Marco's vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Marco's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Investment $223,535 - $586,410$200,000 - $350,000
Franchise Fee $25,000$15,000
Royalty Fee 5.5%5%
Advertising Fee 5%3%
Year Founded 19781948
Year Franchised 19791986
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee $3K or 25% of fee-


Business Experience Requirements

 
Marco's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Marketing 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

     
    Marco's 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/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support

     
    Marco's Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
    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 Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertising

    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 60% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 20

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% 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

     
    Marco's Franchise
    Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
    US Expansion -Yes
    Canada Expansion NoYes
    International Expansion No-

    Company Overviews

    About Marco's

    Among the main 25 pizza establishments in the United States, just a single was established by a local Italian: Marco's Pizza®. Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco moved to America with his family at 9 and began his first pizza eatery in 1978 in Toledo, Ohio. In the event that you've ever needed to possess a business that serves sustenance you're glad to put your name behind, Marco's might be the correct business open door for you.

    Marco's prides itself on credible Italian artisan pizza, made with new, genuine fixings and mixture made in the store day by day. When 91% of Americans eat pizza at any rate once every month, more individuals are progressively picking the quality pizza that is synonymous with the Marco's name.

    Dissimilar to the biggest pizza chains, which have maximized a number of their regions, Marco's has a lot of chances for development. We're in 34 states and three nations, and we're forcefully wanting to cut out a greater bit of the $46 billion pizza industry.

    Americans are choosier about what they serve their families, and they need their food to be high caliber, as well. Marco's hasn't needed to do a noteworthy picture makeover for its pizza in light of the fact that Marco's has dependably been centered around serving the most astounding quality pizza utilizing the best accessible fixings.

    That mission, joined with our one of a kind limit with respect to colossal development, implies you can get in on a ground-floor opportunity with Marco's. Opening a Marco's Pizza® is moderately reasonable contrasted with the cost of beginning other easygoing eateries, and proprietors don't require earlier eatery encounter. We teach all our establishment proprietors on all that they have to know.

    In case you're longing for owning a business, or even a few on the double, Marco's might be the ideal place for you to flourish. Unlike the largest pizza chains, which have maxed out many of their territories, Marco’s has plenty of opportunities for growth.

    Veteran Incentives  $10,000 off franchise fee; franchisee fee waived for veterans with service-related disabilities
    "Top                    ""          "Entrepreneur
    #13 in Gator's Top franchises.
    #83 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
    #92 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