South and Central Americans reputedly first made fruit bars centuries ago by freezing real chunks of fruit, using ice and snow from high up on the mountains. In small towns throughout those areas, single entrepreneurs still follow age-old recipes while making the fruit bars by hand.

Here in the United States, fruit bars became popular in the early 1980s when large companies began to manufacture them for grocery stores. Happy & Healthy Products, Inc., the franchisor of FruitfullÒ , traces its history to this time when Kamm, a former Miss Georgia, discovered frozen fruit bars and went to work selling them. The only problem was that fruit bars back then were missing the huge chunks of fruit and low-fat that Kamm desired.

Kamm wanted real fruit bars, the kind that explode with flavor thanks to the big chunks of summer ripened strawberries, bananas, raspberries, watermelon, cherries, limes and coconut. Whereas, she wanted a product that anyone would feel good eating. It had to be low-or no-fat and 100% natural.

Kamm spent two years perfecting her recipes and developing a customer-friendly marketing program to introduce her bars to consumers. She then began to franchise the business as a way for other entrepreneurs to live FruitfullÒ lives by owning a business with a low investment. Today there are over 115 FruitfullÒ franchisees in 38 states and Puerto Rico. The company will have sold over eight million fruit bars by the year’s end.

FruitfullÒ Fruit Bars differ from all others by being 100% natural and have no artificial flavoring. The bars are made with summer ripe fruit, frozen and served on a stick. Each fruit bar is handcrafted, made to the exact specifications of Kamm. It’s a passion that might be more labor-intensive than mass production, but well worth it to consumers who enjoy the huge chunks and great taste of real fruit.

New franchisees invest between $24,000 and $50,000 to open and outfit a FruitfullÒ franchise, which includes a one-time franchise fee of between $17,000 and $24,000. There are no ongoing royalties paid to the franchisor. Depending on the investment, the franchisees can receive among other benefits and incentives:

• Complete field marketing and training
• A secured minimum of wholesale accounts. The FruitfullÒ Grand Wholesale and Retail Franchise comes with a minimum of 30-40 wholesale locations which are secured by the franchisor.

• An agreed upon number of FruitfullÒ freezers and retail carts.
• Opening inventory.
• Ongoing support from operations staff.
• FruitfullÒ marketing materials and point of sales collateral.

Franchisors are doing more and more to customize their franchise offerings to the lifestyles and needs of franchisees. The Happy and Healthy Products Franchise program was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing franchisees to choose the size and focus of their franchise and operate it either full- or part-time.

Most food franchises focus on the retail side of the business but there’s a whole subcategory of franchises that are succeeding by serving as wholesalers to the ultimate retailers.

Mom-trepreneurs will find this opportunity capable to being tailored to their needs. Most of the franchisees work right from home and can arrange their ordering and delivery schedules around their children.

Tammy and Anthony Cracolici of Pittsfield, MA attended a small business expo near Albany, NY. They were looking for supplementary income and wanted something other than a run-of-the-mill home business opportunity. However, they desired something they could format their own schedule around. They found it in the FruitfullÒ franchise as a result of the expo. Tammy now works two-three full days a week at their business and still finds plenty of time with the rest of the family. If she wants to expand the business, she can as there is an increasing demand for the product. In fact, to supplement the freezer storage space in the Cracolici basement, they contracted with a warehouse freezer storage company to handle the volume.

Arlene and Rich Eckhart of Collingswood, NJ had the same thing happen to them. They also needed cold storage facilities in addition to the three freezers in their basement. One of the techniques the Eckharts have developed is centered around portable freezer carts. These little wheeled units are loaned to organizations who buy the fruit bars from Arlene and Rich then sell them at sporting or other events. The Eckharts set up the cart at the beginning of such events and remove them at the end … all staffing is by the organization who purchases the product on consignment. The organizations love the convenience and money-making angle … and Arlene and Rich sell their fruit bars.

So what comprises the perfect franchise opportunity?

Start with a relatively low initial investment. Get rid of royalty fees – those ongoing payments that can strip away a franchisee’s profits. Allow for modest overhead, cutting investment in staff, facilities and inventory. Make the opportunity full- or part-time and allow it to be run from home. Mix in a business that’s fun to operate and finally, include a product that you can feel good about providing to others and one that tastes great and is healthy for you. What do you end up with? Perhaps the unique home business opportunity you’ve been looking for – the FruitfullÒ Franchise Opportunity from the Healthy and Happy Products folks.

Owner: Linda Kamm

Phone: (561) 367-07

Franchisee Fee: One-time payment of $24,000 to $50,000. No royalty fees.

"The product literally sells itself to both consumers and to potential franchise owners. We have marketed the franchise opportunity simply by attending franchise shows and giving out free samples. No one ever imagines selling fruit bars for a living, but people at the show taste our bars, roam around a bit and then end up back at our booth to talk about joining the company."

---Linda Kamm