SARASOTA, FLA. — Business in the 21st century can sometimes feel like an endless pursuit. Potential customers are everywhere, and it’s up to retailers to reach them. The traditional method of enticing people to come into your shop may not always be the most effective way to do business — nowadays, you may have to take your shop to where they are.
That’s the thinking behind many retailers’ current strategy of opening pop-up shops, food trucks, and other methods of bringing their products to unconventional spaces. That’s also how Le Macaron French Pastries believes it will take its company into the future.
The French patisserie specializing in authentic French macarons and pastries is launching a new opportunity with strategic franchise partners as part of its overall growth strategy. Le Macaron is looking to cater to on-the-go consumers at malls, airports, sporting events, festivals, and other gatherings with mobile kiosks.
Smaller products such as macarons, as well as pastries, gelato, coffee, cakes, and éclairs, can be offered at these kiosks.
“We wanted to create an opportunity that allows our franchise owners to work in nonconventional environments and offer guests a sweet treat when they are unable to access one of our locations,” said Rosalie Guillem, chief executive officer and co-founder of Le Macaron French Pastries. “Our products can easily be eaten on the go, so a mobile kiosk aligns perfectly with our brand. This will only accelerate our growth as we welcome a new group of franchisees looking to enter the fast-casual industry.”
Mobile kiosks are a big part of Le Macaron’s future. They are one of the company’s many responses to the changing market demands of both franchise owners and consumers.
“We realized that in our stores 75% of our gross sales were generated by our macarons and pastries,” Ms. Guillem said. “From this information, we decided that these would be the products that our mobile kiosks would present and serve to our customers. The advantage to owning a kiosk is that there are less overhead costs like rent that a franchise owner needs to worry about. Instead, franchise owners can focus more on sales and customer service.”
The company already has two mobile kiosks up and running in Sarasota, Fla., and Pittsburgh. All products are made by French chef Didier Saba in the kitchen headquarters and shipped by refrigerated food truck straight to the franchisee’s door as often as necessary. They are held to the same standard of quality as at Le Macaron’s more than 50 cafes, with no need for on-site preparation.
“We opened a Le Macaron French Pastries mobile kiosk because of the simplistic business model, reduction in overhead costs, and finding real estate for the cart is easier since it has a smaller footprint,” said Luke Freshwater, owner of Le Macaron French Pastries in Pittsburgh. “We are seeing incredible success because the French macarons are a high-quality product and we are able to connect with our customers since we have such a small and passionate staff.”