LANCASTER, Pa. — Auntie Anne's Pretzels has announced its first store opening in Mexico. The Mexico store marks the 200th international store opening and brings the chain's worldwide presence to 20 countries.
The first Mexico location officially opened March 6 in a new Mexico City shopping center, Parques Polanco. Auntie Anne's granted Snacks and Pretzels Mexico SA de CV with the exclusive license to develop the country. This team, including managing director, Arturo Berkstein, joins Auntie Anne's system with a background in developing a number of other food retail chain concepts in Mexico. Snacks and Pretzels Mexico SA de CV has signed an agreement to open 33 Auntie Anne's locations over the next five years.
The Mexico City Auntie Anne's will initially serve customers the standard menu line-up, including a wide variety of pretzel flavors and on-the-go meal selections. Customization of products to fit local taste profiles may be explored by the master franchisee and Auntie Anne's Inc. in the coming months. Unique international pretzel flavors include Malaysia's Green Tea, Chocolate Mint, Seaweed, and Chocolate Éclairs, and a pretzel with dates for Saudi Arabia customers.
Auntie Anne's has opened nearly 1,000 stores in its 21-year-old history. Franchise expansion plans for 2009 include 52 international and 42 domestic openings. In addition to Mexico, the Pennsylvania-based franchisor's stores span the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, England, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, Kuwait, Honduras, Greece, Canada and China.
