Courtesy CInnaholic
Cinnamon buns are fanciful creations at Cinnaholic.
The build-your-own, vegan cinnamon roll chain Cinnaholic plans to open three to six franchise locations in the Madison area within the next year.
Cinnaholic has begun a search for potential franchise owners with restaurant experience to bring the bakery to Madison, says Heather Stennis, Cinnaholic’s director of marketing.
Shannon and Florian Radke opened the first Cinnaholic location in Berkeley, California, in 2010. Starting with a cinnamon roll base, Cinnaholic customers can choose from such frosting flavors as peanut butter, lemon or vanilla, and finish the roll with a selection of toppings including the more expected fruits and nuts but also brownie bites, caramel sauce, chocolate chip cookie bites, peanut butter cups and more. In addition to cinnamon rolls, Cinnaholic sells edible cookie dough, brownies, banana bread, “cinnacakes,” and “cookie cakes,” i.e., decorated cookies.
And…it’s all vegan — dairy- and lactose-free, egg-free and cholesterol-free. But this isn’t something the company always emphasizes.
“We take it very seriously, we're very proud of it, but it's also something that we don't really promote,” Stennis says. “The product is so good and so delicious and it's just decadent and perfect as is.” Hearing that a bakery is vegan might be a turn-off for non-vegans, and Cinnaholic is most focused on being a “better-for-you” option, Stennis says.
The Cinnaholic website explains the company’s vegan philosophy further: “At Cinnaholic, we believe everyone has the power to make a positive change in the world — for our people, the animals and the planet,” a “Why Vegan?” page reads, before detailing benefits for both human health and the health of the planet.
While many vegan bakeries will ship nationwide, Stennis says that as far as she knows, Cinnaholic is “one of a kind” as a national vegan bakery.
In 2014, the co-founders appeared on Shark Tank — a reality show that allows entrepreneurs to pitch “shark” investors on their businesses — and accepted but then ultimately turned down a deal with resident “shark” investor Robert Herjavec because of his requirement that Cinnaholic take an online shipping approach rather than brick-and-mortar expansion.
Cinnaholic began franchising in 2014 and has 56 locations in the United States and Canada.
Cinnabon, another national cinnamon roll chain, has six outlets in Wisconsin, including one in Cottage Grove, according to its website.
Cinnaholic is also looking to expand in other cities including Orlando, Florida; Austin, Texas; and New York City.
And it’s not just for breakfast. Cinnaholic locations work best as a dessert complement to nearby restaurants, or near college campuses, says Stennis.
Cinnaholic’s goal is to get franchisees in the Madison area by spring or summer of 2022, at which point they will begin the process of confirming locations and doing buildouts, Stennis says.
The ideal franchisee is “somebody who is looking to be their own boss,” Stennis says.
Why not start small with one location? Cinnaholic has found success “saturating the market,” says Stennis, by opening several locations in one city.
“It's just a mind-blowing bakery,” Stennnis says. “It's a great, delicious product, and we want everybody across the country to experience it.”
