AUSTIN Texas Two Schlotzsky's units here have started selling the signature menu items of its two sister chains, Carvel and Cinnabon, according to Atlanta-based Focus Brands Inc., franchisor of all three brands.
Focus indicated that the multi-branding will be tested for the next six to nine months to determine if the concepts could be cross-franchised. Carvel, a soft-service ice cream chain, and Schlotzsky's, a fast-casual sandwich concept, are highly regionalized, and Cinnabon's cinnamon-roll shops are concentrated in off-street locations like shopping malls and airports, leaving little overlap of the brands.
Schlotzsky's, based here, was acquired by Focus in November 2006. The company said at the time that it would attempt to co-brand units of the largely franchised chains. Carvel and Cinnabon are based in Atlanta.
Focus franchises or operates 1,750 units in total, including overseas outlets of Seattle's Best Coffee.