Great Taste 2013 awards success for Ringtons

Ringtons taste tester at work

Ringtons taste tester at work

Mobile tea and coffee business Ringtons pride themselves on delivering top quality products to their customers. As a testament to this, their highly popular Scottish Strawberry Preserve was awarded an outstanding two star rating in the prestigious Great Taste 2013 awards.

The Great Taste awards is widely regarded as the world’s largest and most rigorous food awards. Great Taste judges blind taste over 9,700 entrants to find the very best food and drink, so it is a huge honour for businesses to be recognised by the awards.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that our constant strive to produce the best quality products has been recognised in this way. Our delicious Scottish Strawberry Preserve wowed the judges in the scheme! We sell over 80,000 jars every year so we know our customers love it and Great Taste clearly agree,” says Jon Malton, Brand Director of Ringtons.

Ringtons franchisees deliver first-class products with exceptional service and a personal and friendly touch to over 260,000 UK households. Founded in 1907, the business has a rich heritage of which it is immensely proud and the core business is still family owned to this day.

Joining Ringtons as a franchisee has never been easier or more attractive. Ringtons are so confident in their franchise model that they are now offering an unprecedented level of financial support for new franchisees. The new fee structure opens the franchise opportunity up to a significantly wider audience with the initial franchise cost being just £5,000. Ringtons will then fund the remaining £10,000 which franchisees can repay through an increased monthly Management Service Fee (MSF) over four years.

From award-winning food and drink to unique heritage collectables, the team at Ringtons head office continues to increase product range and quality to ensure their franchisees are able to offer the very latest and finest items to their ever expanding base of loyal customers.

“What we offer new franchisees is totally unique. We provide financial assistance for them to own a business which guarantees income from day one. We want our franchisees to hit the ground running with everything they need not only to operate their business successfully but with the skills and confidence to deliver exceptional customer service. We’re looking to partner with people who are passionate about starting and growing their business and being part of, and continuing, the proud Ringtons tradition,” explains Chris Clarke, Franchise Manager at Ringtons.

As part of the fully comprehensive training and launch package, new franchisees are guaranteed a minimum of 1,800 new customer orders from day one. The package also includes an exclusive territory, in-depth training programme, £3k of stock, a 3-month deposit on a VW caddie van plus all the equipment needed to successfully launch and run the business.

This press release was featured on a variety of franchise related websites and also generated social media coverage. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

Total Clean welcomes its second franchise partner

Phillip Webb and Total Clean team

Phillip Webb and Total Clean team

Coconut Creatives’ client Total Clean is proud to announce that Phillip Webb has joined the network as its second Franchise Partner. He has just finished his training and is now well prepared to start operating his Total Clean management franchise in Maidenhead.

Phillip has spent his career in the financial products industry working in a wide range of areas including loans, car leasing, insurance products and mortgages; the latter of which occupying the last 13 years. Prior to that, he spent some time in the cleaning industry which has influenced his recent decision to start a new endeavour in franchising.

“For me the appeal of franchising is the ability to tap into the knowledge of those who have been there and done it in a particular industry. It’s good to run your own business but at the same time nice to be a part of something and interact with like-minded people. Also, the knowledge that the franchise company needs me to be successful in order for them to be successful is a good leveller,” says Phillip.

Total Clean has operated in the commercial cleaning sector for 25 years, with a success that is based on an unrelenting commitment to service excellence and an obsessive attention to detail. It proudly boasts an enviable 95% client retention rate; in fact, among its many longstanding clients, it has the privilege of still servicing one client from the very first week of operation.

Total Clean is a company dedicated to building strong long-term relationships with their customers and they have transferred this to their franchise model. Therefore, they not only created a comprehensive training programme, designed to deliver on all core modules of learning required to develop and run the franchise successfully but also provide full ongoing support through a dedicated team of staff.

Phillip adds: “Almost every business is a people business and my reason for choosing Total Clean was based around the people. Fiona Steels, the Franchise Development Manager, clearly has the franchise concept nailed given her background and I don’t think there is much that Carlos, the Managing Director, doesn’t know about the cleaning business. The concept is also easy to understand and the market is not going away anytime soon. I also think that the Total Clean franchise gives incredible value for money compared to other franchises that I’ve seen and that the potential is there to grow a proper leveraged business and not some day to day consultancy that stops earning every time you take a day off or go on holiday.”

The Total Clean Management Model is a complete turnkey business opportunity. The franchise package provides franchise partners like Phillip with everything they require to hit the ground running and power their new business.

Total Clean has already signed two additional Franchise Partners in just the last 2 months. They are already in the starting blocks to start their training and begin operating in their respective territories.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

 

Female ActionCOACH announced as bfa award finalist

ActionCOACH Shweta Jhajharia

Shweta Jhajharia

The 2013 bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards shortlist has been revealed. And, Shweta Jhajharia, franchise partner of Coconut Creatives’ client ActionCOACH, is amongst the finalists for the Female Franchisee of the Year Award.

The 2013 bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards recognise franchisees that have demonstrated exceptional business practice in their franchise over the last year. The Female Franchisee of the Year category, supported by Express Newspapers, particularly recognises the accomplishments of female franchisees whose drive and commitment to achieving fantastic results has furthered best business practice across their network.

“The bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards provide us with an opportunity to hear about franchisees advocating excellence across their industry. We have been impressed by the high calibre of the applicants and the results delivered. It has been truly inspirational to hear from this year’s finalists showcasing their successes, having taken the step into franchising,” explains Sean Hammond, Head of Franchising at Express Newspapers.

Shweta Jhajharia joined ActionCOACH in 2008 and has since risen to be the most successful female ActionCOACH worldwide. Since 2008 Shweta has helped more than 300 business owners in achieving their business goals and dreams. She is also the first female business coach in Europe ever to be awarded the ActionCOACH Emerald Level Certification for consistently achieving a turnover in excess of £40,000 per month. This and her support of the local community and charity work inspire all female and male coaches across the country.

“I am delighted to be the finalist for this award, which provides another platform to recognise the participation, development and achievements of women in the business world. I think it is also important to recognise that in the business of coaching, helping other businesses is at the core of my own business model and therefore my success is inextricably linked to the success of my clients. My greatest happiness from my business success has been to see my clients grow phenomenally,” says Shweta.

Shweta is one of four finalists in the Female Franchisee of the Year Award category. The winner of each category will be announced at the ICC in Birmingham on Thursday 3rd October. The overall HSBC Franchisee of the Year will be chosen from the five category winners.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

Sally Butters presents ActionCOACH UK Business Awards

ActionCOACH Business Awards 2013

Sally Butters, Director of Coconut Media, had the great honor of presenting two awards at this year’s ActionCOACH UK Business Awards Gala in London on Friday.

The 2013 ActionCOACH UK Business Awards celebrate the business success and growth of ActionCOACH’s UK clients. Coconut Creatives proudly sponsored the Customer Service and East Anglia Business of the Year award categories. Sally presented Wauton Samuel, who provide a wide range of ICT services to clients in the education sector, with the 2013 Customer Service Award.

And, Climate Control, who have been supplying, installing and maintaining air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment for over ten years, with the 2013 East Anglia Business of the Year Award. Coconut Creatives congratulates all the winners and wishes them further growth and success in the coming year.

 

OPC couple takes on new challenge with 2nd resale territory

Michael and Claire Welham

Michael and Claire Welham

Michael and Claire Welham, franchisees of Coconut Creatives’ client OPC, jumped at the opportunity to expand their Original Poster Company (OPC) business recently. They have been successfully operating the Twickenham/Kingston territory since 2010 and decided to build on the success from their first OPC franchise by buying the neighbouring territory as it became available for resale.

OPC is the world’s leading greeting card distribution franchise, operating in an industry worth over £1.4 billion just in the UK. Established in 1991, OPC’s franchise network has had complete UK coverage for over 20 years and is a full member of the British Franchise Association. In the UK, OPC is a great franchise for those with strong management and customer service skills. Over 90% of OPC’s franchisees surveyed agree that their home-based system gives them the flexibility to enjoy family life.

Prior to buying their first OPC franchise, Michael and Claire had become the proud parents of little Daniel, so they were both looking for an opportunity that would not only capitalise on their skills but also give them a great work-life balance. Claire had previously worked in fashion retail management and Michael had been working in the motor industry for many years as dealer principle, most recently for Land Rover.

“After having our son I mainly worked on a part-time basis and when Michael was made redundant at the start of the recession we were both looking for a new challenge. I was working as a merchandiser for OPC in the Twickenham/Kingston area at the time and I could see the potential in the area I was working in. After having a look into it we both saw it as a great opportunity to utilise my merchandising and his commercial skills. It also appealed to us that we would be in charge of our own destiny and decided this was the right next step for us,” explains Claire.

Some of OPC’s franchisees are currently selling their existing territories as they retire or move on to new business opportunities. So, when Michael and Claire found out that the South West London territory was available for resale they seized the opportunity.

“The South West London territory has a lot of development potential and it has a really big border with our current territory in Kingston. So it made a lot of sense for both of us to buy the territory to further expand our business. We can reach a lot more businesses but we don’t have to drive more, allowing us to also continue to grow the area we already have,” adds Claire.

Michael and Claire receive regular ongoing field support from a dedicated Business Development Manager (BDM) who provides them with all the support they need to grow their sales and keep overheads low, whilst achieving great profit margins in both of their territories.

“OPC helped us with the new stock purchases and the development plan for the new territory, which was really valuable to us. With our new territory it’s now all about building relationships and trust with the national account managers in the area to start stocking our cards in more stores. We now know what we are doing so we don’t need the hands-on support we received when we bought our first franchise but we know that if we need any help our BDM is just a phone call away,” explains Claire.

This press release was featured on a variety of franchise related websites and also generated social media coverage. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!