Carvel is an ice cream franchise owned by Focus Brands.[1] Carvel is best known for its soft-serve ice cream and ice cream cakes, which feature a layer of distinctive 'crunchies'. It also sells a variety of novelty ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches.
Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand, and rights to sell its branded products and services to a franchisee. In return the franchisee pays certain fees and agrees to comply with certain obligations, typically set out in a Franchise Agreement.
Focus Brands is an American company that is an affiliate of the American private equity firm, Roark Capital Group, that currently owns the Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli, Auntie Anne's and Jamba Juice brands. It is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and operates over 5,000 stores.
Carvel was founded by Greek-born American Tom Carvel in 1929, when he purchased and began operating an ice cream truck. In 1934, after his truck broke down, Carvel sold his stock of partially melted ice cream, and discovered the market potential of soft ice cream. Carvel subsequently began making and selling soft-serve ice cream; he also developed numerous novelty ice cream items. By 1949, Tom Carvel began franchising the brand, with 50 stores by the early 1950s. By 1985, the franchise had 865 stores. One year before his death, in 1989, Tom Carvel sold the brand and corporation to Investcorp. Since 2001, the corporation has been owned by Roark Capital Group and operated as part of Focus Brands.
Tom Carvel was a Greek-born American businessman and entrepreneur known for the invention and promotion of soft ice cream in the northeastern United States. He was the founder of the Carvel brand and franchise.
Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. It has offices in New York City, Bahrain, London, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Singapore.
Roark Capital Group is an American private equity firm with over US$ 12.0 billion in equity capital raised since inception that is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies, primarily in the franchise/multi-unit, restaurant and food, retail healthcare and business services sectors. The firm is named for Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead. The firm claims that its name is not meant to connote any particular political philosophy but instead signify the firm's admiration for the iconoclastic qualities of independence and self-assurance embodied by the central figure in The Fountainhead.
Carvel popularized various novelty ice cream items, such as the "Flying Saucer", a circular ice cream sandwich, the "Icy Wycy", a paper cone of sherbet on a stick, "Brown Bonnet" and "Cherry Bonnet," frozen vanilla ice cream on a sugar cone dipped in a sweet, waxy confection, the "Tortoni", a cup of vanilla ice cream covered with toasted coconut and topped with a maraschino cherry, and the "Lollapalooza", cylindrical ice cream on a stick covered with colored sprinkles, as well as the "Mamapalooza" and "Papapalooza".[2]
An ice cream sandwich is a frozen dessert consisting of ice cream between two skins, crusts, or other similar biscuit. In America the crusts could be described as wafers or cookies, though sometimes literal cookies are used instead.
Sorbet is a frozen dessert made from sweetened water with flavoring.
Sprinkles, sugar strands, or hundreds and thousands, are very small pieces of confectionery used as a decoration or to add texture to desserts such as cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced in a variety of colors and are generally used as a topping or a decorative element.
The mainstays of Carvel's line of ice cream cakes were 7- to 12-inch rounds, 10 x 14 and 12 x 17-inch sheet cakes, and the "Carvelog", a log-shaped cake made in a cylindrical mold. In addition to Cookie Puss, Fudgie the Whale and Hug-Me the Bear, there were special cakes for most major holidays, including a "Flower Basket" for Mother's Day, "Hoot The Owl" for June graduations, "Dumpy the Pumpkin" and "Wicky The Witch" for Halloween, "Tom the Turkey" for Thanksgiving, "Seamus The Leprechaun" or "Cookie O'Puss" for St. Patrick's Day, and Santa Claus or a "Snow Man" for Christmas. Most of these were made from one of a limited number of molds; the Santa Claus cake had a two-pointed hat because the mold was ordinarily inverted and used the rest of the year to make Fudgie the Whale, who had a tail. Their primary differences from products available year-round were the designs on the icing.
A sheet cake is a cake baked in a large, flat rectangular pan such as a sheet pan or a jelly roll pan. These single-layer cakes are almost always frosted, with decorations and ornamental frosting along the borders and the flat top surface. In the United States, these inexpensive cakes are commonly available in supermarkets and bakeries.
Cookie Puss is an ice cream cake character created by Carvel in the 1970s as an expansion of its line of freshly made exclusive products, along with Hug-Me Bear and Fudgie the Whale. The cake is fashioned with a clown face that uses cookies for eyes and an ice cream cone for the nose. According to Carvel's backstory for the character, Cookie Puss is a space alien who was born on planet Birthday. His original name was "Celestial Person," but the initials "C.P." later came to stand for "Cookie Puss." In his television commercials, Cookie Puss has the ability to fly, though he requires a saucer-shaped spacecraft for interplanetary travel. During the 1980s Cookie Puss was repurposed to serve as a cake for St Patrick's Day, dubbed "Cookie O'Puss", which continues to be utilized annually.
Fudgie the Whale is a type of ice cream cake produced and sold by Carvel in its franchise stores. It was developed by Carvel in the 1970s as an expansion of its line of freshly made products, along with Hug-Me Bear and Cookie Puss.
Carvel introduced the Lil' Love ice cream cake[3] on March 30, 1998. The commercials, which first appeared in its introduction, show small children in special situations, such as losing a baby tooth, starring in a class play, getting an A in a school class, and getting new glasses (sung to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay"). A mother presents the new cake to celebrate. All ads carry the tag line Surprise someone special tonight.
"Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" is a vaudeville and music hall song. The song's first known public performance was in Henry J. Sayers' 1891 revue Tuxedo, which was performed in Boston, Massachusetts. The song became widely known in the version sung by Lottie Collins in London music halls in 1892. The melody was later used in various contexts, including as the theme song to the television show Howdy Doody.
History
Carvel logo from 1989 to 2012
Carvel was founded and operated by Tom Carvel for its first 60 years. In 1929, Carvel borrowed $15 ($200 today[4]) from his future wife Agnes and used it to buy and operate an ice cream truck. Over Memorial Day weekend of 1934, Carvel's truck had a flat tire in Hartsdale, New York. Carvel sold his custard at the site of the breakdown. Within two days Carvel had sold his entire stock, much of it partly melted. He realized that a fixed location and soft (as opposed to hard) frozen desserts were good business ideas. In his first year, he grossed over $3,500. By 1937 he had a custard stand at the Hartsdale site, with a freezer which allowed him to make his own frozen custard. By 1939, gross was over $6,000.[2]
Memorial Day or Decoration Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May, was most recently held on May 28, 2018. Memorial Day was previously observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970.
A flat tire is a deflated pneumatic tire, which can cause the rim of the wheel to ride on the tire tread or the ground potentially resulting in loss of control of the vehicle or irreparable damage to the tire. The most common cause of a flat tire is puncturing of the tire by a sharp object, such as a nail, letting air escape. Depending on the size of the puncture, the tire may deflate slowly or rapidly.
Hartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City.
In the early 1940s, Tom Carvel traveled, selling custard at carnivals, while his wife Agnes ran the Hartsdale location. During World War II he ran the ice cream stands at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, gaining expertise in refrigeration technology. He invented and patented a freezer, the "Custard King", and in 1947 sold 71 freezers at $2,900 each. Some freezer purchasers defaulted on payments on the units. Upon investigation, Carvel found that they were running their businesses inefficiently, choosing poor locations and not always maintaining high health standards. Carvel decided that the best course was to participate in running the operations of his freezer customers. He later claimed this led him to develop the concept of franchising.[2]
In 1949, Carvel began franchising under the name "Carvel Dari-Freez". By the early 1950s, the company had over 50 stores. New franchisees undertook an 18-day training program at the "Carvel College of Ice Cream Knowledge", and were sent an in-house magazine called "The Shopper's Road". In addition Carvel provided building plans for franchises, which were initially stand-alone glass fronted stores.[2]
In 1955, Tom Carvel began to record his own radio commercials.[2] An unsubstantiated anecdote relates that he was driving in New York City, and heard a commercial for a new Carvel's store which did not mention the new store's location. Convinced he could do better, he drove to the radio station and did the next commercial himself. True or not, from 1955 onwards, Carvel recorded nearly all of the chain's advertising, eventually maintaining an in-house production studio at the headquarters offices, and becoming something of a regional celebrity.
Carvel's commercials stood out and raised brand awareness primarily through their lack of sophistication. Carvel had a distinctive "gravelly" voice, lacking the "slick" sound of most professional voice-over artists, and all his narration was unrehearsed. His wording was conversational, with commercials frequently ending with the words "Thank You". Television commercials, aired primarily in the "tri-state area" of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, began in 1971. Accompanied by the familiar Tom Carvel narration, footage showed the products, and employees in the stores; very few graphics or effects were used.
Promotions were part of Carvel's practices from their earliest days. In 1936, they had a "Buy One Get One Free" promotion, and in later years had various contests. They were an early adopter of corporate sponsorship of various events and tie-in promotions, including a tie-in with the New York Yankees.[2] A long-running and well-known campaign was the "Wednesday is Sundae at Carvel!" discount.
Further developments
In 1956, Carvel transformed the Hartsdale location into their first "Ice Cream Supermarket" by adding freezer cases containing pre-made cakes and novelty items which customers could choose and purchase.[2] In 1955, Carvel began its "lease back land offer" program, in which a potential investor could buy land, build a franchise, then lease it back to the corporation.
Carvel experimented with various ice cream vehicle options for most of their early history. Vehicle concepts included a scooter (circa 1957) and a custom truck, the "Carvehicle", for which they applied for several patents (circa 1958).
A dispute with franchisees came to a head in 1962. Independent owners attempted to buy products from outside the corporate supply chain (in conflict with their contracts), maintaining that the company was deliberately overcharging them. Carvel argued that the franchisees were trying to use inferior ingredients. As well as the immediate impact on corporate cash flow, this hurt the corporate image, reducing the chain to 175 stores. When the corporation tried to enforce this contract, the Federal Trade Commission sued them for restraint of trade. Legal proceedings reached the Supreme Court of the United States in 1964, with the corporation emerging victorious.[2]
In 1967, the corporation bought the Westchester Town House Motel, on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, New York and renamed it the Carvel Inn, converting it for use as corporate headquarters, while still operating it as a hotel, providing them with a conference center for the annual franchisee conventions.[2]
During the late 1970s, Carvel attempted to distinguish itself from other purveyors of soft-serve ice cream by claiming that its ice cream machines did not infuse the product with air, unlike the competition. During the 1970s, when dieting and fitness became more popular, Carvel began offering a low-fat frozen dessert called Thinny-Thin ("Thinny-Thin, for your fatty-fat friends"), and a frozen yogurt product called Lo-Yo. From 1973 to 1975, Carvel published a promotional comic book.
In 1983, Saturday Night Live parodied Carvel's ad campaigns during its season 9 episode 7 show, with Joe Piscopo portraying Tom Carvel becoming increasingly troubled by a franchisee's line of X-rated Christmas cakes shaped like breasts, buttocks, testicles and penises.[5] The same year, the Beastie Boys released their first single, Cooky Puss, which included audio of the rap band making prank phone calls to a Carvel store.
By 1985, there were 865 stores with an income of over $300 million.[6]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Howard Stern used a vocal harmonizer to imitate the "outer space" voice of Cookie Puss that was used in Carvel's TV advertisements. Stern also made frequent references to longtime co-worker Fred Norris's cluelessness and cheapness in having once given his mother a Cookie Puss cake as a Mother's Day gift.
In 1989, an aging Tom Carvel sold the corporation to Investcorp for over $80 million.[2] In 1991, its headquarters was moved to Farmington, Connecticut. On December 11, 2001, Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm, purchased a controlling interest in Carvel Corporation from Investcorp. Investcorp became a minority share holder.[7]
Carvel was for most of its history a regional business, most strongly based on the east coast of the United States. As the business climate has changed, so has some of the focus of the brand. There are, as of 2016, approximately 400 retail franchises and food service locations,[8] far fewer than at their peak. Carvel branded products are available in over 9,500 supermarkets. Celebration Foods has pushed the brand's presence from 30 states in 2004 to 49 in 2008, allowing them to form merchandising partnerships with national brands, such as ice cream cakes featuring Mars's M&M's characters. Focus Brands is based in Atlanta, Georgia, Celebration Foods is based in New Britain, Connecticut.
In August 2007, the current owner of the original Carvel location in Hartsdale revealed that he had applied for permission to knock down the store and develop a retail strip on the property.[9][10] The Hartsdale store was closed on October 5, 2008. In March 2009, the store was demolished to make way for a Japanese restaurant.
In 2013, WWE wrestler The Rock mentioned Carvel (as well as rival Dairy Queen) and its Cookie Puss cake during a segment on an episode of WWE Raw, with the Cookie Puss name used as an insult to CM Punk, who Rock successfully challenged for the WWE Championship.
Baskin-Robbins is an American chain of ice cream and cake specialty shop restaurants. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, it was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty stores, with 7,500 locations, including nearly 2,500 shops in the United States and over 5,000 in other countries as of December 28, 2013. Baskin-Robbins sells ice cream in nearly 50 countries.
Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, but made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency.
Häagen-Dazs is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976. The business now has franchises throughout the United States and many other countries around the world including Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, China, Lebanon, New Zealand, and Brazil.
Good Humor is a Unilever brand of ice cream started in Youngstown, Ohio in the early 1920s with the Good Humor bar, a chocolate-coated ice cream bar on a stick sold from ice cream trucks and retail outlets. It was a fixture in American popular culture in the 1950s when the company operated up to 2,000 "sales cars".
Graeter's is a regional ice cream chain based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1870 by Louis C. Graeter, the company has since expanded to 50 retail locations selling ice cream, candy and baked goods in the Midwestern United States. It further distributes its ice cream to 6,000 stores throughout the country. As of 2017, the company had 1,050 employees and $60 million in revenue.
An ice cream cake is ice cream in the shape of a cake with layers of sponge cake or cookie crumble in between. A popular form is a three-layer cake, with a layer of ice cream between two layers of cake.
Soft serve is a type of ice cream that is softer and less dense than regular ice creams as a result of air being introduced during freezing. Soft serve ice cream has been sold commercially since the late 1930s in the US.
Tastee-Freez is a soft serve franchised chain of 23 fast-food restaurants. Its corporate headquarters is in Newport Beach, California, and it has stores in 12 of the United States, with most of its freestanding stores located in Virginia, Illinois and Maryland. The first Tastee-Freez was established in Keithsburg, Illinois.
Rita's Italian Ice is a restaurant chain, based in Trevose, Pennsylvania, which sells mainly Italian ice, frozen custard, and specialty creations.
Hydrox is the brand name for a creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookie manufactured by Leaf Brands. It debuted in 1908, and was manufactured by Sunshine Biscuits for over 90 years. The similar Oreo cookie, introduced in 1912, was inspired by the Hydrox. The Oreo eventually exceeded in popularity which resulted in the Hydrox being perceived as an imitator, although it was the original. Hydrox was largely discontinued in 1999 after Sunshine was acquired by Keebler, which was later acquired by Kellogg's. In September 2015, the product was re-introduced by Leaf Brands. Compared to Oreos, Hydrox cookies have a less-sweet filling and a crunchier cookie shell that has been noted to become less soggy in milk.
Steve's Ice Cream was an ice-cream parlor chain which attracted media attention and long lines when original owner Steve Herrell opened his first establishment at 191 Elm Street in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1973. This is known as the Original Steve's Ice Cream. It introduced the concept of super-premium ice cream and customized ice cream desserts using the mix-in. MSNBC travel/leisure journalist Tom Austin credits Herrell for this innovative milestone in the ice cream industry: "Modern gourmet ice cream is widely considered to have been born at the original Steve’s in Boston."
Schoep's Ice Cream is an ice cream manufacturing company based in Madison, Wisconsin. It is the largest independent ice cream manufacturer in Wisconsin.
A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie consisting of two cookies between which is a filling. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, lemon curd or ice cream.
↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
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