Franchise News International:
It was less of a planned attack and more of a coincidence that, just prior to Kraft’s high profile but controversial buyout of Cadbury earlier this year, Snack Time PLC had acquired the UK’s leading chocolate vending franchise, Snack in the Box (SITB).
Although a lower level buyout, the move marked a major shift from Cadbury to Mars for the established confectionary vending franchise, which has more than 100 established territories in its network and around 16,000 customers in the UK and Ireland.
Franchisee, Sue Denwood, who has been running her SITB business with husband Keith in Bradford for the last five years, has found the shift to Mars good for business. She says: “After a long period selling Cadbury products in our vending machines, we wondered how the rebrand might affect us. But since the buyout, our business has grown and profits are up. The Snack Time takeover of SITB has delivered increased opportunity for us, and we’re making more money from better margins on Mars products.â€