Great Harvest vs Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Great Harvest vs Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Great Harvest Franchise
Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet Franchise
Investment $69,613 - $704,873$90,000 - $180,000
Franchise Fee $35,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 5%6%
Advertising Fee 2.5%-
Year Founded 19761983
Year Franchised 19781987
Term Of Agreement 10 years5 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years5 years
Renewal Fee -25% of initial fee


Business Experience Requirements

 
Great Harvest Franchise
Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience

  • General business experience
  • Marketing skills

  • Financing Options

     
    Great Harvest Franchise
    Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/YesNo/No
    Start-up Costs No/YesNo/No
    Equipment No/YesNo/No
    Inventory No/NoNo/No
    Receivables No/NoNo/No
    Payroll No/NoNo/No

    Training & Support

     
    Great Harvest Franchise
    Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 120 hours Classroom Training: 120 hours Additional Training: When necessary-
    Support Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Internet, Field operations/evaluations
    Marketing Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/appAd slicks, National media
    Operations 10% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5 - 7

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    30% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)


    Expansion Plans

     
    Great Harvest Franchise
    Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion YesNo

    Company Overviews

    About Great Harvest

    Pete Wakeman had been baking bread most of his life. As a child, he would help his aunt. In high school, he baked for his friends. During summer vacations, he sold bread from the roadside. In 1976, when Wakeman heard about a bakery in Great Falls, Montana, that was going under, he bought it. With the help of his wife, Laura, Wakeman established the Great Harvest Bread Co. and set about baking loaves for people in the Great Falls community. Soon, people from neighboring communities starting asking about setting up their own Great Harvest locations. The first franchise opened in Kalispell, Montana. In 1983, the Wakemans converted their Great Falls bakery into a franchise and moved company headquarters to Dillon, Montana, so they could concentrate on the franchising end of their business. Great Harvest bakeries serve a variety of breads each day including honey whole wheat, white cheddar garlic, sunflower and cranberry orange.

    The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Great Harvest bakery cafe franchise in a “Hub” location is $144,100 to $704,873. This includes $35,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or affiliate.
    The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Great Harvest bakery cafe franchise in a “Spoke” location is $69,613 to $447,536. This includes $15,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or affiliate.
    If you want development rights, you must pay the franchisor a development fee equal to the full initial franchise fee for the first bakery cafe ($35,000) plus a deposit of $7,500 (of the $15,000 initial franchise fee) for each additional bakery cafe you agree to develop. The total investment necessary to begin operation if you acquire development rights is $151,600 to $712,373. This includes $42,500 that must be paid to the franchisor or affiliate.
    Veteran Incentives  15% off franchise fee
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    About Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet

    When she lost her job, single mother Gwen Willhite had to figure out what to do next. Combining two traditional gifts'flowers and sweets'Willhite developed a new business: Cookies by Design/Cookie Bouquet. Each bouquet was arranged with custom-molded, hand-decorated sugar and cinnamon brown sugar cookies in baskets for all holidays and occasions. The company, which Willhite started in her home, soon grew into a chain of shops that began franchising in 1987. Within 10 years, Cookies by Design/Cookie Bouquet had grown to more than 175 shops in 115 cities across the United States.

    Cookies by Design offers a low entry cost and scalable confectionery bakery franchise featuring custom hand decorated cookie bouquets, gourmet cookies, cupcakes and confectionery treats. For over 30 years, Cookies by Design has been delighting people across the US with a unique and delicious gifting alternative to flowers.Our ability to create custom cookie bouquet designs with a personalized message as well as provide local hand delivery set us apart. Our customers are thrilled with
    Cookies by Design’s ease of service and creativity that delivers their gift with a personal touch. We love being a part of people celebrations, special occasions and life events. From start to finish our cookie bouquets are all hand crafted using our sugar cookie dough, cinnamon brown sugar dough recipes and signature icing creating an unforgettable, tasty work of art. With over 300 unique cookie cutter shapes and thousands of design options Cookies by Design’s potential to deliver gift items that are unique, special & memorable are limitless. Cookies by Design has incorporated the business of gifting with the love of baked goods into one successful franchise. Combining the local bakery retail shop offering personalized gifts and local hand delivery with the cookiesbydesign.com online ordering site, gives each location has a national selling reach with a neighborhood delivery touch.