Cobs Bread Bakery is looking to open three franchises in New Brunswick. Image: Cobs Bread Bakery
A bakery chain with Australian roots wants to set up shop in New Brunswick’s three largest cities, and it’s looking for franchisees to do so.
Yvonne Anderson, marketing and communications manager with Cobs Bread Bakery, confirmed the company is looking for franchisees to open bakeries in Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John to bolster its 140 locations across Canada.
Anderson, while hush on the details and not able to disclose names, said there is interest in all three cities from several potential franchisees.
“All of our applications go through a process and they’re in early stages. We’re looking at doing some advertising, but nobody’s passed the beginning stages at this time,” said Anderson.
When asked which of the three cities will see a Cobs Bread open first, Anderson said that it depends.
“We work to find the best-suited fit for the brand and make sure everything works for both the person who is coming on board and Cobs, so wherever we find the right franchisees first,” she explained.
“It’s based totally on which city first gets a franchisee so it’s very hard to say.”
Anderson said the ideal footprint for a Cobs Bread would be around 1,200 square feet–although it varies from location to location.
According to its website, Cobs Bread is gunning to open 15 bakeries per year across Canada. The chain already has some locations in the Maritimes, with bakeries in Bedford and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
The bakery chain specializes in an assortment of bread and products baked fresh from scratch, with products like its block loaves and cinnamon rolls standing out as perennial top-sellers.
Anderson noted that each Cobs Bread Bakery chain’s franchisees negotiate deals with local charities in the communities they operate in, through which unsold bakery products are donated at the end of each day.
Cobs Bread is a subsidiary of Australia-based Bakers Delight, which is also a bakery chain, and was launched in 1980.
Sam Macdonald is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
