Throughout 2020, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has continued its rapid growth trajectory throughout the southern United States, continuing to buildout its presence in its home state of Florida, while also entering new markets like Texas, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.
Jeremiah’s has opened nine new franchise locations in 2020, with an additional two locations projected to open by the end of the year. Of these 11 total openings, five opened outside Florida, with new locations opening in McKinney and Temple, Texas, Chandler, Arizona, Columbus, Georgia, and Matthews, North Carolina.
“Right after launching the Jeremiah’s franchise opportunity, we were flooded with people wanting to become Jeremiah’s franchisees,” says Cameron Cummins, Co-Founder of Pivotal Growth Partners and Chief Development Officer for Jeremiah’s Italian Ice. “The demand continued, even as Covid-19 struck, which is a testament to the concept’s solid business model and its experienced leadership team. The team’s ability to implement new processes and procedures and to adapt and pivot when necessary helped our concept continue to thrive.”
In order to continue the same momentum that led the brand to award 100 units during its first year of franchising despite the onset of a national pandemic, Jeremiah’s completely revamped the Discovery Day process in just under two weeks to a completely virtual experience equipped with video library brand presentations and Zoom interview sessions. The brand’s ability to quickly adapt to a need to go virtual helped them award 57 units in the first six months of 2020, 23 of which were awarded during the early uncertainty of the pandemic in March and April. In fact, the brand further solidified its standing as the premiere frozen dessert concept on the market when in April, it also awarded four area representative agreements totaling 131 units.
“Our growth continues to impress,” adds Cummins. “One of the most exciting elements of our expansion is that we offer something for everyone—new franchisees range from former Jeremiah’s employees, to experienced restaurant owners, to brand fans, first responders and military veterans. To see such a variety of backgrounds amongst our new franchise partners is a clear sign that the Jeremiah’s concept is one of the most unique on the market. We can’t wait for our partners to open up their stores and share the Jeremiah’s we know and love with their local communities.”
Since launching its franchise opportunity, Jeremiah’s has stayed true to their claim of waking up the frozen dessert category, with over 130 units awarded across more than 50 different franchisee groups, and an additional 162 units awarded across six area representative entities. Looking ahead to 2021, Jeremiah’s is slated to open at least 30 new franchise locations.
