Cousins Maine Lobster announced the openings of two new territories in the United States as well as four signed franchise agreements in the first quarter of 2022. The new deals solidify a strong start to the year and mark another success milestone on the 10-year anniversary of the brand, founded in April 2012.
Recent franchise food truck openings include brand new territories for the brand in Austin and San Francisco, expanding CML’s footprint across the United States. Additionally, new deals were signed by veteran Cousins Maine Lobster franchisees in markets including Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Tampa, Florida. An additional six openings are planned for Q2 of this year.
With growth fueled by a hero product, sustainably harvested Maine lobster, and a successful turn on Shark Tank in 2012 that resulted in a longstanding partnership with Shark Barbara Corcoran, Cousins Maine Lobster has expanded into 35 major U.S. cities in 18 states with 36 food trucks and seven brick-and-mortar restaurants since the brand’s inception. The brand has also added an e-commerce platform with shore-to-door offerings. Cousins Maine Lobster plans to continue domestic expansion with new deal signings and franchise openings in 2022 and beyond, for both food truck territories, and brick & mortar restaurants.
“Since 2012, our mission at Cousins Maine Lobster has been driven by a unique business model and the determination of every franchisee to succeed while bringing an authentic taste of Maine to their local market,” says Jim Tselikis, Co-Founder of Cousins Maine Lobster. “We are proud of what we have already achieved in 2022 and look forward to continuing to build momentum with our current franchise partners.”
“We are excited to sign on new franchisees in cities across the country and continue to bring our product to consumers in new territories,” adds fellow Co-Founder Sabin Lomac, of Cousins Maine Lobster.
In addition to expansion, Cousins Maine Lobster saw an uptick in YoY sales nationally with a 37% increase in 2021. The brand also continued to offer a fully immersive customer experience on every food truck with their smart signage displays with the 43” displays to showcase the brand story at every location. Furthermore, CML plans to embark on a pilot program with new kitchen display systems in Q2 and continue to expand on the company’s mobile app offerings in 2022.
“2021 marked a year of expansion and investment for us, but none of that would have been possible without our incredible team. We added key people to our corporate staff. My cousin (Jim’s sister) Annie Tselikis, is a fifteen-year veteran of the Maine lobster industry, and she joined the CML Family as Director of Sales and Marketing. We invested in a new distribution warehouse in Maine and we added several people to support that effort. We are committed to investing in the right people and resources that support the entire CML system and that will be true for 2022 as well,” Lomac says.
Cousins Maine Lobster is looking to expand in markets throughout the United States, including but not limited to Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minnesota, Orlando, St. Louis, Virginia Beach, and the Pacific Northwest. CML is looking for experienced, qualified franchisees to join their dynamic franchise family.
