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Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Shake's Frozen Custard different from ice cream and other frozen desserts?
Shake's Frozen Custard is a super premium ice cream that is smooth and creamy. Shake's uses only the highest quality ingredients in all of our original recipes, custom toppings, and our exclusive frozen custard mix. Shake's Frozen Custard is Made Fresh Hourly™ using specifically designed equipment and procedures that exceed our customer's expectations. Shake's is unique to other frozen desserts because we do not add fillers, preservatives, or inject air in the preparation of our unbeatable frozen custard.

How are the exclusive frozen custard mixes and proprietary goods and products delivered to the Shake's unit?
The Shake's distributor will deliver your unique, specially formulated frozen custard mix directly to your store location. Our levelized pricing ensures that you get the same discounted price for your goods no matter where you are in the country. In addition, you will receive all our proprietary items, such as toppings, cups, straws and spoons from the same distributor. As a leader in the frozen dessert industry, Shake's substantial volume buying power has given us the opportunity to receive significant discounts on supplies and inventory. In turn, these discounts are shared with our Franchise Family.

What is franchising?
The Shake's Frozen Custard Franchise Agreement is a licensing agreement in which you gain full use of our operating system, marketing system, and trade dress in a protected area selected by you and approved by us. You own all assets of your business, while Shake's retains ownership of the brand. The Uniform Franchise Offering Circular, which you will receive if you continue on in the franchise process, explains this agreement in full. In addition to the operating system, you will also be assigned a Shake's Frozen Custard Operations Specialist, who will assist and guide you through all aspects of your franchise business. Whenever a change to the system is made, this person will make sure you are informed and help you to make the necessary changes in your store. The Royalty for use of the operating system and trade dress is five percent of weekly sales after taxes.

How does Shake's help me identify a market for my store?
The trained and experienced Shake's Home Office team, in combination with our various vendor partners, play an integral role in assisting you during the site selection process. Market requirements, population, traffic count and lot size may vary according to the specific demographic data found in your area of interest. The Shake's Home Office team will work with you to assess site characteristics as we strive to provide you with the best possible "platform for success".

What makes the Shake's Frozen Custard building design unique?
The Shake's Frozen Custard trademark building is designed to enhance efficiency, facilitate volume sales levels and provide a one of a kind vibrant experience for our valued customers. Shake's award winning trade-dress and color scheme work in harmony with the clean, classic curves of the front elevation and the sharp, retro angles of the canopies. The 1200 square foot building includes Shake's unique symmetrical layout and dual drive-thru and walk-up service windows to promote unit profitability. To get further information on the various building and facility types available, view the Shake's site requirements.

What type of training will I receive on Shake's operating system and procedures?
Shake's will provide you with a full set of operating manuals, instructional materials and support documents that will assist in every stage of your business. You will then attend Shake's "Custard College", an intensive two week training course that will provide instruction on every facet of operating your Shake's unit. Additionally, your dedicated Shake's Operations Specialist will be on site during the initial opening of your unit and will remain in continuous communication as they strive to assist you in adhering to system consistency, on-going training procedures, and most importantly, enhancing your profitability.

What types of systems does Shake's utilize in communicating with the Franchise Family?
Your dedicated Shake's Operations Specialist is a direct link to the Home Office. Your Operations Specialist will remain in weekly contact and readily available to assist you seven days a week. Our monthly newsletter, "The Scoop", is a full-color publication that keeps the Franchise Family informed on a variety of topics that include: new store openings, awards and recognitions, and a column from the CEO to bring you up to date on company strategies and events. As a member of the Franchise Family you will have access to a customized e-mail address linked directly to the Shake's web site. Additionally, we provide a password protected support page on our web site in which you can post messages to the Franchise Family, order marketing materials and Shake's apparel and uniforms.

What marketing strategies do Shake's Frozen Custard offer?
Our first priority is to enhance your profitability; therefore, we believe that the most effective style of promotion is a "grass roots" marketing plan. Our Local Store Marketing Manual, "Shaking Up the Neighborhood", includes time-tested, proven strategies to increase unit sales and enhance profitability. In addition, through a system-wide marketing fund, Shake's marketing agency creates and provides advertising materials, coupons, banners and point of purchase displays which may be ordered through our state of the art marketing fulfillment web site.

What type of financing or lease options does Shake's provide?
Shake's Frozen Custard, Inc. is a franchise organization that is registered and preapproved with the United States Small Business Administration (SBA). This will greatly facilitate the SBA loan processing for any of our prospective franchise family members.

Why choose Shake's Frozen Custard, Inc. as your franchise organization?
In 2003, Entrepreneur Magazine recognized Shake's Frozen Custard as one of the "Top 50 New Franchises" as well as awarded us a spot on their prestigious "Franchise 500" list. Shake's Frozen Custard has been recognized in all our established markets as the "Best of" for our exclusive, high-quality products. When you choose Shake's as your franchise organization, you are not only joining a well-established, highly reputable and successful franchise system; you become a member of the Shake's Franchise Family. We are extremely proud of our Franchise Family. We pool all of our resources, energies, passion and efforts toward achieving the shared vision of Shake's Frozen Custard. We work together to reduce operating costs, enhance your profitability and grow the Shake's brand.

How do I become a member of the Shake's Franchise Family?
The first step toward becoming a member of the Shake's Frozen Custard family is submitting the Request for Consideration to Franchise to our corporate office for review.
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