Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2015 | Page 18

ANATOMY OF A BRAND
BY BILL PHELPS

FRESH-BAKED
APPROACH

I

We take our pretzels seriously, not ourselves

n the fast food industry, taste will always
rule. The past few years, however, have
seen a shift in the way guests connect
with brands, with elevated expectations
regarding food quality, transparency, and
authenticity. While evolving with your
guests is mandatory for success, doing
it in a way that aligns with your brand’s
ethos is the difference between average
and thriving. For all the growth Wetzel’s
Pretzels has experienced, ensuring that
our products, marketing, and guest experience have been brand aligned since day
one is an element we’re incredibly proud
of. We were the 10th player in the freshbaked pretzel category when we entered in
1994, and people said we’d maybe get to
30 locations. We will end 2015 with 320
units, with another 35 to 40 opening in
2016. Here’s how we’ve done it.
Building a brand
Before co-founding Wetzel’s Pretzels, my
business partner Rick Wetzel and I spent
years as marketing executives at Nestle.
When we launched Wetzel’s, having the

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best-tasting pretzels was a top priority.
While we hired a Culinary Institute of
America chef to create our recipe, we gave
equal focus to the in-store experience. In
the 20-plus years that we’ve continued to
be at the helm, a rarity in this business,
we’ve never let the company waver from
that. Freshness was a buzzword back when
we launched, and is an even bigger deal
now (think Chipotle’s open kitchen with
cooking happening in full view). We always had a freshness vision for Wetzel’s,
so we put our mixers in th HZYHو