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Edible Arrangements today announced a strategic partnership with Catterton Partners, the leading consumer-focused private equity firm, designed to help propel the pioneer in hand-sculpted, fresh-fruit arrangements through its next phase of growth.
The partnership includes a capital investment by Catterton Partners that will be used to support the expansion of the Edible Arrangements brand globally. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
In addition, Edible Arrangements founder and CEO Tariq Farid says that Catterton Partners brings significant resources in areas from strategy to customer relations to supply chain management, which will accelerate the company’s ability to reach new levels of growth.
“We believe the partnership between Edible Arrangements and Catterton is a perfect fit,” Farid says. “Our ability to leverage the deep background and extensive resources of Catterton will enable us to grow the Edible Arrangements brand and build upon the great success that our franchise partners and talented employees have allowed us to achieve already. This literally will take us to the next level in terms of business development.
“We have worked hard over the last 13 years to build a thriving concept with a unique, wow-worthy consumer experience we are proud of. Catterton has a well-established track record of success in partnering with consumer brands, including those with a franchise model like ours.
We look forward to working with the talented Catterton team and leveraging their financial and operational expertise to support our growth on multiple fronts. Together, we will work to establish Edible Arrangements as the global leader in our category, remaining focused on simply wowing our customers.”
Founded in 1999 by brothers Tariq and Kamran Farid, Edible Arrangements today has more than 1,100 franchise locations open or under development worldwide. In 2011, the company opened 86 new stores, including 10 locations internationally, and expects to open more than 100 new domestic and international units in 2012. The company has also achieved 11 consecutive years of comparative store sales increases.
“Edible Arrangements is one of the fastest-growing franchise operations in the U.S., capitalizing not only on the growth of special-occasion gifts, but also on the healthy food trend,” says Scott Dahnke, managing partner of Catterton Partners.
