After 15 years with just three stores in the Canadian market, Farmington, Conn.-based ice cream retailer Carvel Corporation has just announced plans for a major franchising assault.

Carvel is working with Francon Canada, a franchise research and consulting firm to develop the Carvel concept here in Canada.

Carvel, which sells ice cream cups and cones as well as premium ice cream cakes, currently has stores in Hamilton, St. Catharines and Brampton, Ont., operating under the Carvel Ice Cream Bakery banner. In style, the franchises are designed similarly to those of competitor Baskin Robbins, with a slight difference in focus.

‘They’re similar to the extent that they’re both cup and cone stores but we have more of an emphasis on the frozen cake product,’ says Gord Metcalfe, president of Francon Canada.

Frozen specialty cakes, both ready and custom-made, comprise about 60% of Carvel’s products, the remaining 40% being over-the-counter hard and soft ice cream.

According to John Willis, executive vice-president at Francon Canada, Carvel is expanding in response to customer demand.

‘Their growth is quite phenomenal in the States and they’ve decided that Canada is ready for it as well,’ says Willis, adding that sales in the current Canadian locations are also healthy.

Francon is working with area developers to sell master franchises and is focusing the thrust of that initiative, for the time being, on the Toronto market, but Metcalfe says the company eventually plans to take the concept ‘coast to coast.’

Manufacturing of Carvel’s products will take place on the premises of individual franchises. Franchise owners will also be responsible for distribution to stores within a prescribed area based on accounts assigned to them by Carvel.

Although the company’s Canadian marketing plans have not yet been firmed up, Metcalfe says the initial focus will be on targeting prospective franchisees. Once the franchise structure solidifies, he says, consumer advertising will begin.