | - |
| International Expansion | - | - |
Company Overviews
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
About Unique Pizza
The Unique Pizza and Subs franchise is an opportunity to get into the extremely popular pizza business where there is always a demand. Our use of the highest quality ingredients, strict adherence to established methods, consistency, reasonable prices and dependable, friendly service make Unique Pizza and Subs the superior choice for excellent pizza. The winning combination produces loyal customers, the best word of mouth advertising and repeat business. One of the main reasons why Unique Pizza and Subs is so successful, is because from it’s conception it was developed to be a franchise. The #1 consideration when developing Unique Pizza and Subs was to achieve the CONSISTENCY of a large franchise with the QUALITY of a “mom and pop” shop. The personal quality locations needed to become a Unique Pizza and Subs franchisee include good financial standing, a high energy level, an ability to build long term relationships and a strong customer orientation. Investment Cost Typical restaurant size is 800-1200 sq.ft. without seating and up to 3000 sq.ft. with seating. The following figures represent costs associated with the 800-1200 sq.ft. size. Variations in costs are accounted for by factors such as your management skills, experience and business acumen, local economic conditions such as the prevailing wage rate, the competition and the sales level reached during the initial period. If a prospective franchisee pays the $100k franchise fee upfront then they are not required to pay the 5% and 3% weekly royalty for 5 years. Or the have the option of paying the standard upfront $30k franchise fee and the standard weekly 5% royalty and 3% marketing fee. If they have the extra start up cash it is extremely advantageous for them to pay the $100k upfront. If their location averages a simple $9,600 per week that's $200k paid over 5 years.