Coming Attractions

Our research tells us that to be successful, franchise restaurateurs must strike a delicate balance between too much and too little on menus this year. You'll see more smoothie stores adding complementary foods like bagels and sandwiches to increase sales in the off-season (Jamba Juice has added soup) and, conversely, food concepts like Smash International adding smoothies to their menus. Smaller dessert franchises are also adding more to their menus, as we've also seen in the past with ice cream stores adding frozen yogurt and frozen coffee drinks to their offerings.

What's the not-so-new contender in the frozen dessert market? Custard. Big in Wisconsin and Minnesota, frozen custard has loyal fans: One Web site, http://www.custard.execpc.com/cgi/index , lists the custard du jour for Milwaukee custard shops.

The custard revolution is being led by Culver's Frozen Custard, with 59 franchised locations in five states. Each day, the franchises offer a "Flavor of the Day" from their selection of more than 130 flavors, including caramel pecan and raspberry cordial. Rita's Water Ice is also jumping on this trend as fast as it did with Italian ices by adding custard to its summer menu.

We've found the secret to rounding out a specialized menu is not to go overboard. "The market will be more discriminating [about providing] better quality and better service. It's [not] just a matter of having a wider variety of products," says Don Boroian, chairman of Francorp, an Olympia Fields, Illinois-based franchise consulting firm. Case in point? Boroian contends that one of the reasons Boston Market recently filed for bankruptcy is that the company diversified its menu to the point where it confused both employees and customers. "Trying to add more things can sometimes screw up your menu, screw up your labor costs, render you unprofitable, and confuse the public as to what your image is," adds Boroian.

This article was originally published in the January 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Coming Attractions.