Cookies By Design/Cookie Bouquet

Founded: 1983 Franchising since: 1987
When she lost her job, single mother Gwen Willhite had to figure out what to do next. Combining two traditional gifts–flowers and sweets–Willhite developed a new business: Cookies by Design/Cookie Bouquet. Each bouquet was arranged with custom-molded, hand-decorated sugar and cinnamon brown sugar cookies in baskets for all holidays and occasions. The company, which Willhite started in her home, soon grew into a chain of shops that began franchising in 1987. Within 10 years, Cookies by Design/Cookie Bouquet had grown to more than 175 shops in 115 cities across the United States.

1865 Summit Ave., #605 Plano, Texas 75074

Phone: (800)945-2665/ (972)398-9536

Franchisor has 25 employee(s); 2 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	158	0	0	2
2008	179	0	0	1
2007	190	0	0	1
2006	207	0	0	0
2005	226	0	0	0

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 250,000 population

Total investment: $96.5K-192.5K Franchise fee: $15K-35K

Ongoing royalty fee: 6% Term of agreement: 5 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	No
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	Yes
Inventory	No	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Qualifications
Cash liquidity requirement: $30K
Business Experience:

• General business experience
• Marketing skills

Operations

• 30% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 2 weeks
• At franchisee's location: 2 days

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Internet
• Field operations/evaluations

Marketing Support

• Ad slicks
• National media

Franchise 500® rank:
#328 (2009); #437 (2008); #406 (2007); #426 (2006); #251 (2005);