Le Macaron French Pastries Is Looking to Bring Something Colorful and Sweet to Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan

Not long ago, macarons, an icon of French culture, were pretty hard to come by in the United States. But thanks to mother-daughter duo Rosalie Guillem and Audrey Guillem-Saba, the delicate and sweet French treats are now known and loved by many across the country. Le Macaron French Pastries was founded in Sarasota, Florida in 2009 as a way to fill the gap in the market for a pastry shop that focused solely on the macaron.

Since 2019 Le Macaron has grown to more than 60 locations spanning 12 states and has become the leader in the category.

Within the last year, Le Macaron achieved expansion into six new markets: Huntsville, Alabama; St. Louis, Missouri; Novi, Michigan; Austin, Texas; Alpharetta, Georgia; and San Diego, California.

This year, Le Macaron is focusing its expansion efforts on the Michigan market. The brand has one operating location in Novi, Michigan and one in development in Rochester, Michigan.

Since opening Michigan’s first Le Macaron as a kiosk in October 2019, Franchise Owner Rachael Nichols has enjoyed great success. “Novi is home to a lot of shopping areas,” Nichols said. “I am located in the Twelve Oaks Mall, which is a mall that has been in operation since the 1970s. It’s more of a regional mall that people will come to from 30 miles away to shop—it’s upscale with a lot of foot traffic. Since opening, I have received significant feedback on the product, and people love the brand.”

And because of Nichol’s success with her Le Macaron kiosk model in the Twelve Oaks Mall, the brand is looking to bring that success to more Michigan shopping centers. More specifically, the french-pastry concept is looking to add locations in Detroit and Ann Arbor.

According to Linton Dowling, Marketing Director at Raintree and head of franchise development for Le Macaron, shopping centers and malls are the exact types of locations Le Macaron is looking at for development. “Detroit and Ann Arbor both have one thing in common: a strong suburban population with significant traffic at large shopping centers and malls,” Dowling said. “Le Macaron’s three business models is what makes shopping centers and malls great targets for development. Whether someone wants a traditional cafe, a kiosk or a mobile cart, owners have a ton of flexibility; they have the option to bring Le Macaron basically anywhere.”

Over the next three to five years, Le Macaron is looking to open three Detroit area locations and two Ann Arbor locations.

In addition to territory availability, Detroit and Ann Arbor make excellent locations for expansion for one simple reason: the lack of any product like that offered by Le Macarons. “Expansion in this area is all about the growth of the Le Macaron brand and bringing it to new markets where people really haven’t experienced it before,” Dowling said. “Detroit and Ann Arbor aren’t major U.S. cities with thousands of different foods—let alone pastry—options. So, bringing Le Macaron’s delicious, hand-crafted macarons to these cities would be really exciting for the people that live there.”

“Branching out to new markets is always important for a rapidly growing franchise,” he continued. “We want to touch as many people as possible and have them experience how great Le Macaron’s product is.”

A niche company with strong growth goals like Le Macaron is bound for success. Whether it’s a traditional cafe, kiosk or mobile cart, the timing has never been better to become a Le Macaron French Pastries franchise owner.

The investment range associated with opening a Le Macaron French Pastries pâtisserie or kiosk is $84,350 to $361,500 with a $45,000 franchise fee. For more information about franchising opportunities with Le Macaron, please visit https://lemacaronfranchise.com/.