Muffin Break, the FoodCo operated bakery café group, plans to add a further five sites before the end of this year as it looks to grow in transport hubs and hospitals, M&C has learnt.
Lisa Brook, who was appointed as UK general manager of FoodCo, earlier this year said there is no limit to the number of Muffin Breaks that could open, with hospitals being a focus for 2016.
“What’s great about FoodCo is they want to expand and are pushing forward. That’s what is exciting about this role: they know where they are going and how they are going to do it with franchisees ready to do it.”
For the year running July 2015-2016 the company will open 16 Muffin Break stores - mostly under franchise agreement - including its first units in Manchester, Liverpool and developing its presence in Scotland.
Brook said part of her role includes brand promotion because Muffin Break has so far remained a “well-kept secret”.
She said the group has previously not highlighted the fact it bakes all its produce on-site each day and has growing choice of gluten-, dairy-free and low calorie products on the menu.
“Every unit has its own bakery and we put a lot of effort into building these micro-bakeries in our stores but we are not shouting about it,” she said.
The model operates in small footprint units that include the micro-bakeries so Brooks said is well-suited to expand further into hospitals as well as transport hubs and units where space is at a premium.
The company is in discussion with a number of parties to achieve this growth into railway stations but is keen to find locations that suit the needs of franchisees.
From January it will launch new products in the UK including the Muffin Lab rotating specials.
Muffin Break is also continuing with refurbishments in its existing estate, which began this year and will continue into 2016.
