One baking-loving couple has people lining around the corner just to get into their recently opened dessert shop to taste their cobbler. In less than a decade, the brand once featured on the Food Network has tapped into a sweet spot in its corporate marketing, reaping the benefits of a remarkable social media campaign.
Andrea and Jimmy Plowden recently opened doors of a new Peach Cobbler Factory shop in Jacksonville, Florida, and because of the overwhelming success they are looking to launch a second location in the city, WJCT News reports. With this move, they become one of the fastest-growing Black-owned companies in the city.
Black-owned companies make up only 3 percent of the city-wide businesses.
The decision came after two weeks of this recent franchise store’s grand opening saw about 10,000 people on its first day.
Andrea said, “In 2022, social media has been by far the most influential platform for us here, Peach Cobbler Factory Jacksonville.”
The corporate brand’s work on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as their local network, highlighted the company’s diverse menu and images of the delicious-looking treats, tantalized cobbler lovers in the area, causing them to come out in droves brand’s newest location in the Fairfax neighborhood on the Westside.
The menu is decadent and includes twelve different types of cobblers, including classic peach, honey apple, cherry, blackberry, strawberry, blackberry peach, mango peach, strawberry peach, sweet potato pecan, caramel apple, cinnamon peach praline, and apple walnut raisin.
But cobbler, which the corporate website says is made the way folks’ mothers, aunties, and grandmothers had baked for generations, is not all they serve. Banana pudding and homemade cinnamon rolls (in multiple variations) are available, as well as brand-made “Cold Rush Coffee” and “Sweet Peachy Tea.”
“The first day, we had about 10,000 people outside, and we were like, ‘What is going on?’” Jimmy said.
Andrea shared that such a huge response did not come without hardcore challenges and that the company’s new online ordering program called “Skip The Line” didn’t totally dismantle.
“For Jimmy and I and our staff, a lot of times that means 16-hour days. And there’s no complaints about that, because we absolutely love what we do. We just wish we had enough to serve all of the individuals that wanted on a daily basis,” she said.
The second location, the Plowdens hope, will help alleviate some of the traffic.
They are giving themselves eight months before leasing a spot in the River City Marketplace in North Jacksonville. To open a Peach Cobbler Factory costs a franchise owner anywhere between $75,000.00 to $100,000.00, with a startup window of 60-120 days.
This shouldn’t be a shock, the company, founded in 2013 in Nashville, TN, has been enjoying an unbelievable growth spurt over the last three quarters.
According to Restaurant News, CEO Greg George committed to signing multiple franchise agreements for the Peach Cobbler Factories, which would include brick-and-mortar retail stores, ghost kitchen units, and units with drive-thru windows.
Over the last eight months, the company has secured commitments to develop over 150-plus new locations in 17 different states, and projects over 50 operating units by the end of 2022.
The plan is to have a commitment to open 250 shops by the end of the year also.
Already, they have over 17 franchises of their specialty bakery sprinkled up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
