For 40 years, Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has served up its iconic silky-smooth Italian ice and frozen custard with a smile. While other companies sell frozen desserts, none have been able to capture the heart of America the way Rita’s has. By Brianna Bohn
BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER
For 40 years, Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has served up its iconic silky-smooth Italian ice and frozen custard with a smile. While other companies sell frozen desserts, none have been able to capture the heart of America the way Rita’s has.
President and CEO Linda Chadwick explained the distinguishing factors of the brand. “Rita’s combination of a unique product, friendly service, 100% franchise model and brand legacy and passion truly set it apart in the industry,” she said.
What started as a small business on a front porch in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, has grown to 575 locations worldwide, with even more locations expected to open soon. All shops are locally owned and operated, with strong ties to their communities.
Traditions of lining up for free Italian ice on the first day of spring, taking home a pint of frozen custard and attending a Scoop Night to raise money for your school or local sports team now extend into generations of families. Rita’s is proud to support these traditions and has implemented new services and offerings to ensure that it remains a staple in communities for years to come.
As the brand grows, it remains committed to prioritizing the franchisee experience. Rita’s boasts an efficient franchise model that requires minimal staff to run a location. Franchisees benefit from low food costs and abundant support, including assistance evaluating locations before opening, initial training to run the business and ongoing support to master skills and increase revenue and profitability.
With the brand’s “cult-like following” raving about the 80-plus flavors they can dig their spoons into, it only makes sense that Rita’s has created a recipe for success for franchisees as well.
“When running a brand that is 100% franchised, it’s more important than ever to ensure franchisees are set up for success,” Chadwick said. “My team and I have an open door for franchisee collaboration. We are all working toward the same goal to drive the business forward and improve unit economics. There is not a scenario where the franchisor can be successful without the success of the franchisee.”
With this in mind, the senior leadership team has implemented innovations to capture guest interest and further support franchisee growth. In addition to a digital-first brand strategy, recent updates include optimized drive-thrus, catering options and a mobile app that drives guest loyalty.
While Rita’s continues to refine its system to uphold its legacy, Chadwick said that some things will never change – like its commitment to delivering happiness to guests and franchise owners. Chadwick and her team developed 34 fundamentals that the brand “lives by” to cultivate a culture of hard work and reflection. A few of these fundamentals include ‘Bring it’ every day, treat each other like family and be humble.
“It’s about how you behave. It’s about how you show up. It’s become second nature,” she said.
Thanks to these fundamentals, and Rita’s other attractive franchise benefits, owners have seen improved shop performance and sales.
Rita’s has availability across the country with flexible footprints and a scalable opportunity to help franchisees grow.
Brianna Bohn