CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Sue Haas dreamed about opening her own ice cream shop. Like so many of others who have a full-time job they are busy with, Haas perpetually kept her dream on the back burner. With a little encouragement by her husband, Haas decided to explore her ice cream shop dream and the two of them were soon looking for the perfect location to open the business in Charlottesville, Virginia. By the time the week was over, Haas had forgone the idea of an independent ice cream business and headed down the road of franchise opportunities with the famous Ben & Jerry's corporation.Haas bashfully admits that before her husband suggested that she think about a Ben & Jerry's franchise, she had never tried the brand! Within a short amount of time of starting her exploration, Haas tried the Ben & Jerry's ice cream, visited a nearby Ben & Jerry's franchise, and was talking to the regional Ben & Jerry's franchise representative about available opportunities. Out of this discussion, a partnership was born. Sue and her business partner leased the location in a popular Charlottesville shopping center in April 1999 and were ready to open just three months later in July!
What made you interested in owning a Ben & Jerry's franchise?
My husband and I talked about opening up an ice cream shop, so we woke up on a Saturday and went to look at places for a location. We thought we found a good location, and on Monday we were talking about it and thinking and he said, "You know if you want to do and ice cream shop, you should really do a Ben & Jerry's franchise."
I will admit that at the time I had never eaten Ben & Jerry's ice cream! I tried some and I thought it was quite good, so I looked at the website to see what they had to say about franchising. I read about the corporation and really liked what I read. At the time they were a small company. They weren't owned by Unilever.
I called the number listed and left my name and phone number. Meanwhile, I went to Williamsburg to do some research and talked to one of the franchise owners there. After my discussions with the manager at the shop and then the owner, I knew I really liked the company. At that point it was just a matter of getting a franchise to Charlottesville.
You had to convert an existing Baskin & Robbins to a Ben & Jerry's. Was the layout already there or did you have to change it?
We did have to change it slightly, but we used what we could from the layout. We were fortunate, because as a franchise, there are certain specifications that need to be met. We were able to meet many of those specifications by using existing things in the store like the general layout, plumbing, and sink structure.
What kind of standards does Ben & Jerry's place on each franchise?
You have to build a shop the way it's specified by Ben & Jerry's. Each Ben and Jerry's has to look the same as the others, with slight variations based on size. I'm sure most franchises are done the same way.
Were there benefits for you being structured in a franchise rather than owning an independent business like your husband?
Yes! I like structure. I am definitely Catholic true and true! (laughs) I like knowing the rules and where I can do my own thing and where it's already laid out for me and I don't have to make a decision. That's kind of nice. I like that. It's kind of like a blanket of security for me. For me, it's a great way to learn how to do a business. After running a franchise, you know whether or not you want to go out and do something completely on your own.
When you're a shop owner, you are the front line and you see what goes on in your shop. How receptive was corporate headquarters about input you might give to benefit the company?
They were very receptive. At the time they were a small company. When you opened a franchise, you went up for training and you met everybody. There was this one building that housed everybody for Ben & Jerry's with the exception of the distribution and manufacturing. You go up there and you are talking directly to those who make decisions. It definitely had a small company feel. So, when you call them up and say, "I'm a franchise owner..." and tell them your idea, it can take off if it's a really good idea. But, typically you would go through the channels, starting with the regional franchise, then the next level, and then onto corporate.
Ben & Jerry's has three mission statements. They have a product mission, economic mission and a social mission. Do you think that they live up to all of those?I do. At least when I was involved with them, they were very serious about that. At that time, Ben and Jerry still owned the company and they were very outspoken about how the whole reputation was taken. When you were a franchise owner and came in, you bought into that. The reason you had a Ben & Jerry's was because of their corporate involvement and how they do things. It was just a great company and you wanted to be part of that.
How much leverage do you have when a group asks for a donation? Say Jimmy's baseball team came in and said, "We need a sponsor, would you sponsor us?" Were you able to commit on your own?
Absolutely, absolutely. There's a mission that's posted in each shop. Part of that mission is that you are part of the community, a very active part of the community. They want and encourage you to go out and advertise and be a part of the community and do things for the community. Our shop sponsored little league teams, gave donations to blood drives, and worked with hospitals, for instance. It was very rare for me to say no when a request came in.
Walk me through a day-in–the-life of a franchise owner.
It's like you own a business but you are within the realm of another company structure with the whole thought of having to look like the rest of the stores. That's part of a franchise. It's branding, so when people go to Ben & Jerry's or Ruby Tuesday's they can expect a certain look. That's what makes being a franchise owner different than being an independent business owner. You have expectations on hours, advertising, and store look and feel. There are certain policies and procedures that they know work across all franchises so corporate headquarters make suggestions to help.
I guess a day-in-the-life is that you make sure your inventory's where it has to be, your orders are placed, and your produce is fresh. You also check the expiration dates on your ice cream and make sure everyone's showing up for the job. The kids we had were awesome. We definitely had a great staff. You make sure that managers are on top of everything like the order process, the cash flow, checking registers in the afternoon and night, and cash summaries. Each morning I would look at the numbers from the last night.
Was there ever a flavor that was doing very well at your place that corporate took away to the "graveyard?"
Yes, Urban Jumble was one of them. It was a combination of New York Super Fudge Chunk and Coconut Almond Fudge Chip. It was like an Almond Joy and it was my husband's favorite. When they took it away, we were like, "What happened? Everyone loves this!" I had so many people ask me why I didn't have it anymore.
Sometimes we would hear ahead of time that a flavor was getting discontinued and sometimes we wouldn't. Corporate made the decision to discontinue Urban Jumble and didn't really tell us why, but I'm assuming that somewhere across the board it wasn't really selling well.
So, what's your favorite flavor?
New York Super Fudge Chunk is my favorite and always has been although I really like Vanilla Heath Bar. It's a close second.
Is Ben & Jerry's still your favorite brand?
Yes. Absolutely.
The views expressed in this interview are the views of Sue Haas. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc.