The new owners of Roti acquired the brand out of bankruptcy in part because they see an opportunity to franchise a fast-casual Mediterranean brand.
The 17-unit Roti was acquired out of bankruptcy in February by the private-equity firm BroadPeak Capital, launched by Tariq Farid, who also founded the Edible Arrangements franchise.
Roti is now being transitioned into the newly created Edible Brands, a platform company that includes Edible Arrangements and its ecommerce marketplace Edible.com; as well as a fruit subscription service at freshfruit.com. And last week, the platform launched the website Edibles.com, featuring a line of hemp-derived THC and CBD products which are legal (sort of), but not in all states.
It’s a family operation. Farid’s daughter Somia Silber is the CEO of Atlanta-based Edible Brands. She has been working with Edible Arrangements for 26 years, and now the vision is to build a platform that is all about food, gifting, health and wellness.
“For us, it’s important to diversify and bring these other brands into this incredible ecosystem and infrastructure that we have that supports the Arrangements business,” she said. “So enter Roti.”
The chain has 10 units in the Chicago area, another three in Minneapolis and four in Washington, D.C., which are all company-owned.
But Edible Brands is all about franchising, so the company is preparing Roti to enter the franchising world as soon as this summer.
Silber said she believes Roti could grow to as many as 300 units within three years, with franchising as the “catapult” of that growth.
“We see the success a lot of Mediterranean concepts are having right now,” said Silber. “It’s not necessarily that it’s something new. There are brands that are doing it well. But we loved the high-quality, wholesome nature of [Roti] and … there are so many synergies and strategic efficiencies for us to fold it into the Edible Brands platform.”
Silber is referring to Cava, a chain that has become the category leader for fast-casual Mediterranean food. But Cava does not franchise, opening doors for others that do.
Roti was a brand that struggled to get back on its feet after the pandemic, mostly as a result of lease obligations. In 2021, the chain closed one-third of its restaurants, and another four closed in 2023.
According to bankruptcy filings, Roti generated revenue of $25.7 million in 2023, then with 19 units, and store-level earnings were $2.9 million.
Silber said there isn’t much about the brand that needs fixing now.
The company may add some more seasonal dishes, but the menu of bowls, salads and pitas is solid, and fits the healthful-lifestyle positioning of the platform.
And as Roti becomes fully integrated, Silber said they plan to add elements from the other Edible brands into Roti to expand its dayparts and add incremental sales.
“There’s a really big opportunity for us to integrate some Edible Arrangements products into the Roti locations and doing a hybrid model,” she said. “Most of our Roti restaurants are in high visibility downtown areas, and we’re looking at adding an Edible Go format to the locations where it makes sense.”
Coming to the Roti catering menu in May, for example, are Edible desserts.
Later, Roti units might also launch grab and go items, like smoothies, fruit-dipped cones, fruit salads and single baked goods. “We’ll bring anything that works in a grab-and-go format, which is pretty much everything but the arrangements themselves,” she said.
The offerings could allow for earlier morning service at breakfast, for example, and Silber said the company is also looking at adding coffees and teas as an option.
Edible Arrangements has evolved in recent years. This year, the company is developing a next gen version of Edible, which is a blend of existing Edible Arrangements with grab-and-go and flowers, bringing all of the categories into one place.
A rendering of the next-gen Edible, which is about more than Arrangements. | Rendering courtesy of Edible Brands.
Scheduled to debut in Connecticut in the second quarter, the new-and-improved Edible retail format will be more interactive and experiential, where customers can pick up a grab-and-go snack, a bouquet of flowers, a dessert to bring as a gift, and other treats.
A second Edible unit is scheduled to open in Atlanta later this year, Silber said.
Edible Arrangements has a robust franchise community, but the operators who work with that mostly retail concept are not likely to become Roti franchisees, Silber said.
Rather, restaurant franchise operators interested in Roti, could see an opportunity to diversify with Edible Brands.
Silber said the plan is to add more restaurants to the platform, but not anytime soon. For now, the focus is on incorporating Roti and getting the new-and-improved Edible off the ground.
“Roti is the first entry point into the QSR space. We’ll continue to explore other opportunities,” she said.
But the priority right now is getting Roti, Edibles.com and the next- gen Edible off the ground and “getting them to the scale that we envision before we look at any other large acquisitions,” Silber said.
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