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Candy Bouquet Finds Hard Work Wins Rewards

Successful Franchising Magazine

Her business dream began in 1989 with a sack of candy on a kitchen table and recently took her to Washington D.C., where the company she formed with family and friends received a national award at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting.

Margaret McClain McEntire's company, Candy Bouquet International, Inc., was one of four national award winners in the Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative program announced in February in Washington, D.C.

From the kitchen table to the head table at a Washington banquet, McEntire's business career in the development of Candy Bouquet International has been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs. "Mostly ups," McEntire recalls. "It's not been easy but it sure has been fun."

Candy Bouquet is a franchisor of stores where franchisees create and market designer gifts that are floral-like bouquets of gourmet candies, fine chocolates, and accessories. It also maintains a full-service distribution center and training facilities at its Little Rock Headquarters.

It's products were originally positioned to be sold as a replacement for a bouquet of flowers but has since taken on its own niche. McEntire says the first head-on promotion against flowers positioned Candy Bouquet as gifts that "won't wilt, fade, or die".

Today the kitchen table operation has grown to include more than 525 franchises territories in 41 states and 15 countries. There are over 240 Candy Bouquet stores already open and an Asian headquarters, Candy Bouquet Asia, Ltd., opened earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Making it fun to Work

McEntire has created an enterprise out of fun. "One of our early slogan was 'Have fun making money' and it attracted the attention of creative, hard-working people who were looking for a franchise idea," says McEntire.

But the obstacles McEntire faced and overcame since she awarded her first franchise in 1992 are what attracted the Blue Chip Enterprise Initiative program to recognize Candy Bouquet as one of its four national award winners.

"We didn't know how to even make our product at first," McEntire recalls. "It was trial and error, like trying to learn how your grandmother made biscuits from a recipe she just kept in her head."

Although her first bouquets of candy and cellophane in containers were just gifts for her friends, the bouquets attracted so much attention in hospital rooms and offices that she began fielding calls from others wanting her to make similar gifts for them to give.

She and a friend opened the first Candy Bouquet store in a Houston suburb, where the friend lived. A year later, the friend announced she was moving and was closing the store.

Starting Over in Hard Times

With her life savings tied up in the business, McEntire was determined to start over, this time in Little Rock. Another rocky start with another partner ended in dissolution and McEntire decided to go on alone with encouragement from her husband and her family.

McEntire was determined to succeed. She continued development of her idea, even while keeping house, home schooling two of her children, and managing the books of her husband's company. With only word-of-mouth advertising, she continued to receive a growing number of requests for Candy Bouquet gifts. She gave away the gifts to people who worked in high traffic locations such as banks, cleaners, and restaurants and interest spread. Customers soon began to inquire about franchise opportunities to make Candy Bouquet gifts on their own and the idea stuck with McEntire.

Although the McEntires were financially drained, they moved ahead to develop the franchise concept. When McEntire discovered that the legal expenses of developing a Uniform Franchise Offering Circular could top $100,000, she and her husband set out to create their own, just as she had done with her Candy Bouquet products. The resulting UFOC, which is required by the Federal Government and numerous states, prompted one government regulator to write, "This is the first UFOC we've been able to read in layman's term."

Keeping Focused in the Heart is a Key

McEntire imparts her family's philosophy to franchisees. She said there was a time in her business career when she felt she was having all the trials of Job in the Old Testament. Candy Bouquet company motto also is taken from the Bible: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works."

McEntire also teaches her franchisees "to live by the Golden Rule". "When we make an arrangement of a dozen chocolate roses," she says, "we always add an extra one."

In all its success, Candy Bouquet maintains its focus on its franchisees and on their customers. It is one of the few franchise companies that does not charge a royalty fee to franchisees.

With franchises in 15 countries and more being added, McEntire feels Candy Bouquet is truly part of the world picture. "No one is insignificant and no thing is, either," she says. "That's why something as simple as a Candy Bouquet arrangement or a beautiful tree can bring a smile. And smiles are what make the world a better place."

For more information on the franchise oppotunities available, click here.