What is an Edible Arrangements

Edible Arrangements is an American franchising company specializing in fresh fruit arrangements, combining the concept of fruit baskets, with design inspired by the floral business.

The company is led by Tariq Farid, who in partnership with his brother Kamran Farid to open the first store of edible arrangements in Hamden, Connecticut, in 1999. After the creation of computer systems, training manuals, monitoring of a production and profitability and supply chain management process, they began franchising the concept in 2001. The location of the first official franchise opened in Waltham, Massachusetts.

From 2008, the company had grown to over 900 stores serving locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. In March 2008, Edible Arrangements was reported to have an annual turnover of U.S. $195 million.

In 2009, Edible Arrangements announced the signing of master franchisee agreements in Rome, Italy and Hong Kong. The Rome master franchise was purchased by VPF International Ltd, and the franchise of HongKong was purchase by DT Hong Kong Ltd, which is owned by Sanja Dujic.

Furthermore, in November 2009, an agreement was signed with the brothers Kemal and Emre Aydin, who wanted to develop at 15 sites in Turkey. Edible Arrangements ended 2009 with 74 new stores and franchise agreements with over 85 locations in the U.S. and internationally, bringing the number of units to 940. The company's growth in the U.S. in 2009 was concentrated in Texas and the Midwest to open stores in other locations, including California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia. A total of 39 U.S. locations closed during the three years period 2007-2009.

In 2010 the company opened 84 new stores in the U.S. and nine international stores and signed commitments for 123 new locations. Hiten Bajaj plans to open 20 new stores in Portugal, with the Mumbai store as a model for other. Richmond, Virginia, businessman Raed Al-Mustafa plans to open six stores in Jordan. In January 2011, Edible Arrangements announced its 1000's franchise agreement.

Franchise requirements

In January 2011, a Forbes magazine article titled "Top 20 Franchises to start" Edible Arrangements ranked as number nine. The article stated that the average investment required to start a new franchise is $223,057, the franchisees are offered 104 hours of training, and royalties to the company average of five per cent of gross sales.