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Condé Nast To Open Restaurants Licensed On its Magazine Titles

August 7, 2010 By Pooja Kulkarni Leave a Comment

Vanity Fair Cafe Joke

Here’s a rather interesting example of licensing / brand expansion: Condé Nast is preparing to license several of its magazine titles to restaurants across Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The company’s new Hong Kong-based restaurant division will be called, appropriately enough, “Condé Nast Restaurants,” and will oversee the licensing of Vogue and GQ related eateries.

Condé-themed restaurants already exist in Russia, where diners can savor the delicious irony of eating at Vogue Café, in addition to a GQ Bar or Tatler Club, made possible through a collaboration with restaurateur Arkady Novikov.

The company hopes to open the first couple of licensed restaurants in 2011, most likely in Hong Kong and Dubai or Singapore

Filed Under: Beauty, Fast Food Tagged With: , , , ,

UAE's Grooming Franchise to expand globally

April 23, 2010 By Pooja Kulkarni Leave a Comment

UAE’s Grooming Franchise to expand globally

The Grooming Company (TGC), the founding company of the increasingly popular grooming concepts – N.Bar, 1847, JetSet & Tilia & Finn – will soon launch a franchise program to export its home grown brands to cosmopolitan cities around the world. The Grooming Company, which owns the four concepts, was founded in 2001 by UAE businesswoman and entrepreneur, Negin Fattahi-Dasmal, who remains its Executive Chairwoman. Negin created the pioneering concept of a high-end nail care that came to life as N.Bar.

The instant success of N.Bar, one of the UAE’s most recognizable brands, was soon followed by the launch of 1847, the male grooming lounge, JetSet, a high end hair care concept and Tilia & Finn, a distinctive beauty lounge for natural beauty. N Bar is Middle East’s first chain of nail treatment bars, it has been in business, since 2001.

With an overwhelming response to its concepts and the consequent success, The Grooming Company planned international expansion through franchise operations, requests for which have inundated the company since it commenced operations. All such franchising inquiries are being professionally addressed by The Grooming Company’s appointment of an international franchise consulting company, which is helping to expedite making its concepts widely available around the world.

Commenting on the impending launch of the franchise program, Yunus Armien, Projects & Business Development Manager at TGC said, “With personal grooming options having moved from being a luxury to a necessity, investing in the grooming industry makes for a sound investment. And being the grooming leader in the region, this marks a significant milestone for us and opens up greater opportunities to  strengthen our regional and international presence”

The Middle East already has a large number of franchise companies operating, however, a significant portion of them are international companies. The Grooming Company is one of the home grown brands.

A large number of the franchising inquiries are GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) concentrated with many more pouring in from Europe, North & South Africa, Iran, Russia, Pakistan and India. The Grooming Companies will aim at locating international master franchisees, with a strong and successful entrepreneur profile, to look at expanding these brands.

Tags: Franchise Middle East, GCC, Business Opportunity, The Grooming Company, UAE, Negin Fattahi Dasmal, N.Bar, 1847, JetSet & Tilia & Finn, Grooming Franchise

Filed Under: Beauty Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

International Expansion: Freshberry Opens in Middle East

March 23, 2010 By Pooja Kulkarni Leave a Comment

Beautiful Brands International (BBI) announced today the opening of its first four locations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PRESS RELEASE: TULSA, OKLA – January 13, 2010 – Beautiful Brands International (BBI) announced today the opening of its first four locations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The openings are a result of an agreement between BBI and Saudi-based United Food Company to market and franchise the frozen yogurt concept throughout the Middle East.

“We’re thrilled to join with United Food Company in bringing the incredible taste of FreshBerry to the Middle East,” said David Rutkauskas, Beautiful Brands Founder, President and CEO. “Our growth in this region means we’re excelling at forging new frontiers in the frozen yogurt industry and growing our FreshBerry footprint based on wide consumer appeal. We look forward to providing the FreshBerry taste to whole new regions of frozen yogurt lovers in the Middle East and beyond.”

According to BBI and United Food Company officials, there are now four outlets open in Riyadh in some of the most popular business districts in the city: Tahliah Street, Riyadh Gallery, Granada Mall, and one unit in Dhahran Mall in the Eastern Province. The openings are part of a 120-unit deal between BBI and United Food Company to extend the brand’s reach into the Middle East and North Africa. The two companies anticipate the opening of 15 more units during the first quarter of 2010.

The FreshBerry concept was created by Rutkauskas and his wife Camille. The first FreshBerry café opened in January 2008 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Today there are 13 FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafés open and over 455 units in development across Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Northern California, Southern California, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Idaho, Florida; as well as in, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt.”We’re very proud of our joint venture with BBI,” said Raj Shah of United Food Company. “I believe our ability to offer any outlet type to franchisees from free-standing to profitable mall kiosks is a huge selling point to many area developers. Putting FreshBerry in places where there’s high foot traffic increases brand recognition and, of course, allows consumers to more easily discover the quality taste of FreshBerry frozen yogurt.”

“We’ve taken great strives to develop our brand globally and extend our reach into new markets,” said Rutkauskas. “Through a strategy that focuses on simplicity of the business model and the freshness of our ingredients, we’re creating exceptional brand appeal in countries all over the world.”

FreshBerry is one of 14 concepts marketed and developed by Beautiful Brands International. BBI was founded under the leadership of David and Camille Rutkauskas and is responsible for the successful launch of worldwide, franchised brands including Camille’s Sidewalk Café, Rex Chicken, Caz’s Chowhouse, Café Ole, Greenz Salads, Kyro Pizza, Dixie Cream Donut Co., Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse, Le Beau Rouleau Crepes and Croissants, and St. Michaels Alley. For more information on BBI or its brands visitwww.beautifulbrands.net.  For more information on FreshBerry franchises in the Middle East visitwww.freshberry-me.com.

Filed Under: Beauty
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