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August-September 2014 | BusinessWorld | 6
cash. The franchise fee is $15,000 for a
renewable f ive-year agreement , a l l
franchisees are owner/operators and 90
percent of all franchisees own/operate
more thanone unit.
Most franchises have no more than three to
five employees.
An additional franchising option for
prospective candidates arrived in early July,
when Dippin' Dots finalized its acquisition
of Doc Popcorn, an 11-year-old gourmet
popcorn operation that was founded in the
kitchen of a New York City apartment
before its owners relocated to Boulder,
Colo.
Doc Popcorn had nearly 100 franchisees in
30 states, as well as Japan, Mexico and
Puerto Rico, and had been even more mall-
focused than Dippin' Dots, positioning
itself as an impulse purchase thanks to the
omnipresent buttery flavored aromas. In
recent years, it had followed a path similar
to Dippin' Dots into fairs and festivals, as
well as arenas and convention centers.
“We're excited about the opportunity to
mix the sweet and the savory. One of the
things that we're going to be able to help
with is getting Doc Popcorn into the places
we've been for 10 and 20 years now,”
Rothenstein said. “Similar towherewewere
10 years ago, that's pretty much where they
are. Plus we've always had, on the Dippin'
Dots side, the fairs and festivals.So we're
really going to bring that to them and bring