David Rodgers and Gourmet Food General Trading LLC Join FROOTS as Master Franchisee for UAE and Oman

Davie, FL, August 17, 2009 --(PR.com)-- FROOTS, a rapidly growing quick service food and smoothies franchise, has added David Rodgers and Gourmet Food General Trading LLC as their Master Franchisee for the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Gourmet Food General Trading first became interested in FROOTS after visiting franchise exhibitions in London and Washington. “We met with FROOTS executives and then looked at a few of their stores in the Washington area,” said Rodgers. “What attracted us to this brand was the fresh, healthy food, the wide range of products and the vibrant, modern design of their stores. We felt that the idea of fresh, healthy eating is something that’s increasingly important in today’s busy world where many people may not have time to prepare these types of meals on a daily basis. In addition, the food is really delicious so customers can enjoy the dining experience while also they also feel good about the healthy choices they’ve made. This concept offers an excellent product along with an easy to run business and we are excited to bring it to the people in this area.”

Rodgers has extensive experience in the food franchising business. He’s been developing franchise brands internationally for the past 20 years and has worked with Dunkin’ Donuts and KFC in Indonesia and Pakistan. For the last 8 years Rodgers has been developing Dunkin Donuts’ in the Middle East.

According to Rodgers, Gourmet Good General Trading is a partnership between Continental Food Est (CFE) in the UAE and Ataihbah Food Company (AFC) in Oman. CFE is the master franchisee for Dunkin’ Donuts in the UAE where it currently has 56 stores and in Kuwait where it has 14 stores. AFC is the franchisee for Dunkin Donuts in Oman where it has 15 stores, so they currently operate 85 stores in the region. “This background,” adds Rodgers, “means we are very experienced in the real estate, construction and operation of food businesses in the Middle East and we expect to have similar success with the FROOTS concept as we’ve had with Dunkin’ Donuts.”

FROOTS, which was created by David Lopez and has been franchising since 2004, offers a number of healthy food and beverage choices, making it a popular spot for anyone looking for quick service food that is both fresh and healthy. Diners have many options for low fat and low calorie meals, and the smoothies are made with fresh berries, bananas or more exotic tropical blends. “In the Middle East it is becoming a trend to open food concepts that offer these fresh, made to order food,” said Rodgers. “So we feel it is the right time to bring the FROOTS stores to this region. They will be well-received by the people living and working the UAE and Oman, areas which are increasingly attracting both tourists and businesses from all over the world.

About FROOTS
FROOTS is a quick service restaurant offering a variety of fruit smoothies, healthy gourmet wraps, salads and Paninis. Using only fresh ingredients, FROOTS creates unique flavor profiles to satisfy a culturally-diverse clientele. FROOTS Franchising, Inc., is headquartered in Davie, FL and is a privately owned company. The concept was created in 2001 by its founder and CEO, David Lopez and has been franchising since 2004. Currently there are over 50 locations in the US and international locations in Honduras, Panama, Guam, Turks & Caicos and Iraq. Locations in Singapore, UAE and Oman are in development Expansion plans include opening an additional 500 locations in the next five years.

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