Rita’s new year will bring new growth, new advantages for franchisees

Our frozen dessert franchise has big plans in store for 2019 with new tech, new footprints and new ways to give franchise owners a competitive edge

Every new year brings with it new possibilities to be better, and we’ve set sights high at Rita’s Italian Ice. As we work toward strengthening our consumer value proposition and ways to increase our customer base, our frozen dessert franchise is launching new initiatives that are also focused on improving our bottom line.

President and CEO Linda Chadwick says Rita’s is looking to add up to 50 new locations in 2019 and broadening our presence in underdeveloped regions. “Some of the territories where we have an emphasis on growth include Texas, Florida, Louisiana, the Carolinas and of course New York, New Jersey and Virginia.”  

Rita’s is upgrading our consumer app and improving our digital presence, incorporating new marketing strategies to make the guest experience more user-friendly.

“We’re rolling out some new flavors and a new product line in 2019, and our focus is all about the family experience,” Chadwick says. “We have some really cool things coming up.”

Rita’s Italian Ice is renewing our focus in 2019 on creating a fun family experience, which will be the driving theme behind our marketing strategies.

Focus on the bottom line

With new leadership positions in franchise development, marketing, IT and overseeing our supply chain, Rita’s is working hard to engineer lower operating costs for our franchisees next year.

One of the exciting new initiatives Rita’s is rolling out in early 2019 is our On The Road mobile vans. A new vendor partnership will allow our franchisees to lease the vehicles with the option to purchase them when the lease expires.

“Once a franchisee gets a shop up and running, this is a great way to expand their footprint and get the Rita’s brand out there so that they can promote their store,” Chadwick says.

Other exciting developments for 2019:

We’ll be implementing mobile platform to boost catering revenue streams called Rita’s On The Road. The platform is designed to help guests more easily book Rita’s for their special events like weddings, bar mitzvahs and festivals.

Rita’s will launch our first modular building in 2019, which will speed up the timeline for opening a new shop. The sleek design will have a smaller footprint that will lower overhead costs to help increase profit margins.

“We do really well in a small footprint, and we want to get back to these neighborhood shops, which is so true to how Rita’s was founded,” Chadwick says. “This will also make operations even simpler and more streamlined.

“With our new technology, our new mobile platforms and the smaller footprints with our modular building, this is really a great time to buy,” she says, “particularly for multi-unit investors. We’d love to talk to you about a three-pack or a five-pack.”

Learn more

If you’d like to learn more about the business opportunity with our frozen dessert franchise, fill out the form on this page to access our Franchise Information Center, where you can find detailed financial results, a breakdown of startup costs and in-depth Q&As with Rita’s franchisees. You can also find more information about our franchise by exploring our research pages.