Edible Arrangements (also simply known as Edible) is a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

-based

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

business that specializes in fresh

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

arrangements, combining the concept of a

fruit basket A gift basket or fruit basket is typically a gift delivered to the recipient at their home or workplace. A variety of gift baskets exist: some contain fruit; while others might contain dry or canned foods such as tea, Cracker (food), crackers an ...

with designs inspired by

flower arrangement Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create an eye-catching and balanced composition or display. Evidence of refined floristry is found as far back as the culture of ancient Egypt. Professionally ...

. The company also sells a variety of specialty fruit gift items, such as gift boxes featuring chocolate dipped fruit, and fresh fruit products.

History

The company was founded by

Tariq Farid Tariq Farid is an American entrepreneur who is the Founder of Edible Arrangements, Edible Arrangements International Inc. In 2009 he was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by the International Franchise Association.Kamran Farid, and the first Edible Arrangements store opened in

East Haven, Connecticut East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 27,923. Located east of New Haven, it is part of the Greater New Haven area. East Haven is from Hartford, from New Yor ...

in 1999. After designing the computer systems, training manuals, production and profitability tracking and supply chain management process, they began

the concept in 2001. The first official franchise location opened in Waltham, Massachusetts. However, the first store was in Hamden, Connecticut. In 2009, Edible Arrangements announced the signing of master franchisee agreements in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The Rome master franchise was purchased by VPF International Ltd, and the franchise for Hong Kong was purchased by D.T. Hong Kong Ltd, which is owned by Sanja Dujic. Additionally, in November 2009, an agreement was signed with brothers Kemal and Emre Aydin, who planned to develop 15 locations in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Edible Arrangements ended 2009 with 74 new stores and franchise agreements for more than 85 locations in the U.S. and internationally, totaling the number of units to 940. The company's U.S. growth in 2009 was concentrated in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

with stores also opening in other locations including California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. A total of 39 U.S. locations closed during the three-year period 2007–2009. In 2010 the company opened 84 new U.S. stores and 9 international stores and signed commitments for 123 new locations. There are many stores in Connecticut including Glastonbury, Middletown, Hartford, etc. In January 2011, Edible Arrangements announced its 1,000th franchise agreement. In 2012, Edible Arrangements purchased a commercial building adjacent to its

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...

headquarters, adding 23,057 additional square-feet of office space. As of 2012, the business had grown to more than 1,100 stores serving locations in the United States,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In March 2008 Edible Arrangements was reported to have annual revenues of $195 million.

Rankings

Edible Arrangements was ranked number 40 on ''

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

'' magazine 2013 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 and has appeared on the magazine's list of Top Global Franchises and Fastest-Growing Franchises for five consecutive years. It was also ranked first in category in the Franchise 500 in the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. In January 2011, a ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine article entitled "Top 20 Franchises to Start" ranked Edible Arrangements as number nine. The company also was recently named one of the "Top 100 Internet Retailers" by ''Internet Retailer'' magazine.

Franchisee lawsuit

The issue began in 2010 when Edible Arrangements faced dissatisfaction from some of its franchisees. In January 2010, more than 270 franchisees presented Farid with individual letters expressing opposition to corporate policies and practices that they considered to be harmful to their individual franchised businesses. The franchisees formed the Edible Arrangements Independent Franchisee Association (EAIFA) and hired an attorney to represent them in possible

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

. On September 20, 2010, the group filed a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

in federal court on behalf of 170 franchisees, alleging that several changes the company made in its franchise agreements were unfair or violated contractual obligations to the franchisees. Edible Arrangements International responded to inquiries about the lawsuit by saying that they strongly disagreed with the accusations and would vigorously defend the complaint. The company subsequently initiated a motion in the courts to dismiss the case, but this attempt was denied by a District of Connecticut judge on July 19, 2011, and the franchisees were granted authority to pursue the case on all claims. In 2013, after months of negotiations, Edible Arrangements and EAIFA settled the lawsuit out of court.

Sponsorship and awards

Edible Arrangements has established a charitable gift giving program with National Breast Cancer Research Foundation in national and local level as a part of Breast Cancer Awareness month each October. Stores located throughout the United States and Canada have established a relationship with the Breast Cancer Society of United States and Canada. In the United States, during the months of September and October 2010, 10% of the purchase price from the Awareness Celebration, Breast Cancer Awareness Bouquet and Heels for Healing Bouquet was donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (NBCF). NBCF uses these to save lives by increasing awareness of breast cancer through education and also provides funding for free mammograms for needy women.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.ediblearrangements.com
Tariq Farid

by Tariq Farid, as told to Patricia R. Olsen. ''The New York Times'', November 8, 2009, page BU9 of the New York edition. Franchises Companies based in New Haven County, Connecticut American companies established in 1999 Food and drink companies established in 1999 Retail companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Connecticut