Fast Food is Not Just Junk Food Anymore

IN THIS ISSUE

According to a report released Monday by a nonprofit public health group, eating out now accounts for a third of children's daily caloric intake, twice the amount consumed away from home 30 years ago.
"Parents want to feed their children healthy meals, but America's chain restaurants are setting parents up to fail, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and other chains are conditioning kids to expect burgers, fried chicken, pizza, French fries, macaroni and cheese, and soda in various combination at almost every lunch and dinner.
The report also found that 45 percent of children's meals exceed recommendations for saturated and trans fat, which can raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease, and 86 percent of children's meals are high in sodium.
People of all ages are becoming more health conscious and are looking for healthier meals away from home. Today I'm featuring a couple of restaurant Franchises that are capitalizing on this trend. You don't have to eat junk food just because you're eating fast food.

ZOUP

In creating Zoup!, we've set out to provide the most varieties of the best-tasting soups ever made. Our true goal, however, goes beyond the obvious. What we really want to do is create an oasis in people's lives. And, although we realize that doing so is a far greater and more elusive task than simply making great soup, we also know that -- unlike any other food -- soup has powerful and intangible qualities that provide comfort and promote a genuine sense of well-being for many people.

That's why at Zoup!, everything matters. And, that's why we always operate within a framework of principles and uncompromisingly high standards. Standards that influence our space and packaging. Standards that ensure that we never consider any but the finest, natural ingredients. Standards that guarantee the authenticity and quality of every pot, bowl and cup we serve. And, while all of this may seem extravagant for a business like ours, without this framework, Zoup! would merely be soup.

Zoup! is...the most varieties of the best-tasting soups ever made -- all created using a painstaking trial and error process that included numerous trial batches, execution of hundreds of taste tests and completion of formal evaluations.

Zoup! is...a dining experience that features 12 always-rotating soup varieties each day, including at least one low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free and spicy recipe. It's also...made-to-order Good Greens! salads; grilled Meltz! Panini sandwiches; value-priced TryTwo! combos; and build-your-own salad and Panini offerings.

For Franchisees
Zoup! is...the leading quick-casual soup concept restaurant that is defining the category with its premium and proprietary soups and other recipes; state-of-the-art store technology; and strong operational and procedural support.

Zoup! is ...an exciting and rewarding own-your-own business built on an innovative, dynamic, proven concept and a rock-solid operational framework.

Zoup! is...the right concept at the right time for the right people.

Extreme Pita

Extreme Pita is a quick service restaurant featuring great tasting, healthy fast food made fresh. At the heart of our menu is the delicious Extreme Pita pocket sandwich with 10 chef inspired recipes and a make it your way option. We also use the Pita to make a delicious flat baked pita pizza featuring Pesto and Buffalo chicken and many other great toppings. We are the first QSR to offer fresh tossed salads made to order in front of the customer. Extreme Pita is very easy to operate and works in a 1200 SF space. Extreme Pita delivers on the health promise and gives people what they want; Healthy - Convenient - Fast Food that tastes great..

Here's the cool part - we can customize every rolled pita to suit the individual tastes of health conscious customers like you. Lunch, dinner and late night menu items include our Extreme Club, Philly Cheese Steak, Beef Bistro, Grilled Chicken, Gyros, and Falafel, all combined with a choice of different vegetable varieties served fresh or sautéed to perfection right in front of your eyes. We also offer a variety of great tasting flat baked pita's, fresh salads, soups, and drinks.

A lot of restaurants out there offer items that are fried within an inch of their lives. Extreme Pita has the right concept at the right time, because more and more consumers are looking for a fresh, fast, healthy alternative, something we have been doing since we opened our doors.

Our stores are designed to showcase our product and offer customers a comfortable setting full of energetic staff and great food. Besides that, the stores look cool. The architectural and engineering drawings provided to franchisees are customized and ensure that our own high standards are met.

You'll receive a comprehensive 4-week training program commencing at our training center in Toronto, Ontario including hands on in-store training and on-site open support at your store location during your first 10 days of business. You will learn about all aspects of owning and operating your own store - employee training, nutrition, customer service, food ordering, safety and more!

We'll see to it that you have every tool available to make your store a success. Promoting and developing our brand is crucial. You'll get extensive marketing training, a user-friendly marketing manual and promotions & merchandising support. We also assist in developing and executing an opening advertising strategy and seasonal campaigns. We'll even send field reps out (it's an ongoing thing!) to offer suggestions, answer questions, consult, and provide continuous support.

We're dedicated to our product, to our franchisees and to our customers - making Extreme Pita an extremely reliable company to do business with.

SaladWorks

The Saladworks story grew from an idea, to a popular regional chain, to a plan for national growth and success. The idea: provide fanatic'ly fresh, made-to-order, entrée-sized salads as an alternative food offering for consumers on the go. John believed that consumers deserved a meal that was healthy, quickly accessible and delicious. The salads-first concept proved itself when Saladworks began outselling all of the mall's burger and pizza franchises in its inaugural year. The store's sandwiches were quickly dropped, and a new kind of dining experience took root.

Saladworks continually won over new fans with its fresh take on salads. John's vision meant an end to the days of chemical-coated tomatoes and brown-tinged lettuce. He decided that salads should be made to order, chopped on-location and assembled right in front of your eyes. His appetizing, imaginative salad offerings -served in substantial portions- proved to be a winning formula that none of his one-time naysayers could have ever imagined. Spurred by his early success and growing following, John expanded Saladworks from its humble food court origins to an additional twelve locations. As the company experienced incredible consumer response, it became obvious that America was ready for a nationwide salad explosion. With the first franchise unit, Saladworks began its rapid ascent towards becoming the nation's #1 salad franchise.

Chairman and CEO John Scardapane's vision has led the franchise from one store in a small shopping mall to the nation's largest fresh-tossed salad concept.

Saladworks provides a five week training and familiarization course, covering all aspects of conducting business at Saladworks to include classroom training (Profit and Loss management, ServSafe Certification) and in store training for you and your management employees.

Among many other things, Saladworks provides the following.
·    Proven business model
·    Concept applicable for multiple venues
·    site selection support
·    lease negotiation support
·    construction support and guidance
·    store opening support
·    ongoing operational support
·    5 week Saladworks training program
·    ongoing ServSafe certification for store managers and employees
·    volume negotiated pricing for signature products
·    cutting edge product development
·    local store marketing support
·    ongoing business education training
·    POS/IT support
·    verified and approved vendors
·    distribution procurement
·    regional dine-around sessions
·    Operators Exchange (OPEX) meetings
·    franchise convention

Saladworks is, more than ever, prepared to deliver the ultimate in health-conscious, fan-driven dining. With its trailblazing leadership and sensational, fanatic'ly fresh salads, Saladworks' future as the nation's #1 salad franchise is a bright one.

Mitch Reid
Master Franchise Specialists

3702 Pine Bluff

San Antonio, TX 78230

210-694-4568