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Financial News

Jul 2014 Financial News

GK launches hot dog franchise - To deploy 100 carts in two years

Jul 07, 2014

GraceKennedy (GK) Limited, right in time for the summer crowds, has rolled out a new hot dog cart franchise with the aim of pushing its hot dog and Grace ketchup brands to dollar-conscious consumers.

The new franchise, dubbed Hot Dog King, is also targeting 100 entrepreneurs for partnership.

Last Wednesday, group chief executive officer of GraceKennedy Limited, Don Wehby, said the franchise is ultimately to "grow out-of-home consumption of our brands wherever Hot Dog King carts are located".

The company plans to place about 100 carts in the first two years.

The initiative follows a similar one taken by Jamaica Broilers some years ago with carts featuring its Reggae Jammin brands and selling hot dogs and burgers.

The Hot Dog King advertisements say the GK carts will be state of the art, describing them as "the newest hot dog carts around".

GraceKennedy did not disclose the terms of the franchise agreement, nor its own investment in the initiative, but said it would charge each franchisee a monthly fee for 12 months.

The project was rolled out after market research, which Wehby said indicated that "Jamaicans continue to look for food items that are affordable, within their budget and still meet their expectations for quality and taste".

Hot Dog King will help to position the company's Grace Frankfurter among on-the-go consumers as a "quick, convenient, and affordable" option, Wehby said.

"GraceKennedy has undertaken a significant investment in providing the requisite resources and support required to drive the operations of the franchise. This involves the actual cart, guidelines/training, and marketing support to build the business to ensure sustainable and genuine empowerment," he said via email.

DEPLOYED ISLANDWIDE

The carts will be deployed islandwide. They will be stocked with Grace frankfurters, ketchup, hot pepper sauce, Scotch bonnet sauces, and beverages.

"Of note, we carry a wide selection of Grace frankfurters, which we will, over time, introduce on our carts," Wehby said.

The GK CEO said the initiative also gels with the conglomerate's business outreach aimed at supporting entrepreneurship, evidenced by business-expansion collaborations with livestock and fresh vegetable producers from Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, and neighbouring parishes.

"Hot Dog King evolved out of a drive to identify exceptional entrepreneurs whose dream is to own their own business. Hot Dog King truly represents the perfect entry-level type of business with minimal complications for ambitious and dedicated franchisees," Wehby said.
 

Source:
Avia Collinder, Business Reporter
avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Sunday July 6, 2014

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140706/business/business1.html