Auntie Anne's hand-rolled soft pretzels roll into Dubai

The Middle East franchise rights have been acquired by International Food Concepts (IFC), and in collaboration with one of IFC's partner companies, Hospitality Concepts & Solutions (HC&S), Auntie Anne's pretzels will soon begin to roll out across the region.

Auntie Anne's pretzels mixes, twists and bakes freshly rolled pretzels in-store, in full view of customers. Pretzels are made to order and come with a 30-minute freshness guarantee. Offering a variety of savoury or sweet flavours, including the 'Original Pretzel' or Almond pretzel with caramel dip, Auntie Anne's pretzels also contain significantly less fat making them a quicker and healthier snack option - ideal while shopping in the mall. The pretzels are best served with a freshly squeezed lemon juice or Dutch Ice that can only be found at Auntie Anne's.

Commenting on the Auntie Anne's franchise, Ziad Kaddoura, Joint Managing Partner, Hospitality Concepts & Solutions, said, "Our objective is to identify and successfully introduce new hospitality related businesses suited to the Middle East. Auntie Anne's is no different as it is a concept capable of rapid expansion, therefore excellent as far as business is concerned.

"It already carries great brand awareness across the globe as being reconginsed as a healthy snack, light lunch and dinner, and one of the few snacking concept that offers savoury and sweet options. Appealing to customers from four to 94 years old, Auntie Anne's is a flexible product adaptable to local taste."

Established in 1988 in Pennsylvania, USA, Auntie Anne's founders Anne and Jonas Beiler experimented with various recipes before coming up with a winning pretzel formula that Anne and her customers quickly dubbed "better than the best you've ever tasted!" The popularity of the pretzels grew first by word of mouth, and then through franchised locations. Today, the company supports more than 250 franchisees with over 915 locations worldwide, the latest addition being Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. Auntie Anne's is committed to pretzel perfection by guaranteeing customers will love its pretzels - or replace it with one that they do.

"Auntie Anne's has achieved its international popularity due to the product-offering being a cut above the rest. These hand-rolled soft pretzels have already taken Dubai by storm as the success of the first outlet has far exceeded our expectations," added Mohamed Charafeddine, Joint Managing Partner, Hospitality Concepts & Solutions.

Having already successfully introduced such renowned names as L'Entrecote Café de Paris, Lunchbox, Café Céramique, and MBCo, HC&S have begun to outline expansion plans with IFC for the development of Auntie Anne's in Dubai and other GCC countries, with the prospect of opening outlets further afield in 2007.