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Briazz

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BRIAZZ, Inc., incorporated in 1995, prepares and sells branded lunch and breakfast foods for the on-the-go consumer. It sells its products primarily through its Company-operated cafes, delivery of box lunches and catered platters directly to corporate customers and selected wholesale accounts.

The Company operates a total of 43 cafes in
Seattle , San Francisco , Chicago and Los Angeles . The Company's target customer is the office worker. Its cafes are located either in city center locations with a high density of office buildings and retail foot traffic or within individual office buildings where it serves as an amenity for building tenants. To satisfy the demands of its time-constrained customers for lunch, breakfast and between-meal snacks, BRIAZZ designs its cafes for quick service. Refrigerated display cases offer easy access to pre-packaged food items.

BRIAZZ's core products are sandwiches, salads and soups, which are complemented by a variety of baked goods, premium juices, gourmet coffees and fresh fruit. Within each basic product category, such as sandwiches, salads, soups and baked goods, the Company strives to offer a large number of choices. On average, it offers approximately 300 different items in its cafes. The Company develops its menu and recipes to provide flavorful choices, ranging from the traditional to the gourmet. Its sandwiches are made with a variety of traditional and artisan breads.

The Company is committed to an ongoing process of introducing new food items approximately every six to eight weeks for its cafes and approximately four times each year for its non-cafe distribution channels. New food items are introduced based on such factors as food trends, customer input and test marketing in a limited number of cafes. From time to time, the Company removes seasonal and less popular items from its menu. In response to customer requests, the Company offers hot panini sandwiches in each of its geographic markets. In addition, BRIAZZ offers hot submarine sandwiches (subs) in its cafes in Chicago, two of its cafes in
San Francisco and one of its cafes in Seattle . Due to the popularity of the hot sub offerings, some of the Company's cafes will be retrofitted to give them the ability to offer hot subs. In addition, to keep its product offering current, the Company adjusts its menu on a seasonal basis. For example, the Company offers a larger variety of hot soups and sandwiches during the winter months, and a larger variety of salads during the summer months.

BRIAZZ has begun to design new locations that focus on hot food sales. Cafes with this new design generate approximately 40% to 48% of hot food sales compared to a Company average of approximately 35%. In cafes with the new design, the Company averages higher sales per building occupant than in its other cafes. BRIAZZ anticipates all new cafes will be designed with a merchandising focus on hot food.

Of the 43 Company-owned cafes, approximately half are amenity locations. The size of the Company's cafes ranges from 173 square feet in the
Wrigley Building in Chicago , to 3,816 square feet in the 525 Market building in San Francisco . The Company's cafes sell an extensive selection of BRIAZZ brand and third-party products.

The Company delivers box lunches and catered platters in each of its four geographic markets. It provides service to customers in the vicinities of its cafes and to customers whose business sites are located outside these vicinities. The Company's box lunches include a BRIAZZ brand sandwich or salad entree, complemented by a bag of chips, a beverage, a fruit cup and a cookie or brownie. Catering choices include breakfast trays, sandwich platters, salad bowls, party platters, dessert trays and cold beverages. The Company's target customers are companies that order food items for the participants in their in-house business meetings.

BRIAZZ receives box lunch or catering orders on a daily basis by telephone, fax and through its Website. The Company developed the Website, in late 1999, in response to requests from corporate customers for online ordering capabilities

In October 1998, the Company began distributing sandwiches and salads in Seattle through Quality Food Centers, Inc. (QFC), a regional grocery store chain. As of
December 31, 2001 , the Company's products were sold at over 51 QFC stores. The Company is also in a test with Target stores to selectively sell its products. The test incorporates Target stores in its existing four markets. BRIAZZ has selectively offered its products to other wholesale accounts, including Tully's Coffee.

 

Disclaimer:
The data included within the Financial section is solely for information  and does not construe a recommendation and/or endorsement by IGHRM or its members to invest funds with any of the companies listed. You are strongly advised to obtain professional advice with qualified individuals or corporations for any investments of funds.

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