MEAL PREP: “You Can’t Fix Stupid”

Chow Bella posted the following in the comments section in response to a comment left by Karen (Who, incidentally, has pointed out that I am no Einstein and asserts that the MAK is BOOMING in her town). Every meal assembly franchisor has been begging me to divulge her IP address.

While Chow rambles a bit (cooking sherry again?), she makes some excellent points about the lack of experience of the MAK cloud merchants:

Karen your point is well taken about folks developing and franchising this failed concept with no food experience- with that in mind, let me quote from an article from the SpokemansReview.com; that I found on Cena’s own website-
Titled “Ingredients for Success” about Cena To Go- FOUNDERS-Nancy Cole-Hough & Tami Badinger- “The women, (Cole-Hough & Badinger) who two years ago were FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane.” Jared Paben, September, 13th, 2006.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=149276
They weren’t even Home Ec teachers for cryin out loud!!

“Badinger and Cole Hough decided to start franchising their small business 11 MONTHS AFTER OPENING IT” – (my emphasis)
“We decided to bust a move EARLY (my emphasis) because if we didn’t, our franchisees wouldn’t be on the ground floor of this burgeoning business,” Cole Hough said. (HMMMM….sounds a little opportunistic in my opinion)

Those quotes PRETTY much sum up everything that is WRONG with what you have to say.

With no culinary experience to speak of with a grand total of 11 months of business experience under their belts-CENA founders started selling franchises 11 MONTHS after opening ONE store in Spokane, Washington, in my opinion, certainly NOT a representative sampling of Any Town USA where these Meal Prep/Assembly Kitchens, Kitchen Outsourcing, Home Meal Replacement have opened and where most have FAILED, even in the “perfect” demographic profiles.

Did Cena’s founders know it would be successful anywhere else?

Did they consider taking their show on the road to see if the concept was viable any where else before they started “selling” franchises for their little experimental concept?

Was their concept fully vetted or did they just see dollar signs?

* * * * *

A very reliable source told me that Super Supper’s just closed 10 stores last month….

One super Suppers store in a town in Ohio closed after being opened only 6 months.

The Supper Supers Ardmore store that Admin relates is frightening and again burns my biscuits to a veritable southern fried crisp…where is the professional FrannieZor guidance franchisees PAY for when they buy one of these “opportunities’? Where is the support?

* * * * *

So, how does a Meal Prep Industry apologist explain the MASS failure of the Meal Prep/Assembly kitchen franchises that DO have a Culinary expert at the helm, Entrée Vous & Super Suppers spring to mind-neither one is doing all that well either. So that argument is shot all to hell too, right?

Even Franchise Great veteran Ex-Gov. John Brown shuttered the doors of his version of the concept after 6 months and 2 or 3 stores under the name “Suzanne’s Kitchen” (as in Suzanne Sommers). He claimed the concept was too labor intensive for consumers and was going to let experienced experts revamp it to be more customer friendly and re-open. That was nearly 2 years ago, I’m guessin’ he was smart enough to see the writing on the wall and got the hell out of Dodge with minimal financial loss- unfortunately the same probably can’t be said for the Franchisees in that organization either. At this point my opinion is that unless you actually eat the food for them it’s not going to get any more customer friendly.

Karen said: “…The convenience of a home-cooked meal, ready-to-cook, sit down with the family, that isn’t full of preservatives, etc….”

The food quality issue is funny because as stated somewhere else on this board, you all get your inventory from the same manufacturers, most from the same distributors.

There is no magic Meal Prep faerie that delivers minimally processed, preservative free ingredients to Meal Prep stores. Don’t get me wrong there MIGHT be some stores that provide that type of finished product, but it comes with a premium price tag, and is therefore no longer cost effective for the consumer.
Folks will actually have a better chance getting better quality, less expensive minimal preservativized ready-made, frozen or M&T meals from Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Tesco, Trader Joes, or even Costco who has take & bake organic fare now, and yes, even from the grocery store; than from ANY Meal Prep/Assembly, Kitchen Outsourcing, Cooking Studio, Home Meal Replacement store. It’s just simple economics and scale of buying power.

Besides, most “meals” from a Meal Prep store have to be prepped at home, thawed before cooking, or at least have some minimal planning that goes into the consumption/usage of the meals.
That is generally beyond the preference/normal practice of most busy family food preparers.

Karen said: “…there might be something to salvage. Get rid of the sessions and call it good – that’s where they’re all headed. Why is it so terrible for it to morph into something slightly different?”
Sorry to be Captain Obvious here, but that is indeed called a grocery store or a restaurant, not a “meal prep/assembly store”

* * * * *

Super Suppers has already become “your make & take place”, Make and on the Take Gourmet has muffed it and puts out these outrageous PR articles, MGFK’s original FrannieZOR has taken the money and ran by selling to another player in this troubled industry for pennies on the dollar to the detriment of former MGFK store owners, Dinners By Design second CEO thinks that a centralized community freezer for stock-piled meals for customers to pick-up or kiosks at Malls for pick meals is the way to go. I think all the players in this game have weighed in and pretty much have this half-baked “morphing” idea covered. And in opinion-all stupid morphisms my. All the while happily “skipping” their franchisees into financial oblivion.
My spidey senses are tingling and I have a sneaking suspicion that nobody in the game has a clue.

* * * * *

Again Karen good luck with whatever it is you do; whether it’s damage control for some lucky frannniezor, a crack PR person, a MAK apologist, propagandist for the industry or if you are indeed a person who is looking to buy one of these things and “morph-it” into a whatever you positive thinker types are calling it now, good luck and God’s speed, you are going to need that and PLENTY of cash in reserve for the lean years.
Thanks for playin’, but where I come from there’s an old sayin’-
“You can’t fix stupid.”

MAKE & TAKE GOURMET: $30K Per Month?

Despite numerous shuttered Make & Take Gourmet meal prep kitchens and rumors of franchisee contract buy-out offers and franchisee group lawsuit against the franchisor, Watertown NY franchise owner Jennifer Vail says things are great. In an interview with the Watertown Daily Times, Vail reports that she has 20 employees, several hundred regular customers and an average monthly purchase of approximately $100 per customer.

At 300 customers, that would equate to $30,000 per month, or $360,000 per year. While a respectable amount, that’s quite a bit lower than the Cicero store sales figures the Bellsos fed the press last year:

Make and Take’s Cicero location sells, on average, 3,000 meals per day, Bellso says. In December 2006, during the busy holiday season, sales increased to 6,000 meals per day, she adds.

Make and Take’s Cicero location will generate annual revenue of $1.2 million to $1.5 million, says David Bellso, Make and Take’s franchise-sales manager.

However, Vail, with owns the meal preparation business with her husband, Alan, sounds busy but upbeat:

“It’s like a 24/7 job…. I just wanted something else that would branch off into another direction. And this seemed to be a great fit. And it has been. It’s been phenomenal. I’ve been very lucky.”

“… the great thing about owning this franchise, because they give us all our recipes every month and they give us all the prep instruction and they tell us how to do the station layouts and all of that. It’s pretty easy.”

“We have 4,200 square feet here, which makes us the largest Make and Take Gourmet. It had to be in an area that’s well lit, in a safe location, because we have a lot of women that come here by themselves and we’re open at night.”

“Alan and I also decided we wanted it to be in a high-visibility location. Some of the Make and Takes are in the back of complexes and aren’t as visible. We have a great walk-in clientele, which is very, very important. We also wanted to have one that’s large enough in case we wanted to expand.”

“It’s key to get people in the door. Once we get customers in the door, then we’re golden. It’s kind of a glitch having people not really understand exactly what it’s all about. It’s the convenience. We’re all so busy anymore that most people do not want to go home and cook.”

“IN A MONTH OF BUSINESS, HOW MUCH WOULD THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER SPEND? “Probably, on average, $100.”

“WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? “I don’t know. Not another Make and Take right away, that’s for sure. This is time-consuming enough for me…”

WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT.

ENTREE VOUS: Broomfield, CO Franchise "Adventure" to Close

Entrée Vous, 1140 Highway 287, Broomfield, CO will close on July 31.  Our condolences go out to franchise owners Debbie and Andy Jacobs, who called their meal prep kitchen franchise "a wonderful adventure."

Source:  Daily Camera

Entrée Vous, a nationwide meal preparation franchise with several Denver-metro area locations announced this week that its Broomfield kitchen will cease operations at month’s end.

"This has been a wonderful adventure for us and we’ve enjoyed helping you put dinner on your family’s table," franchise owners Debbie and Andy Jacobs stated in an e-mail notifying customers of the pending closure.

The reasons for the closing haven’t been disclosed. Speculation includes the tough economy isn’t allowing customers the luxury of a make-and-take-style restaurant….

The Entrée Vous was concept was to make cooking convenient for those short on time, and to provide an opportunity to socialize while preparing a meal.

The trend of easy meal preparation has become popular, with more than 1,400 make-and-take outlets nationwide. The restaurants generally offer dishes, either prepared in the store or available for pick-up, that serve a four- to six-member family.

Entrée Vous’ main easy meal preparation rival within Broomfield is Supper Solutions, 1480 W. Midway Blvd.

Meal prep kitchens are closing nationwide faster than they opened, yet the media reports "The trend of easy meal preparation has become popular, with more than 1,400 make-and-take outlets nationwide…"

Don’t believe what you read in the papers…

Tip of the hat:  Joel Libava, The Franchise King

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  YOUR COMMENTS WELCOME.

DREAM DINNERS: Should Meal Assemby be a Diet Concept?

Unhappy Franchisee reader and ex-Dream Dinners customer Jennifer recounts the reason she no longer goes to Dream Dinners, but goes to a non-franchised meal prep kitchen instead. In complaining about the shrinking portion size, she sparks the idea that could save the meal assembly concept: Perhaps meal assembly places like Dream Dinners should become weight loss concepts! After all, no one has stepped up to replace Pure Weight Loss, or to pick up the customers the ailing L.A. Weight Loss is alienating.

I used to go to Dream Dinners in 2005. Back then you did save money. The meals were large. When they said they fed 6 they always did, and then some. Not anymore, the serving size is the size of your palm. I eat like that when I am on a diet. Not my husband and growing kids. The owner of our local Dream Dinners said that she did not have the power to change it, I would have to write the corporate office. I did. To no prevail, I was told they were partnering with weight watchers and potions were important to the founders. That this was thier FIRST complaint!
Needless to say, we go to a similar place that is non- franchised. They serve organic ingredients, the portions are normal, and I know I am helping the community because the local store gets all her main ingredients at the farmer market. The average cost for 12 meals is $199.00 I pick half of them up the first of the month, then the other half around the 15th of each month.

I think this concept will be around, just not Dream Dinners. There food is marginal and very inflexible. They do not receive criticisms well either….

Well, I guess Dream Dinners will get a chance to show their graciousness to criticism right here and now.

What do you think? Should Dream Dinners market itself as a diet concept? Or should they add plastic cosmetic enhancement services like Make & Fake Gourmet Meal Assembly & Botox Kitchen?

DREAM DINNERS: The Customer Speaks

Guest writes:

Lori, I have been apart of Dream Dinners as a customers for many years. Even though I have not come into the store for over a year, I recieve your newsletters and such.
Since Dream Dinners Poulsbo is in our local papers about the anniversary event I thought I would google Dream Dinners. (I do remember when their was only 5 stores in Washinton) I came upon Meal Assembly Watch. Reading the site, I knew it was not the store in poulsbo, wa. I believe your over thinking if you really think customers like myself do not know the difference.

Dream Dinners, Inc. lost me as a customer a long time ago when they changed the price on the food. I, like many families, can not afford your product. I have shared this with many people, including the corporate office. Seems like it doesn’t matter, or it would have changed.

Good Luck Lori.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.

Make & Take Gourmet: The Meal Dissembly Kitchen

dis·sem·ble \di-ˈsem-bəl\ transitive verb 1 : to hide under a false appearance 2 : to put on the appearance of : simulate intransitive verb : to put on a false appearance : conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense

The growth of Make and Take is entirely company funded, Bellso says. The company currently has no investors and has not taken out any loans, she says.

Dream Dinners-Living the Dream Foundation

If you check out the new Dream Dinners UFOC you’ll find something interesting…

Someone has “borrowed” $169,046, from the Living the Dream Foundation, which is a charity that most Dream Dinners owners have at one time or another supported by contributing to with their hard earned money from the product sales in their stores.

” Private Foundation ”

“At December 31,2007, the Company has short-term borowings from the Foundation of $169,046….The Foundation is directed by the majority stockholders of the Parent”

One has to wonder WHO borrowed the money and for what purpose, since it is in the control of Stephanie & Tina.

 

MEAL PREP: Another One Bites the Dish

http://http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806290331

Here are some excerpts from an intersting article online about the Meal Assembly Industry and the toll it’s taking on owners . Some have adapted and started a new business out of the ruins of their failed Meal Assembly Store, others have just closed.

The Meal Assembly Industry seems to be going down the drain across the board, Franchised Stores as well as Independents are feeling the burn,

Although the idea spread quickly, the failures followed with 264 meal-prep stores closing last year (207) and another 200 expected to fail this year.

It’s been very hard if not impossible to get accurate numbers on store closures due to spotty and unreliable closure information on the part of most Meal Assembly Franchisors. Their failure to post closed stores and in the instance of Dream Dinners, just lists closed stores as temporarily closed, it would seem to indicate that Dream Dinners doesn’t want potential franchisees to know the real failure rate they have experienced. Other websites that “track” both independent & Franchised operations are just as inaccurate if not down right deceiiving as to the health of the Meal Assembly Industry as a whole.

Let’s Dish, which opened in 2006 in Scarsdale during the height of a nationwide boom in what are known as “meal-assembly” or “meal-prep” stores, is closing its doors for good this weekend. Nine employees will lose their jobs.

It is the last of four meal-assembly stores in Westchester to fail. Super Suppers of New Rochelle closed last month. One … Two… Three … DINNER in Briarcliff Manor and Sip & Supper in Tuckahoe closed more than a year ago.

Although Let’s Dish is a smaller franchisor and has not been one of the Big Girls (Super Suppers and Dream Dinners), it seemed to be golden on the east coast-but that, it would seem, is not really the case.

This story seems to be the the same in every market across the country.

Terese Hunerson of Scarsdale, who was so optimistic when she opened Let’s Dish in 2006 that she was planning to expand in northern Westchester and the Sound Shore, said she was done in by a combination of rising food and gas prices, as well as the challenge of selling consumers on the unfamiliar idea of assembling meals at her store and taking them home to cook.

“This concept is meant to help a busy person, but people found themselves so busy that they didn’t know how to incorporate this into their lives,” Hunerson said.

The self-proclaimed expert in the Meal Assembly Industry says:

Industry consultantBert Vermeulen, who founded a Meal Prep association in 2005, said the idea was too new to support the number of stores that opened.

Mr. B opined in this same article that:

“This is a concept where the stores got ahead of the market. The majority of the target market is not aware of this concept and why it works,” he said.

And yet; here’s an example of Vermulen’s Meal Assembly BAD fortune-telling, it reminds one of the late Johnny Carson’s -”the Great Carnak” Schtick

In 2006, Vermeulen predicted the number of meal-prep outlets would reach 3,000 by 2010 with $1 billion in revenues. Today, the association forecasts just 1,935 stores with $650 million in sales in 2010.

In reality, if you read his website carefully you will find that a few more than 1250 Meal Assembly Stores exist in the US, the remainder are on Canada. Even that number is in dispute as per the observation at the beginning of this article.

And those outlets will be very different from the original stores that struggled to find customers. In 2004, 90 percent of meals were assembled by the customer. Vermeulen said more store owners are adopting a “grab-and-go” model where they assemble meals for time-pressed consumers reluctant to spend up to two hours crafting a pack of meals themselves.

He predicts that by 2010, 80 percent of the meal-prep industry’s revenue will come from grab-and-go meals.

I predict they’ll find out that he is full of hot air, and if I’m not mistaken his descriptions are already in operation, and doing a brisk business- they’re called Grocery stores and Take Out Restaurants.

He likened it to the failure of pioneering online grocery store Webvan, which went bankrupt in the dot-com bust. Today, Fresh Direct is making a success at online grocery delivery because the concept has had enough time to percolate into consumers’ consciousness, Vermeulen said.

It has “percolated” into the “consumers consciousness” as he so eloquently puts, because of the very same economic down-turn, the skyrocketing food and fuel costs that have caught most Meal Assembly Store owners in between a rock and a hard place. Those same factors have made services like Fresh Direct more economical for some people.

It needs to be pointed out that the one of the reasons that Meal Assembly Stores are getting “out-dished”, is because Grocery Stores and by extension services like Fresh Direct, have stepped up to the plate and are pretty good at getting a large piece of the tummy pie. One stop for Mom or Dad after work equals time and money saved in today’s hard economic times.

Rolling out a new concept requires a deep commitment in marketingfrom the franchiser, Vermeulen said, something that Let’s Dish and others didn’t provide.

“Many of the franchisers thought it was easier than it was. They sold franchises without thinking through the marketing program they were going to run,” he said.

Mr. Vermulen is also in the business of selling Independent Meal Assembly store owners everything from soup recipes to the nuts & bolts needed to open a Meal Assembly operation. ALthough he has never owned or operated a Meal Assembly store he only provides services and products to run one. He also operates several self-promotional websites to funnel Meal Assembly owner-wannabes into his plethora of services and products. He also runs an for profit organization for Independent Meal Assembly Store owners.

He likens the Meal Assembly business to the Papa Murphy’s Take & Bake Pizza organization, he feels that they did it correctly.

” Pappa (sic) Murphy’s wouldn’t go into a particular metro area unless they went in big so they could establish awareness of their concept. Their concept is pizzas you pick up uncooked that you cook at home. It’s not that different from meal prep, but the roll-out was very different,” he said.

EXCEPT: It’s like comparing the perverbial apples to oranges- it’s proven that kids LOVE pizza of almost any kind (re-Little Caesars Pizza), not so with Meal Assembly Meals. Those little rug rats are harder to please than the average bear; which means the meal that Mom bought at the local Meal Assembly store for dinner will have to be supplemented with PBJ or Chicken Nuggets from Mickey D’s for the little ones.

Here’s another difference-Papa Murphy’s vetted their prospects and if they didn’t meet the criteria, they didn’t get the location. Not so in Meal Assembly Land where anyone with a valid check can own a franchise.

Every Meal Assembly Franchisor disregards even THEIR OWN specifications for ownership, and in fact a couple are on the second round of “finding” just the “right” franchisee, since the first round of franchisees were forced into bankruptcy when their dreams turned sour.

Some ex-owners have been able to land on their feet after their Meal Assembly business went bust.

Melanie Heim of Super Suppers in New Rochelle said she and business partner Beth Dexter of Bronxville put in a lot of hard work on a failing concept.

“It was a huge disappointment. In retrospect, I don’t know if we did enough research. I don’t know what other research I should have done, but I should have done something. The franchiser won’t tell you much except that it’s fantastic,” she said.

Making their own meals just didn’t resonate with people in Westchester, Heim said.

“I would hear, ‘This is great. I love this. It’s so easy,’ but I’d never see them again,” she said. “It never moved from novelty to habit.”

Heim and Dexter, along with Larchmont chef Liv Grey, have converted their Super Suppers location into a new catering business called The Pantry. “We’ve adapted and moved on,” Heim said.

This is hardly the position ANY one who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and man hours invested in a Franchise to find themselves in. Luckily they were fortunate enough to be able to move on to another venture and survive the loss. Others are not so lucky. Some folks who still beleive that the “idea” is a good one are willing to finance a “re-sale” store, some of the bigger franchises like Dream Dinners and Super Suppers are willing to re-sell a failed location to a new owner. But Buyer Beware!

Ryan Knoll, an attorney who runs the FranchisePundit.com Web site, said it is hard to distinguish between a gimmick franchise and one that will be around for decades.

“Franchisers less than 5 years old are much higher risk because they have not fully tested their systems nor have they created brand recognition and loyalty,” he said.

This describes every single Meal Assembly Franchise selling franchises today-NONE are more than 5 years old and NONE have corporate stores still in operation.

As the meal-prep business falters, franchisees are venting on sites like Meal Assembly Watch (www.mealassemblywatch), on which a recent poll asked visitors to vote on whether the concept would survive beyond this year. Sixty-one percent said yes while 39 percent said no.

The ode to Franchisepicks own Sean Kelly:

There’s even gallows humor on some sites, including a mock story that suggests meal-prep stores should diversify to offer Botox or plastic surgery as a side business with a motto like, “Nip, Tuck & Peking Duck.”

My advice to Carolyn is to please wake-up and smell the coffee.

Carolyn Calabria, owner of Entrée Vous in Pomona, said the failure of four meal-prep stores across the river has her concerned, but not defeated.

“It’s a little alarming, but I have to take it as a positive that although it didn’t work there, everyone has to judge their failures and successes as an individual. I hope that when people come and enjoy their culinary experience, they’ll come back,” Calabria said.

Practical experience has not proven this to be the case. Retention is very hard to come by in this industry. It’s more than “a little alarming”, it’s like the understatement of the century!

The story of the ever changing/evolving model is another problem that most newbies can’t understand. They thought they were buying a proven model and in reality they were the guinea pigs as Franchisors were making it up as they went along They soon realize that it is not the concept they bought and sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into.

As a franchisee, Let’s Dish’s Hunerson blames her parent company for being too rigid and failing to adapt as it became clear the concept wasn’t working as originally designed.

With the economy turing against their best efforts, owners are being forced to make the hard decisons to close their doors for good. Most have drawn an line in the sand and refuse to sink more good money after bad into a business that has proven to be unproductive economically for them.

MEAL PREP: What Happens Next?

“Kelly- I have $350,000 invested in my business, I’m losing money every month…What should I do?”

” I have never reached break even, what should I do?”

“I have a hard decision to make-do I dip into my retirement/kids college fund to keep my head above water?”

These questions and others have been asked of me and my friend by unhappy Meal Assembly franchisees (also an ex-MAKer) multiples times.

The right answer? There is no right answer, but here’s some questions to help you formulate an answer…

In which direction is your business trending? (We all know that summer is the slooooowwwwer season for Meal Assembly so assess your situation with that in mind).

Do you have enough operating capitol to pay yourself and all of your overhead? Do NOT use personal or business credit cards to meet loan obligations, rent, or payroll or suppliers.

Are you making a profit? My definition of making a profit is being able to pay yourself a salary commensurate with the hours you are putting in your job, profit is the bonus you pay yourself and employees after your operating expenses are met-if you don’t have your salary built into your budget, you’re already behind the 8-ball.

Is your concept stable? What we are finding in the Meal Assembly business is that the concept that is still being sold to franchisees is faulty at best, broken and completely unproven.

Here is a clue to the question: If the concept is going through an “evolution or adaptation”- it is not a stable concept.

Guidelines for making a decision about the viability of your businesses future:

Be honest with yourself about your businesses future- What does she mean?-you might be asking yourself.

Look around you and talk to people in the industry-what are they saying?

Don’t be afraid to walk away.

Don’t let your ego get the best of clear thinking and critical assessment of your current situation.

Make the hard decision sooner rather than later.

Comic Relief for Meal Prep Kitchen Owners

First Meal Assembly & Cosmetic Surgery Kitchen Franchise Debuts

Can Botox Parties Save the Meal Prep Franchises? (Part 1)

Can Botox Parties Save the Meal Prep Franchises? (Part 2)

Can Botox Parties Save the Meal Prep Franchises? (Part 3)

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