Auntie Anne’s, the world’s largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise, is launching in Australia, at Westfield Parramatta on 26 July.
Friends and business partners Yu-Jin Lee and Johann Wong have secured the master franchise rights for all states and territories in Australia.
The pair, who grew up in Malaysia, and met at university 20 years ago plan to open 60 stores within five years.
“This has been a dream in the making for years,” said Yu-Jin Lee. “We have always loved pretzels and one of our fondest childhood memories is going to the mall to grab an Auntie Anne’s pretzel.
“In Malaysia, we don’t see Auntie Anne’s as an American brand, it’s seen as a local brand. We want to bring the same feel to Australia,” Lee told Franchise Executives.
Flexible options key to Auntie Anne’s success
Initially the pair will focus on building a strong presence for the brand across New South Wales. They plan five stores over the next 12 months.
The pair believe the flexibility of store formats will help scale the pretzel brand. Outlets can vary from a 10sqm under-escalator kiosk or a farmers’ market food truck to a shopping centre store.
Lee said “Once we get our systems and suppliers well established, we will look to sub franchise. In the short term we want to get our foundations right.”
Auntie Anne’s is a sibling brand to Cinnabon in a stable of food brands owned by US-based GoTo Foods International.
Steven Yang, senior vice president, APAC at GoTo Foods International, said “Australia represents a key milestone in our international growth strategy. Yu-Jin and Johann with their passion, vision, and commitment to quality are exactly what we look for in franchise leaders. We’re thrilled to welcome Australia to the Auntie Anne’s family.”
Lee’s personal experience is in retail franchise and brand-building, and the ownership group behind the pair also has brand and retail experience.
It took them about 18 months to bring the brand from discussions with GoTo Foods to opening the launch store.
“Finding the right site for the brand was the biggest challenge,” Lee said.
First Auntie Anne’s pretzel store in Australia
The first store sits close to the Cinnabon store in the busiest part of Westfield Parramatta.
Wong said “The location is a confluence of different demographics – students, commuters, and families. Most consumers want to grab-and-go but others will drop in for a coffee and stay longer.”
GoTo Foods is stringent in its quality control of ingredient suppliers, Wong said. The team makes fresh pretzels every half hour.
“The quality is world standard and we have a few proprietary key ingredients shipped in,” Wong said.
The limited number of ingredients required to make the pretzels means the business can scale quickly, Lee added.
And there are opportunities to take the pretzel beyond the traditional twisted shape consumers are familiar with, tailoring the product to the local market.
“The versatility of the product means we can make into different shapes and forms,” Lee said. “In South Korea the pretzel stick has become a best seller. We will be introducing a pretzel pizza soon.”
Lee and Wong are in discussions with a major brand about a possible collaboration, he said.
The franchisees are employing a light-hearted marketing message to share the news of the brand’s launch. A social media campaign shows the brand’s mascot Twistee arriving in Australia and roaming around key locations in Sydney.
