Retail Food Group Brewing Plans for US Expansion

Global food and beverage company, Retail Food Group (RFG), is making waves in international markets with expansion plans for some of the Group’s most successful and well-known Brand Systems brewing strong in the US.

Headquartered on the Gold Coast in Australia, RFG has its sights set on expanding its international footprint to American shores by exhibiting at America’s largest franchise expo, the International Franchise Expo (IFE) held in New York City from June 15 – 17.

With a network of more than 2,500 outlets across 12 Brand Systems spanning 79 licensed international territories, RFG will be showcasing a selection of its retail food brands, including Donut King, Brumby’s Bakery, Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar and Gloria Jean’s Coffees at the expo.

RFG’s USA President Brian Balconi, based at the Company’s Los Angeles support office, expressed that as part of RFG’s aggressive expansion plans its key focus is on the American market.

“Our attention is on introducing proven and successful Brand Systems that we believe have a strong synergistic fit with the US market,” he said.

“We aim to introduce Donut King, Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar, Brumby’s Bakery, Michel’s Patisserie and Pizza Capers, and showcase their market-leading concepts, food innovations and high-quality coffee.”

RFG’s presence in America is already represented by its gourmet specialty coffee brand Gloria Jean’s Coffees, which currently has 55 coffee houses in 21 states, and the It’s A Grind Coffee House group, which has 18 stores.

RFG acquired the Gloria Jean’s Coffees brand in 2014 and is currently working on a new and exciting brand renovation for global expansion, of which the US market plays a significant part.

RFG’s burgeoning international operations have become a key ingredient of the Company’s success over the past two decades, and despite its encouraging traction to date, the global expansion of the Group’s Brand Systems remains a significant untapped opportunity that RFG is vigorously pursuing.

RFG Managing Director Andre Nell expressed the Company has strategically and purposely built a network of businesses that have added significant value to RFG and helped it emerge as a leader in its field.

“The Company has acquired and developed a number of complementary businesses and brands that have added incremental strength and growth to the business as a whole,” he said.

“Our rich heritage in franchising, exceptional systems, support networks and talented leadership have all been contributing factors to the success.”

The Company is not only a significant franchisor in the food and beverage sector, it is a roaster and supplier of high-quality coffee and affiliated products, operating four coffee roasting facilities that supply global markets through a suite of coffee brands. As well, RFG is an emerging leader in the foodservice, dairy processing and wholesale bakery sectors.

“We supply our quality coffee and blends to over 30 countries worldwide, including our Brand Systems, which further strengthens our vertically integrated business operations and growth in the coffee category as specialists from bean to cup,” Andre said.

RFG’s international expansion model within the USA is based on recruiting Master Franchise Partners who purchase a license to develop a certain Brand System in a defined territory. This model provides the Company and local partners with the opportunity to forge sustainable partnerships to successfully develop its Brand Systems internationally.

“Our international model is collaborative and supportive, and we work with our partners on a broad range of operational matters, including development schedules and growth strategies, as well as marketing and training,” said Andre.

“Our international partners benefit from a wealth of experience in retail food franchising, proven systems, global training and support, as well as supply benefits from increased scale and access to best-in-class innovation.”

About Retail Food Group Limited:

RFG owns the Donut King, Brumby’s Bakery, Michel’s Patisserie, bb’s Café, Esquires, Gloria Jean’s Coffees, It’s A Grind, The Coffee Guy, Café2U, Pizza Capers Gourmet Kitchen and Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar franchise systems. In addition, the Company is a significant wholesale coffee roaster supplying existing Brand Systems and third party accounts under the Di Bella Coffee, Evolution Coffee Roasters Group and Roasting Australia coffee manufacturing brands.

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