Female Founders
BY EDDY GOLDBERG
BRAND BUILDERS!
I
Blaze Pizza is disrupting the industry
f you had LeBron James on your
team, you’d feel pretty good about
your chances of winning—big. And
that’s exactly what Blaze “Fast-Fire’d” Pizza
intends to do. James made news last October when he didn’t renew his deal with
McDonald’s and opted instead to publicly
endorse Blaze Pizza.
“We’re very lucky to have him,” says
Elise Wetzel, who co-founded the brand
in 2011 with her husband Rick (of Wetzel’s
Pretzel’s). But unlike his paid deal with the
Golden Arches, James is an investor in Blaze
Pizza. In fact, he’s been one since 2012.
“LeBron came on as a founding investor and he had been silent and in the
background,” Rick Wetzel told ESPN
last fall. “Now we’re using him to get our
message out there and put the spotlight
on our brand.”
Sales last year reached $105 million, up
from about $33 million in 2014, and other
serious investors agree this concept has
legs. Blaze already has sold out the entire
U.S. to 44 franchisee groups, including
former NBA player and mega-franchisee
Junior Bridgeman (365 units: Wendy’s,
Chili’s, and now Blaze).
As for James, says Elise Wetzel, his
brand meshes perfectly with that of Blaze.
“He likes being an owner of the business
and is not a paid endorser. He believes in
the food, likes ‘disruptive,’ and sees we’re a
transformative brand. That’s who he is: he
strives for excellence and has changed the
game by the way he plays.” And that, she
adds, is what Blaze is all about as a brand.
“My background is in branding. That’s
been my most significant contribution to
this concept,” she says. “It’s bigger than
just opening restaurants and building a
business. It’s important for all of us to
remember that we’re building a brand.”
NAME: Elise Wetzel
TITLE: Co-founder
COMPANY: Blaze “Fast-Fire’d” Pizza
SYSTEM-WIDE REVENUE: $105 million
in 2015
NO. OF UNITS: 105 (5 corporate)
INTERNATIONAL UNITS: 1
GROWTH PLANS: 2016, 200; 2017, 300;
2018, 400
PUBLIC OR PRIVATE? Private
YEAR COMPANY FOUNDED: 2011
YEAR STARTED FRANCHISING: 2013
YOUR YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 3
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