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Mother-daughter owned macaron franchise offers unmatched products, a simple business model with two affordable investment opportunities and a quick return on investment.
When Rosalie Guillem moved to the United States from France in 2002, she quickly identified a gap in the marketplace: it was nearly impossible for her to find one of her favorite French delicacies, the macaron, in her new home of Florida. A few years later, as her older daughter, Audrey, was looking to join her family in the United States, the two were brainstorming how she could make a living when Rosalie had a stroke of inspiration: her family could bring her beloved macarons to the United States.
Rosalie and Audrey opened the first Le Macaron location in the midst of a rocky retail climate in Sarasota in 2009, but were immediately embraced by the community. After opening corporate stores, the brand began franchising in 2012. Now, as Le Macaron prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary in September 2019, there are 52 macaron franchise locations open in 11 states, with another 24 stores in development.
“I was always a fan of sweets, but was never able to find a fantastic macaron in Florida or nearby states. This country had everything – except a good macaron! Audrey and I wanted to find a niche, and we knew the macaron would be our signature product,” said Rosalie. “In ten years, we have developed a rabid fan following due to our chef-driven recipes made with real, quality ingredients. Customers are drawn in by our colorful, beautiful displays, and are hooked after one sample. Not long after we opened, we were seeing that customers were driving up to three hours to our store just to buy macarons. That consumer demand made us confident that franchising was a viable growth option.”
Le Macaron offers 20 flavors of its signature macaron, which rotate seasonally and by holiday. The brand also offers French gelato, which is now made from scratch at the Sarasota headquarters, fine chocolates, other pastries like eclairs, Napoleons, pies, cakes and croissants, and coffees, sodas and teas. As the brand focuses on franchise growth, one strategy that has been successful for Le Macaron has been its kiosks, a more affordable investment option that only sells macarons. The kiosk model carries less overhead, has lower rent, doesn’t require permits and has a faster opening timeline than the café shop concept.
“When we analyzed our growth, we saw that macarons made up to 80% of our sales, so we honed in on the kiosk model that only sells macarons,” said Rosalie. “Our franchisees can get a kiosk up and running in just two months, and generate nearly the same profit as a café in a much shorter time frame. It’s a great option, especially for franchisees that have both types of stores, as they can cross-promote across both locations.”
Rosalie continued, “Another thing that sets Le Macaron apart is that our franchisees can work directly with our chef to suggest flavors, some of which end up on the permanent menu. For example, our chef created the mojito-flavored macaron for our Miami franchisees. He can create any flavor, and is able to help our franchise owners customize their offerings for their local community’s specific tastes.”
Unlike other cookie franchises in the industry, Le Macaron franchisees don’t do any baking in the stores; the macarons are baked onsite at the Sarasota location and shipped directly to store locations.
“Because we bake all the macarons in our Sarasota location, one person can run each of our stores, which increases our franchisees’ profitability and ability to break even quickly,” said Rosalie. “Le Macaron is a solid business investment due to its low cost of entry, short training period and quick return on investment. Franchise owners can purchase three Le Macaron locations for the price of one ice cream shop or chocolate store.”
Le Macaron stores boast a high average ticket of $15, and because customer turnover is so quick, one employee can make $1,000 in sales in one day by themselves. In addition to the initial training the brand provides, Le Macaron also offers best-in-class ongoing support for its macaron franchise owners. Each franchisee is assigned a franchise business consultant that provides direct one-on-one support through the opening process. Once the store is open, the franchise business consultant has weekly calls and bi-annual site visits with each franchisee. The Le Macaron marketing team also supports Le Macaron franchise owners with images, videos, creative assets, social media support and more.
Franchisees Stephanie Ebers and Reggie Thompson fell in love with the concept when they stopped at the Winter Park, Florida store with their daughter. Now, the couple owns five stores throughout Florida and Georgia.
“I’m actually not a big sweet eater, but the macarons were perfect,” said Ebers. “Not overly sweet or saccharine, just wonderful and flavorful. I also tried the violet gelato, and that was so unique.”
“Stephanie and I were looking for something to do together, and this franchise very much has a family feel,” added Thompson.
Ebers and Thompson opened their first Le Macaron in Ponte Vedra, Florida in February 2017, and a second store in Savannah, Georgia, before acquiring three stores in Jacksonville, Florida, making them the brand’s largest multi-unit owners
To continue its nationwide growth, Le Macaron is looking for franchise partners like Ebers and Thompson to expand its footprint along the East Coast, like in Boston and New York, as well as in Chicago. In 2018, Le Macaron signed four deals for a total of eight new units. In 2019, the brand will open six new stores and has agreements in place for another eight units just under the halfway point of the year.
“Our products are both elegant and simple, and make our customers feel like they are on vacation in France. Our customers are loyal and come back because of our delicious products that you can’t find elsewhere. Our franchise owners benefit as a result,” said Rosalie. “We have experienced a lot of great organic growth, and plan to grow concentrically in areas where we already have franchises. This will help us build on the great brand awareness we’ve built in those areas and deliver our delicious product to more macaron lovers across the United States.”
For more information on the Le Macaron franchise opportunity, please visit the Le Macaron franchise website.
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About the Author
Lauren has more than 12 years of experience in public relations, social media and content production. She has managed internal and external communication to deliver impactful business results for brands in the hospitality, retail, education and e-commerce sectors.
Lauren has a Master of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Spanish from Illinois State University. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her husband, son and dog.
