Article

Pastry duo find mobile carts a perfect serving option

Having created an infrastructure that allows French macarons to be delivered from their Sarasota, Florida kitchen direct to a franchisee, a mother/daughter team believe their turnkey system will allow franchisees hoping to cash in on the hand-crafted, gluten-free desserts.

October 7, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Have you ever tasted a real French macaron? The almond meringue cookies with creamy filling can be habit forming, which is why the mother-daughter team of Rosalie Guillem and Audrey Guillem-Saba are on a mission to educate Americans about the traditional French treats. 

To spread their message to as many customers as possible, the duo are introducing a fleet of refrigerated mobile carts to franchisees to place in malls and other retail outlets. Having created an infrastructure that allows the macarons to be delivered from their Sarasota, Florida kitchen direct to the franchisee, Le Macaron offers a turnkey system for franchisees hoping to cash in on the hand-crafted, gluten-free desserts.

Audrey Guillem-Sab and Rosalie Guillem believe their macaons will entice Americans.

The newly-introduced 8-by-3-foot mobile carts mark the next phase in a journey that began in 2009 when the duo opened their first French pastry cafe in Sarasota, Florida using a family recipe that includes no preservatives. Guillem, a French immigrant, felt the U.S. was ready for her French dessert adventure.

Besides the 20 different flavors of macarons, the Le Macaron menu includes chocolates, gelato, coffee and homemade candy.
Customer response convinced Guillem to begin franchising Le Macaron cafes. The company has since expanded to 54 locations in 11 U.S. states with 20 in development. 

All product is shipped direct to franchisee locations, with no on-site preparation required, Guillem said. Hence, the product naturally lent itself to mobile carts.

"If you can open a mobile cart, it would be great to have 70% or 80% of the gross sales with a lower investment for the franchises, because when you open a mobile cart you don't need a permit, you don't need an architect; it's much easier," Guillem told Food Truck Operator. "You just arrive with your mobile cart and you put that on the floor in the mall and you're almost ready to go." 

GTI Designs, a Long Island, New York-based design/build specialist, focused on foodservice and retail solutions, created and built the refrigerated Le Macaron cart which is powered by 20 amps of electricity.

Guillem got feedback from the first mall cart she tested it in Sarasota, as well as from franchisees, before finalizing the design. This fall, she began rolling out her first mobile carts to franchisees.

"It's a great concept that we place in malls," she said.

An enticing mall display

Positioned in the center of a mall, the cart announces itself with a colorful banner bearing a photo of macarons, enticing passersby to try a free sample. 

There are six carts in operation, four of which are exclusively cart franchisees while two also have cafes. More carts are on order.

A franchisee can have the cart, a Clover POS, mall storage space and their first order of products for about $90,000, Guillem said.

The carts can generate $200,000 in annual sales, she said. The monthly rent, including the power cost, typically ranges between $1,000 and $2,000. 

Malls are receptive to having the carts since many are struggling to create traffic, Guillem said.

One benefit to a franchisee is they can move the cart to a different spot if they are dissatisfied with a location, she said.

The company ships products to franchisee storage freezers, from which the franchisee typically restocks the carts daily.

"With our concept, there's no baking (by the franchisee)," Guillem said. The company delivers to franchisees using contracted refrigerated delivery trucks.

The company is also working on creating a food truck, Guillem said. "A food truck would work very well with our concept," she said.

The macarons cost the franchisees 75 cents, most of which retail between $2.50 and $2.90.

Photos courtesy of Le Macaron.
 

About Elliot Maras

---

Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.