Yahoo Finance Cinnabon Comes To Singapore Under A Master Franchisee: What Is A Master Franchisee?
As queues snake outside Cinnabon’s Raffles City outlet for a chance to buy a maximum of three boxes of Cinnapacks (with four rolls inside), entrepreneurs may be looking out for the next food trend to hop on. After all, this is a comeback story for Cinnabon which exited Singapore in 2002.
This time, Cinnabon is brought back to the Singapore market under a master franchisee, Mr Alvin Ng of the local company, Wabi-Sabi. According to ladyironchef, Alvin Ng is also the master franchisee of Hong Kong bakery Hang Heung, as well as Japanese brands, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory and LeTao.
Cinnabon Is A Franchise Chain
Known for its cinnamon rolls, Cinnabon is an American bakery brand under Focus Brands which is a group of foodservice franchises. According to their franchise brochure, setting up a Cinnabon franchise in the US would cost you US$30,500 in initial franchise fees, with US$120,000 minimum liquid capital and $300,000 minimum net worth.
Read Also: What Do You Need To Know Before Setting Up A 7-Eleven Franchise In Singapore
What Is A Master Franchisee?
However, the above figures are unlikely to apply outside of the US. Instead, it appears that for the Singapore franchise of Cinnamon, a master franchise license has been granted to Wabi-Sabi.
Generally, a master franchisee has the right to recruit new franchisees in a specific area. In exchange, they pay the owner of the franchise brand a price and take on the responsibility to train and support new franchisees in the area. Sometimes, master franchisees are also referred to as sub-franchisors.
In this case, the franchise fee paid by Wabi-Sab is likely to be higher than the normal franchise fee. It is also likely that Wabi-Sabi will be able to recruit and set up new franchises for Cinnabon in Singapore. Depending on the extent of the master franchisee agreement, this may even extend outside of Singapore. However, given that Cinnabon is already present in Malaysia and Indonesia, it is likely that Wabi-Sabi’s master franchisee agreement is specific to the Singapore market.
Auntie Anne’s Already Has A Master Franchisee In Singapore
Aside from Cinnabon, Focus Brands also manages the franchising for Auntie Anne’s, the pretzel bakery chain, in the US. However, it is unlikely that Wabi-Sabi will be part of this as there is already a master franchisee for Auntie Annie’s in Singapore. Instead, they may want to turn their attention to other brands under the Focus Brands group such as Carvel, Jamba and Moe’s.
In Singapore, Auntie Anne’s has already been franchised by Alice Sulaeman in 1994 with the first Singapore outlet in 1996. Alice Sulaeman was the first international franchisee of Auntie Anne and the Sulaeman family is also a master franchisee of the brand.
One of the things that the Sulaeman family did as a franchisee that differentiates it from the original US brand is to localise the flavours, such as introducing Seaweed and Chocolate Éclair flavours. They also introduced the smaller “Asian” sized pretzel.
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