Celebrating more than 5 successful years in business, Wetzel’s Pretzels is continuing its expansion outside the U.S.. The latest opening this March in Puerto Rico is the company’s 100th unit.
This newest location in the town of Plaza Centro is Puerto Rico’s seventh. Puerto Ricans enjoy a specially created, sugar-coated pretzel, the “Majorca.” This custom creation is generating the second highest total in overall international sales.
Since Wetzel’s Pretzels’ inception, the company has worked to gain market share in the quick serve market through domestic and international development. The privately-held company’s expansion in shopping centers, stadiums, airports, universities, and movie theaters is a step towards changing the traditional perception of pretzels. Growing strong, the company reportedly plans to open seventy-five additional stores this year to meet consumer demand.
Wetzel’s Pretzels currently operates more than one hundred units with locations throughout the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Puerto Rico. In the United States, Wetzel’s Pretzels units currently can be found in twenty states coast to coast.
The company began when founders Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps left their marketing positions at Nestle to pursue their own small venture. The two worked to bring their personalities into the brand, which now boasts an innovative marketing strategy, striking store design, and an unusual product line.
Best known for its Orignal Wetzel’s Pretzel, the company uses its own blend of high-protein, soft winter wheat flour and all natural ingredients to serve up a variety of oversized, soft and chewy pretzels full of flavor. Hand rolled and baked fresh, the company promises pretzels “30 Minutes Fresh” from the oven. The menu features ten flavors of pretzels, including MexiCali, Sinful Cinnamon, and Three Cheese.