Couple's Fruit-arrangement Franchise Yields Tasty Payoff

(Saturday, April 05, 2008) - There's a buzz in the air most mornings at the Browns' fruit shop in Farmington -- and it's not from fruit flies.

Despite the rough local economy, Jason Brown and Vikki Hardy Brown decided to invest in an Edible Arrangements franchise. Their gamble is now paying off as their fruit-arrangement business is no longer just paying for itself; it's starting to turn a profit.
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The Browns, who live in Troy and have two young children, bought into the franchise in 2006, opening their first store at 32730 Grand River in the summer of that year. They now own a second location in Lake Orion. The idea came partly from family friends in Troy who own the Edible Arrangements store there.

"I had a fair number of people telling us we were crazy," says Vikki Brown, 39, of their decision to buy that first location.

Edible Arrangements is a Connecticut-based chain. It has grown from a handful of stores in the Northeast to nearly 800 in only 9 years of franchising thanks to its novelty -- specializing in high-end, handmade fruit baskets and arrangements -- and its healthy twist.

"We thought it was a solid business model and a healthy product," says Jason Brown, 38.

It made a big difference to the couple that unlike a fast food franchise, they wouldn't have to work until 10 or 11 at night regularly, he says. With two young kids -- Jason, 3, and Ava, 3 months -- that's not an option.

Plus, the Edible Arrangements chain "has zero franchises that have closed, so we thought we'd done our homework," he says.

Both Brown and his wife are Michiganders -- she's a Detroit native; he's from Saginaw. After living and working in New York City, the couple moved back to Michigan in 2004.

Even after Vikki Brown lost a high-paying management advertising job a couple years ago, she and her husband decided to invest in a business here. With their experience and business savvy, the couple wasn't concerned about doing so in rough times.

While his wife runs the day-to-day operations of the business, Jason maintains his day job as sales manager for a medical device company, and he's working on an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Vikki consults in marketing and public relations, and now makes more money than she did in her former job as a senior vice president. She heads up the marketing efforts of 14 of the 20-plus Edible Arrangement stores in Michigan.

"I'm a big fan," says Scott Thornton, Vikki's former boss, who lives in Bloomfield Hills, of her business. "I think it's great she was able to stick around and the business she is in ... it's healthy, it's different, it's unique, I think it's a great business she's in, not only for Michigan but for the current state of social awareness."

Aside from any financial gains, having their own businesses has had an unexpected benefit for the Browns -- it's become a family affair.

Billy Hardy, Vikki's brother, is a partner in the Lake Orion store, which opened last year, while Jason's brother Michael Brown is the manager of the Farmington store. Vikki's uncle, Dennis Ogletree, was also a driver for the Lake Orion store for a while -- Edible Arrangements offers delivery and pickup services.

Jason Brown says that working with family can be more trying at times but ultimately, more rewarding.

"We work well together," says his brother, Michael, who could recently be found delicately placing chocolate-dipped strawberries inside an arrangement of honeydew melon and pineapple. Edible Arrangements fruit sculptures run from around $40 to upwards of $200.

But what do their buddies say about three grown men -- Jason, Billy and Michael -- playing around with fruit arrangements all day?

"That's a legitimate question," says Michael Brown, 34, who also owns a portion of a clothing store in Saginaw. "Guys will tease you," he says, with an ear-to-ear grin.

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