The unusual starting circumstances and remarkable growth of Woops! were front and center in a recent profile highlighting the brand’s many positives

Readers of Nation’s Restaurant News are a savvy bunch, and there’s not much they haven’t seen or heard about when it comes to the industry. Still, they love an innovative story when they see it, which is why a recent profile of the Woops! macaron franchise founders and the business they are growing was published.

Chief Financial Officer and Co-founder Raj Bhatt led things off, talking about how he and a group of friends, who were involved in an espresso chain, decided to lease a pop-up market space to sell macarons at New York’s Bryant Park Holiday Shops in 2012. The rest, as they say, is history.

Pop-up start leads to multistate business expansion

The team ended up making almost $250,000 and, “Woops! We had a business,” Bhatt told the magazine. From there, the business has grown through macaron franchise and bakeshop franchise models, with a product line that has expanded out from the core offering of macarons to include a global array of pastries, sandwiches, coffees and teas, with more items being tested all the time.

“Our growth has come because we have innovated from the very beginning,” says Tal Avivi, Chief Design & Creative Officer. “We will always have macarons and there will always be new flavors. But we are also very proud of the many international treats from around the globe that we serve to our amazing, loyal customers.  We want to be the most beautiful, unique place possible to buy yourself a day-brightening macaron or a thoughtful and one-of-a-kind gift.”

Gift sales, e-commerce fuel growth

Woops! is becoming known online and in its physical locations as much as a gifting source as a place to enjoy a delicious pastry or other treats.

“We’re actually more of a gifting shop,” Bhatt said in the article. “Even though we look like a cafe, we want you to come here and find a gift for yourself, whether it’s food or taking a box of macarons, cookies or tartes to your co-workers or taking it home,” he said, adding that, apart from the surprise that macaron kiosks can be a profitable business, Woops! also symbolizes the experience he hopes guests will have. “A Woops! experience can be, ‘Woops! This is the best thing I’ve ever had,’ ” he said.

Since our founding in 2012, Woops! has grown to more than 50 locations across the country and is uniquely poised to grow in the $310 billion domestic baking industry. Woops! is rapidly expanding far beyond our proven success in the highly competitive New York City and Tri-State areas, and we’ve targeted 15 additional locations by the end of 2018.

Woops! is seeking savvy entrepreneurs and investors who are excited by the idea of bringing European-style treats and coffee to American consumers. While we don’t require baking experience, we do look for people with managerial experience and an entrepreneurial spirit. We want people who will follow the Woops! proven business model, who want to grow a team, who love people and want to support their communities while creating a great life for themselves and their families.

Want to open a Woops! boutique macaron kiosk in your city?

For in-depth details about the Woops! franchise opportunity, download the free franchise report. You also can learn more by visiting the Woops! franchise research pages.