In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the Hungry Howie’s franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Hungry Howie’s franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a Hungry Howie’s franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned Hungry Howie’s outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2015, 2016, and 2017, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of Hungry Howie’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2018 FDD, including information on the:

• 2017 average, median, highest, and lowest gross sales for the 283 franchised, 30 affiliated, and all 313 Hungry Howie’s restaurants (separately stated) that were open for the entire 53-week period from December 26, 2016 to December 31, 2017

• 2017 average, median, highest, and lowest gross sales, food costs, paper costs, and labor costs for the 184 franchised, 30 affiliated, and all 214 Hungry Howie’s restaurants (separately stated) that provided select cost information in income statements submitted to the franchisor for the entire 53-week period from December 26, 2016 to December 31, 2017

Section I – Background Information

11 Things You Need to Know About the Hungry Howie’s Franchise

Signs Development Deals in Washington and Utah

1.  Hungry Howie’s ended 2017 with 48 signed location agreements and started off 2018 with new development deals in Utah and Washington, which are new states for the brand. The brand has signed a 5-store multi-unit agreement in Washington and a 3-store multi-unit agreement in Utah. Additionally, in 2018, Hungry Howie’s will concentrate on rapid expansion nationwide, focusing on Nashville, Tenn.; Houston, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Montgomery, Ala.; and Raleigh and Durham, N.C.

2.  Steve Jackson, CEO of Hungry Howie’s, said, “Last year was very exciting for Hungry Howie’s while we focused on internal growth, developing plans to expand into new states like Utah and Washington, and we’re excited to see it come to fruition in 2018. We have confidence that Bill, Sadie and Michael will be successful in taking the lead in expanding our footprint into these new areas and growing our fan base and the love for our Flavored Crust pizzas.”

3.  Bill Tokar has signed an area development deal for a 3-store multi-unit agreement within the cities of Layton, Kaysville, and Syracuse in Davis County in Utah. Tokar has over 10 years of restaurant management experience with Arby’s, training franchisees, supervisors, and restaurant managers to help improve operational processes and the overall guest experience. He is looking forward to partnering with his father to open three Hungry Howie’s locations in the Salt Lake City market.

4.  Sadie and Michael Hill are relocating to Olympia, Wash. from Bakersfield, Calif. to open five Hungry Howie’s locations in the new state within the next three years. The husband and wife duo and their children initially fell in love with the pizza brand in Bakersfield after being introduced to Hungry Howie’s in their hometown. While this is their first venture into the restaurant business and moving to a new state, the Hills look forward to being restaurateurs and introducing Hungry Howie’s Flavored Crust Pizza to the state of Washington.

Launches World’s First Stuffed Flavored Crust Pizza

5.  Hungry Howie’s Pizza, the originator of Flavored Crust® pizza, announced that it was launching the world’s first stuffed flavored crust pizza at the end of 2017. The new pizza was available until the end of March 2018 and featured 100 percent whole-milk mozzarella string cheese in the crust of Hungry Howie’s pizzas. Customers were able to add the stuffed crust to any large round pizza for an additional $2.

6.  Steve Jackson, CEO of Hungry Howie’s, said, “We’ve created the world’s first stuffed flavored crust pizza that packs a cheesy, flavorful punch and we believe it’s one of our best creations yet. While Hungry Howie’s is known for its flavored crust pizza, we’re excited to bring our fans something they’ve never experienced before. Our stuffed flavored crust pizza is a great addition to our already flavorful menu, and we anticipate a great response from our customers.”

Posts 8th Consecutive Year of Sales Growth

7.  At the beginning of May 2018, Hungry Howie’s Pizza announced that it had achieved same-store sales growth for eight consecutive years and increased its sales by 1.42 percent in 2017. In the press release, Hungry Howie’s said that the company hopes to continue its positive growth trajectory in 2018 with plans to open over 10 stores in a variety of markets, including Phoenix, Ariz.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Newnan, Ga.; Logan, Utah; Houston, Texas; and more. Hungry Howie’s also signed several multi-unit development deals in Utah, North Carolina, and Arizona.

8.  Hungry Howie’s introduced several new innovations last year, including its stuffed flavored crust pizza as well as a new loyalty program, Howie Rewards. Steve Jackson, CEO of Hungry Howie’s, said, “From signing several new development deals to providing a positive customer experience for our guests, our team worked passionately to make this another record year. We remain confident in our strategies to continue seeing additional quarters of same-store sales growth and keeping our ranks in the top 10 of the nation’s largest pizza franchises.”

Company History

9.  Hungry Howie’s Pizza began in 1973 when founder Jim Hearn turned a hamburger shop into a delivery and carry-out pizzeria in Taylor, Michigan. One of Hearn’s first delivery drivers was Steve Jackson and in 1976, Jackson asked Hearn if he could open a second Hungry Howie’s in Southgate, Michigan. Over the next few years, Jackson became more involved with the business and in 1982, Hearn partnered with Jackson to franchise the Hungry Howie’s concept. They awarded the first Hungry Howie’s franchise in early 1983.

10.  After franchising took off, Hearn and Jackson established Hungry Howie’s Distributing, Inc. in 1986, which enabled the company to control product consistency and pricing. This commitment to producing a high-quality product has helped Hungry Howie’s expand over the next few decades. By the early 2000s, Hungry Howie’s had over 500 locations across the U.S. and continues to seek new franchisees around the country today.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

11.  Hungry Howie’s ranked No. 214 on Entrepreneur’s 2018 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Hungry Howie’s franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on Hungry Howie’s initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2015

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  523
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  518
• Net Change:  -5

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  518
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  518
• Net Change:  0

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  518
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  522
• Net Change:  4

Company-Owned

2015

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  29
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  30
• Net Change:  -1

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  30
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  30
• Net Change:  0

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  30
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  30
• Net Change:  0

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2018 FDD) and Analysis

• The financial performance representations below are based on the historical performance of a subset of existing Hungry Howie’s Units.

Part 1 – Average and Median Annual Gross Sales of Certain Hungry Howie’s Units for the 53 Weeks Ended December 31, 2017

• The franchisor examined the Gross Sales of certain Hungry Howie’s Units that were open for the entire 53-week period from December 26, 2016 through December 31, 2017 (the “Measuring Period”). Such information was obtained from point-of-sale systems at each individual Unit.

• The data below was derived from Gross Sales information from Franchised Units, Affiliated Units, and All Units.

Gross Sales

Franchised Units