Americas Incredible Pizza Company vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Americas Incredible Pizza Company Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Investment $500,000 - $7,000,000$200,000 - $350,000
Franchise Fee N/A$15,000
Royalty Fee -5%
Advertising Fee -3%
Year Founded 20021948
Year Franchised 20041986
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Americas Incredible Pizza Company Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
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

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

Training & Support

 
Americas Incredible Pizza Company Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Training Our web-based computer training programs provides an interactive process to show the skills required for every employee position at our locations. It also includes tests that must be successfully completed before each employee receives hands-on training with a mentor. Because our training is web-based, needed changes or improvements can be enacted by a member of the corporate training staff from anywhere and made immediately available to all stores. We monitor the results of each location to ensure all of our stores are properly using our web based training program. This approach helps establish consistency and a high standard of customer service at each and every operation in the America's Incredible Pizza Company system. Our employee training systems have been an eye opener to other franchise groups who are “amazed” at the rapid pace we can open a new location with fully trained staff. The cost savings involved in our rapid training programs is phenomenal.

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 America's Incredible Pizza Company’s community involvement is the key to our marketing success. Positive marketing formats include student incentive programs in local schools, fundraisers, lock-ins with youth groups, Incredible birthday parties for all ages, Bravery Awards for dentists and doctors, group events for kids’ sports teams, civic organizations, family reunions, banquets �" the list goes on and on. From corporate events to family parties to Project Graduation lock-ins, fundraisers and everything in-between, we will be the number one, top-rated party place in your community. Customized websites for each location, direct mail advertising using cutting edge demographic profiles, internet, social media, email marketing and seasonal radio and television placements are all important tools in attracting thousands of customers each week.

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

 
Americas Incredible Pizza Company Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
US Expansion -Yes
Canada Expansion -Yes
International Expansion --

Company Overviews

About Americas Incredible Pizza Company

Do you believe owning a franchise should be fun?America's Incredible Pizza Company may be the perfect opportunity. When you purchase a franchise, you are not just purchasing a vibrant business, you will also have access to proven tools, processes and guidelines to help you manage a successful business. Our extensive research into the family entertainment industry identified a significant market segment not being served by major national competitors. The success of our flagship store has confirmed what we believed to be true when we started America's Incredible Pizza Company: give families a fun, wholesome atmosphere with food prepared according to the highest standards, offer it at a great value for their entertainment dollar, and they will come, not just once, but again and again. The America's Incredible Pizza Company concept works best when we locate our 22,000- to 90,000-square foot stores at high traffic "A" locations in communities of over 50,000 people. Open 11AM till 10PM seven days a week, we serve up to 15,000+ customers per week at an average sale of $10-$12 per person. Additionally, our indoor locations provide a controlled setting, where we aren't impacted by the extremes of changing seasons or adverse weather. While our stores do require a large space, there are incredible locations in many empty grocery stores, Wal-Mart and K-mart type buildings, as well as closed big box retailers like Circuit City which are ideally located and often can be leased or purchased at extremely favorable rates. For immediate information on franchising opportunities, email Tony Cox at [email protected]!

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