With its quirky style, tasty snacks, and enthusiastic people, BeaverTails Canada is the sweetest topper to a magical Sunday afternoon. The company started in 1978, when a Killaloe, Ontario couple started selling pastries at the local Arts fair. After getting established at Ottawa’s ByWard Market and the Rideau Canal Skateway, the pastries were well on their way to being famous Canadiana.
It starts with a perfect place to spend a magical afternoon
Today, the BeaverTails chain has over 200 locations worldwide and is expanding at a rate of 10 per cent per year. Scott Reid is the Director of Development for BeaverTails Canada Incorporated. He told Canadian Franchise, “We’re launching a campaign to find unique and interesting sites that create the BeaverTails magic.”
While BeaverTails is cooking up a new era of growth, they’re loyal to their central strategy of carefully choosing the best locations. Reid explained, “When we’re looking for locations, it’s a little different from the average franchise. Rather than go out and find a franchisee, we’re trying to find a place.”
What does the perfect site for a BeaverTails store look like? “We like to say it’s the kind of place you would bring your relatives from out of town if they were visiting for a weekend,” said Reid. “It’s that spot in your area where you can just walk around for a few hours, there are shops and cafes and maybe some outdoor activities, there’s a park with community events.”
Staying true to its Canadian heritage, a BeaverTails location can be a viable business in both summer and winter. Reid noted, “A lot of snack foods, like ice cream, tend to be very seasonal and very summery, but we coexist in both summer and winter because of our heritage.” Exemplary year-round locations include ski resorts like Mont Tremblant in Quebec, and Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta. Summer-only locations include waterfronts such as Halifax, Nova Scotia.
BeaverTails sets up in locations you thought were perfect, and makes them that much more interesting.
Affordable start-up costs for franchisees young and old
Once you’ve found that magical place, a BeaverTails franchise offers the flexibility for a perfect fit. Store options include a uniquely affordable trailer or shipping container with start-up costs of only $200,000 to $300,000. This sets BeaverTails apart from other franchises, many of which require half-million-dollar investments.
BeaverTails does offer a full-size shop option for franchisees who are ready to make a $600,000 to $700,000 investment *. But all store sizes can offer the full menu, and BeaverTails doesn’t charge royalties for any size location.
A trailer’s lower start-up costs make BeaverTails a realistic career choice for young franchisees. “We’re seeing more people in their mid- to late-twenties approach us for franchising,” said Reid. “They’ve managed to save up some money or their parents are going to help them start up, they get financed for the rest and they’re in business for approximately 200 grand.”
Older franchisees include people who want to leave their conventional jobs and have more fun. “There’s more of a cultural focus now on loving what you do and doing what you’re passionate about,” said Reid. “The main criteria we look for in our franchisees is people that will be able to create that magic and make people happy every day.”
Once you’ve found a magical site and been qualified as the right franchisee, expect a lot of training and support from BeaverTails. In addition to the initial training, BeaverTails provides ongoing support through an online network where franchisees can chat. You learn how to act slightly quirky and create that magical BeaverTails atmosphere. You can also expect a great looking store full of Canadiana.
Quirky Canadiana, good food, and happy people
Reid described the experience of a BeaverTails store. “The in-store experience may be even more important than the product itself.” To make a Canadian impression, the new shop model has a canoe hanging from the ceiling. More traditional features include an old fire bell that people clang when they have their first pastry. Periodically, staff invite customers into contests, like racing to eat suspended pastries the fastest. “There’s this really fun, interactive spirit that lives at -the store level,” Reid said.
Ultimately, the pastries themselves are what customers visit for. “You come in and of course you can smell it,” said Reid. “The pastry on the outside is crispy, and as you pull away it’s chewy, so it’s got this beautiful texture that people love. The original flavour, the Killaloe Sunrise, is cinnamon sugar and it’s served with a wedge of lemon, so you get that tart and sweet at the same time which is really kinda wonderful and unique.”
The kitschy atmosphere, the all-year food offerings and the versatile store sizes keep the BeaverTails business model diversified and resilient. The menu has added savoury items like poutine, while other sources of revenue include paraphernalia, like hats. The company is also reaching out geographically. It’s open to franchise proposals in the US, while focusing on robust expansion all over Canada.
According to Reid, the key thing to know about starting a BeaverTails franchise is what a strong business decision it is. He said, “If I had to put my development hat on and talk about it as a business, I’d say it’s a proven model. We’ve been around for 45 years. It’s simple to run. It’s easy to manage. And yet, at the same time, it’s got this incredible brand appeal. So, you know, the model itself is so great to run as a business and can be very profitable.”
But the best thing about running a BeaverTails business? “I think it’s the joy that you can bring to people every day. I know it sounds hokey, but it’s absolutely true.”
*According to the FDD, the investment for a store could be up to $1,066,000