London Inc. Winter 2021-22 - 20

Upfront Franchising
ROLLING
ALONG
Despite pandemic
challenges, a first-time
entrepreneur finds early
success with a gourmet
vegan bakery franchise
BITE INTO ONE of Cinnaholic's
cinnamon buns, and it's likely you
won't notice anything different: there's
the warm, buttery cinnamon flavour,
creamy frosting and any number of
customizable toppings to create an
ideal treat.
What you might not notice? The
whole thing is vegan.
" A lot of people don't even know that
it's vegan, " says London franchisee,
Varsha Bhola, whose Cinnaholic unit
opened on Dundas Street this past
March. " We don't necessarily put it
out there all the time - we let people
know [that it's vegan], but it's not our
foremost advertising; we believe that
the product speaks for itself. "
Widespread expansion has been
the name of the game for Cinnaholic
(www.cinnaholic.com), a Californiabased
bakery founded in 2009 that
began franchising in 2014 after an
appearance on the pitch show Shark
Tank.
In 2019, during a year that saw
substantial expansion for the brand,
they moved into the Canadian market
with store in Ottawa (there are now
about 60 franchise units in the U.S.
and Canada). The business was also
able to ride the explosion of the delivery
app industry to a 137 per cent yearover-year
growth in 2021 - proof,
if nothing else, that comfort-food
options were a massive hit with consumers
during the pandemic.
It's Bhola's first crack at business
ownership. She says the opportunity
seemed like a perfect fit when she
20 | londonincmagazine.ca | WINTER 2022
Cinnaholic franchisor, Varsha Bhola
" THE THIRD-PARTY DELIVERIES HAVE
REALLY BEEN OUR SAVIOUR " -Varsha Bhola
came across the concept at a franchise
show in Toronto a couple of years ago.
" Cinnaholic stood out to me the
most, " she recalls. " First of all, I was
looking for something that I could
really get excited about. This was my
first venture into business. I wanted
something with a more established
routine. And I really love the whole
vegan aspect. "
When she initially started investigating
the business, Bhola says there
weren't any Canadian operations
open. " The first time I tried it, it was
three-day-old cinnamon buns that
they had flown in from California. I
thought if they tasted this good three
days later after a plane ride, imagine
how good they would be fresh out of
the oven. "
http://www.cinnaholic.com http://www.londonincmagazine.ca
London Inc. Winter 2021-22

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