FRESHII Prince of Tuxedo

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This article was published 08/11/2014 (3996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT’S healthy, it’s fast and it’s exploding in popularity. And it’s finally coming home.

Freshii, the brainchild of Winnipeg-born Matthew Corrin that’s growing faster than Starbucks did, is opening three outlets here in River City.

Just don’t ask his parents.

When asked why he thought there were no Winnipeg locations, Corrin’s father, Winnipeg dentist Rick Corrin, said convincingly, “No, I don’t know about that. We’re very happy and proud of Matthew’s success, but I’m not up on every detail. I’m only qualified to do one thing, and that is practise dentistry.”

It’s exciting for the Corrin family, which has seen Matthew’s business grow into a global presence in less than 10 years.

Freshii is a healthy fast-food restaurant featuring fresh-food wraps, burritos, veggie bowls and fresh juices that are making kale and quinoa unlikely competitors to burgers and fries.

It’s become a hit with health-conscious consumers in 50 cities and nine countries.

Matthew, 33 — who has been compared with Starbucks founder Howard Schultz — wouldn’t say much but confirmed there were three franchise stores slated to open in Winnipeg in 2015, hinting one would be at the airport.

“I told my family that they have to say no comment (about possible Winnipeg locations),” Corrin said from Freshii’s head office in Toronto. “My dad does a good job. But my grandfather is the wild card. He wants to talk about it.”

With beachheads in Toronto and Chicago — each with more than 20 outlets — the chain now has locations across the U.S. and Canada as well as in Europe, Colombia and Dubai.

“We have been excited to enter Winnipeg for a long time for a bunch of reasons,” Corrin said. “I am a Winnipegger. The city means so much to me.”

Growing up in Tuxedo, one of his first businesses as a kid was a guide to the city’s hockey arenas he had printed complete with paid advertisers.

“He was always very focused,” his father said. “When there is a bump along the way, he just seems to come up with a solution.”

It is not inconceivable that Freshii could become the next big fast-food brand.

Every outlet was not an instant success, but Corrin and his 25-person head office learned and got better.

“If this was not a profitable business, you would only be able to fool people for so long,” he said. “You get about a year of that… and then no one wants to buy or develop any more.”

Freshii selects its partners carefully, but still, the chain opened its 100th outlet faster than Starbucks, McDonald’s or Subway. It’s up to 120 now, with two stores opening every week.

“That is by no means a precursor to the fact that we will have tens of thousands of stores in a few decades from now,” Corrin said. “But it does mean that we started very early on with a focus on scale.”

Before starting Freshii, Corrin worked for two years as a public relations man for the recently deceased fashion icon Oscar de la Renta in New York and had never worked a day in his life in a restaurant.

He acknowledges his good fortune in that his family gave him the money to start his first store.

“That meant I did not have to write a business plan,” he said.

“Instead, I wrote guiding principles,” that include “to help citizens of the world live longer and healthier by making healthy food convenient and affordable.”

The first iteration was called Lettuce.

‘I did not have to write a business plan. Instead, I wrote guiding principals… to help citizens of the world live longer and healthier by making healthy food convenient and affordable’

— Freshii founder Matthew Corrin

With the advice of branding specialists, the name was changed to Freshii so customers would not think the only option would be salad for breakfast.

While he says he loves making money, Corrin talks just as convincingly about wanting the business to have a positive effect on the world.

“We are in the really early innings of what is going to be a long run of demand for healthy foods and a general wellness lifestyle,” he said. “That’s largely because there is a global obesity epidemic.”

Corrin said he’s proud he has never had to advertise for franchisees. He’s signed up 90 so far this year and he expects the chain to grow to 250 locations by the end of 2015.

Healthy fast food is the fastest-growing segment in the industry. Although it still only accounts for a fraction of the $200-billion industry, there is a global trend away from greasy, fatty food to healthy, fresh alternatives.

After a few years of success, Freshii can barely keep up with enquiries for the $250,000 franchises.

“That may sound like a lot, but in the world of restaurant franchises we are probably best-in-class,” he said.

“Subway (franchises) cost about the same, but our sales per unit is almost double theirs. That is why it’s not shocking when we have franchise partners selling their Subway store to join our system.”

A recent story in the Los Angeles Times quoted a restaurant consultant who said the most bankable word in food service is “fresh.”

The story mentioned a number of California chains with 10 to 15 locations.

Freshii just signed its first lease in California and will have its first store there next year. In the meantime, Corrin’s business is the largest in that growing segment by a factor of 10.

It may also be the only one whose CEO is a budding media star. Corrin was the youngest CEO to appear on the W Network’s Undercover Boss last year, and next week he is about to start taping a new spinoff of CBC’s successful Dragons’ Den show, called Next Gen Den an online version targeted at the bustling young startup scene. He will be one of the new dragons.

Corrin is telegenic and poised on camera, but rather than an attempt to bolster his own career, he sees it as a way to make employees and his growing number of franchisees feel good about the company.

“When you get to do things that make the employees and team members proud to be part of the brand, that is called culture-building,” he said.

It will also further his interest in encouraging young entrepreneurs which he’s doing through a business accelerator called Fresh Startups.

“I hear all about the great Winnipeg startups and I’m really hoping we’ll get lots of chance to invest in some.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca