Chocolate vases, squares of vanilla fudge, and sugar-free lemon drops—what better way to grow a business than appealing to the world’s sweet tooth? Margaret McEntire, founder, president, and chief executive officer of Candy Bouquet International (www.candybouquet.com), thought so. Her firm is now the largest candy franchise in the world. But, it wasn’t always that way.

The foundation for this successful operation began back in 1989. Margaret McEntire and a partner opened the first Candy Bouquet store in Houston, Texas. However, after just one year they were forced to close the store due to unforeseen circumstances and McEntire was faced with quitting or starting over.

With her life savings on the line and determined to succeed, she opened a tiny, 90 square-foot shop in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her family helped to make the arrangements and in keeping with the McEntire philosophy, she started giving away bouquets in high traffic places like banks and popular restaurants. This marketing strategy worked and soon people started calling, some placing orders and others wanting to learn the secrets on how to make these unique bouquets. By 1995, Candy Bouquet was looking to expand overseas.

Today, the typical Candy Bouquet store is a full-scale chocolate and candy retail operation, although some operate successfully as home-based franchise businesses. Some franchisees operate exclusively as Candy Bouquet; others run this franchise in conjunction with a floral shop or other retail outlet.

The challenge

McEntire says her biggest challenges have been learning more about business practices in different cultures, gaining key market information, and learning about channels of trade. Educating foreign businesspeople about American franchises is another challenge, and so is describing what a candy bouquet is. The company has had to explain the concept of rolling a candy store and a florist together and making a product that is really all candy.

The solution

In 1995, McEntire attended a trade show in Washington, D.C., where she met a trade specialist from the U.S. Commercial Service. That connection led to her participation in a Commercial Service mission to Eastern Europe and introduced her to doing business in foreign markets.

In the years that followed, Candy Bouquet expanded to dozens of foreign countries. The company’s unique franchising system allows individuals to make a single purchase into the franchise and pay no continual overhead. The only requirement is that their supplies must come from the Candy Bouquet warehouse in Little Rock.

“One of the most helpful things I’ve found in doing foreign business is having a person we know in that country to help us out,” says McEntire, referring to the Commercial Service’s worldwide network of trade specialists. She credits much of her success to Dennis Millard, a trade specialist at the Little Rock Export Assistance Center. “When I know a foreign franchisee is coming, I call Dennis at our local U.S. Commercial Service office, and he provides me with solid information on the business practices of that culture.”

Millard has also helped her take advantage of many Commercial Service programs. Candy Bouquet participates annually in the International Franchise Trade Show and has taken part in trade missions around the world. In 1999, McEntire participated in the Women in Business Matchmaker Trade Mission to South America and the Women’s Economic Summit of the Americas in Buenos Aires, Argentina. McEntire is also a frequent participant in Commercial Service global video teleconferencing. She is a regular presenter at the international trade events sponsored by the Little Rock Export Assistance Center and shares her experiences with other businesses that are new to exporting. McEntire also advertises in Commercial News USA, a product catalog produced by the Commercial Service and distributed to more than 40,000 overseas buyers.

With assistance from the Commercial Service, Candy Bouquet has expanded from a single-room operation to more than 700 franchises in more than 40 countries. McEntire says, “Nobody likes to pay taxes but [the Commercial Service] is the best use of my tax dollars.”

Lessons Learned

McEntire has several lessons to pass along to new exporters:

• Adapt your product for other cultures. In one instance, McEntire was trying to sell chocolate vases in Malaysia, but there were few takers: “We discovered that Malaysians…thought the chocolate pieces were too big. So we got the idea of ordering sample sizes from the manufacturer, and that did the trick.”
• Educate yourself about local practices. On one occasion, McEntire shipped candy to Saudi Arabia in boxes that bore pictures of women’s hands holding drinking glasses. Saudi Arabians don’t drink, so their customs bureau returned the boxes. On another occasion, McEntire invited three potential Candy Bouquet franchise owners from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to visit her home for training. The gentleman from the UAE eventually wanted to pray. “Margaret,” he asked, “which way is Mecca?” McEntire has learned to be prepared for any cultural contingency.
• Realize that there will be setbacks. One such setback occurred in Cairo, where women seldom start their own businesses. Much of the candy that her franchisees had ordered was burned on the airport tarmac. Eventually, many of the women were able to persuade their husbands to join in as business partners, making the venture more socially acceptable.
• Protect your intellectual property. In China, someone copied McIntire’s brand name and then tried to order additional candy from her. Fortunately, other Candy Bouquet franchisees in China informed McEntire about what was going on. She is now pursuing legal action.
• Enjoy your work. “I love my job; it’s fun to go around the world to help people eat candy and chocolate,” McEntire says. “We are changing the face of the world with a brand new industry, and it is very gratifying to see our franchises succeed and help the local economy. If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.”

Sidebar: Setting Up a Franchise in Saudi Arabia

According to the U.S. Commercial Service, franchising is a popular and growing approach for local firms to establish additional consumer-oriented businesses in Saudi Arabia. Although the franchise market is small relative to that in the United States, it is rapidly expanding in several business sectors.

Many brand names are already well entrenched in the market, and the concept has proven to have a low failure rate for Saudi business people. Saudi entrepreneurs generally have sufficient capital and a desire to own their own business, but are hesitant to strike out on their own with a totally new operation or idea, creating a good potential for franchising.

Even though there are no figures revealing the size of this lucrative market, industry sources stated that fast food franchises account for more than 60 percent of the total franchise market. American firms have the lion’s share with more than 70 percent of all franchised operations in Saudi Arabia, from fast food outlets and hotels, to car leasing, laundry services and printing.

Saudi consumers have increasingly become sophisticated demanding quality, service and value for money. American products and services in this industry have established brand recognition and were able to attract and retain a large section of the Saudi population.

Saudi demographics also enhance the viability of this concept among the younger segment of the population. Almost half of Saudi population is under the age of 15, and franchisees have focused on this age group to sell in this market.