If You Get Brands Talking Together, Good Things Can Happen
Last fall, Focus Brands, the franchisor and operator of Cinnabon cinnamon roll bakeries and other brands, held its first summit for small to mid-sized licensees. The idea was to bring them together and get them talking partnerships to leverage each others brands, grow their products, get consumers shopping in isles they may not necessary shop in and trying products they may never have otherwise purchased.
One of those attendees was a representative from SunMaid, which had begun licensing the Cinnabon brand in 2002 to produce Cinnamon Bread. Production began in small areas around Michigan and Ohio and over time more regional bakeries began to make the product. The business grew region by region and is now one of Focus Brands best selling SKUs. At the summit there was lots of talk about cross promotions.
At the time of the meeting, Cream of Wheat was a new Cinnabon licensee and in the process of developing a Cinnabon hot instant cereal. Since the product hadn
