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Updated RecentlySimple Simon's Pizza vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Simple Simon'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 |
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| Investment | $89,500 - $593,500 | $200,000 - $350,000 |
| Franchise Fee | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 3% | 5% |
| Advertising Fee | 1% | 3% |
| Year Founded | 1982 | 1948 |
| Year Franchised | 1986 | 1986 |
| Term Of Agreement | - | - |
| Term Of Agreement | - | - |
| Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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| Experience | *Ability to manage and motivate people. Food service experience is helpful, but not required. *Ability to locate and acquire rights to sites that meet the Company�s criteria. *Ability to properly finance and capitalize the investment. *Commitment to market the product in order to maximize sales and profits. | 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 | No/Yes | -/- |
| Start-up Costs | No/Yes | -/- |
| Equipment | Yes/Yes | -/- |
| Inventory | No/Yes | -/- |
| Receivables | No/Yes | -/- |
| Payroll | No/Yes | -/- |
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 | Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives | 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 slicks, National media | 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 | Yes |
| Canada Expansion | No | Yes |
| International Expansion | No | - |
Company Overviews
About Simple Simon's Pizza
Simple Simon's Pizza was founded in 1982 based on a simple philosophy to serve the best quality pizza, calizone, and sandwiches at the most affordable price in a family atmosphere that people can enjoy. Today, Simple Simon's Pizza has approximately 220 locations across Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, New Mexico, and Georgia in metropolitan and small town communities. The pizza industry has grown to an impressive 25 billion dollar a year industry. The pizza, industry is growing internationally as well. New unit development, operations management, and continuing support are just some of the reasons why Simple Simon's Pizza is one of the best kept secrets in the food industry. Now that the secret has been exposed, we await your entrepreneurial skills to operate a Simple Simon's Pizza
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.