Auntie Anne's Enters Partnership With Meijer, Opens First In-store Location In Indiana

Auntie Anne's Pretzels, the more than 1,600-unit global franchise made famous by its fresh, hand-rolled snacks, is continuing to expand its portfolio of non-traditional locations by announcing a new partnership with Meijer. In August, Auntie Anne's opened its first Meijer franchise location in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Auntie Anne's will continue to build its partnership with the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer with two stores currently in the pipeline. The first is slated to also open in Fort Wayne, Ind. later this year with an additional location planned for Michigan in 2015.

"As we continue to look for more opportunities to grow in non-traditional locations, we are targeting locations where our fresh pretzels will be the perfect on-the-go snack. Whether we're feeding the appetite of hungry shoppers or serving as a treat for the ride home, Meijer is a great fit for our brand," said Brian Boycan, vice president of non-traditional development. "Our partnership with Meijer has been extremely beneficial for both brands. We look forward to strengthening the relationship and growing our presence in more superstores." Auntie Anne's, which has opened more than 65 new non-traditional locations this year, can now be found in non-traditional venues including entertainment centers, amusement parks, casinos, food trucks, stadiums, military bases, colleges and universities, large retailers, and transportation sites such as airports, train stations, and travel plazas. The iconic pretzel brand will continue to expand its non-traditional presence with 20 additional locations expected to open by the end of 2014.

With Auntie Anne's, there is no "one size fits all" store model. Instead, the company has the ability to tailor stores to better appeal to the venue and its traffic count. Auntie Anne's typical store layouts include in-line stores, baking kiosks and satellite retail units, and they offer flexible store design prototypes to accommodate the versatile requirements of today's traditional and nontraditional venues.

ABOUT MEIJER Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 213 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. As a pioneer of the "one-stop shopping" concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings. Additional information on Meijer can be found at www.meijer.com. Please follow Meijer on Twitter @twitter.com/Meijer and @twitter.com/MeijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/Meijer.

ABOUT AUNTIE ANNE'S An award-winning franchise system that is owned by FOCUS Brands Inc., Auntie Anne's Pretzels received the 2014 Technomic's Chain Restaurant Consumers"� Choice Award for craveability, ranked number one in the category of hand-rolled soft pretzels by Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500, and was granted the World-Class Franchise honor (the most prestigious award in franchising) for the past seven years. For more information about Auntie Anne's, visit www.auntieannes.com, www.facebook.com/auntieannespretzels, www.twitter.com/auntieannes, or www.youtube.com/auntieannespretzels.

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