Unique Temecula franchise features cool truck, treats
A former teacher who was able to draw upon his family’s franchising experience has snared a unique franchise of his own in Temecula. In doing so, Tim Rennick has tapped into a fun, fast-growing enterprise that also aims to help kids and classrooms.
Plus he gets to drive a cool truck that sells sweet treats.
"I really enjoy it," Rennick said of his decision to switch from teaching to selling ice concoctions as part of his Kona Ice franchise. "The smiles on the people’s faces are just incredible for me to see."
Rennick purchased his franchise over the summer and he and family began transitioning from the Hemet area to Temecula. Although it required a career change at age 36, Rennick said he had no qualms over the uncertainty of launching a first-for-the-area franchise amid a bumpy economy.
"I had an immediate fascination with it," he said in a recent telephone interview. "I like working with kids, and I wanted to do something different."
Rennick said he also had a high level of comfort in the franchising concept. His family has extensive experience in the field.
His father founded and launched American Leak Detection, which detects water and sewer leaks for residential, commercial and municipal customers. The company boasts 100 American franchises and 17 in other countries. His father sold the company four years ago, and now works as a franchising consultant, Rennick said.
Given its current growth rate, Kona might soon overtake American Leak in its number of U.S. franchises.
Kona Ice currently boasts 63 franchises in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Its bright trucks and unique design are a twist on the typical ice cream truck. And if the firm’s growth continues at its current rate, there could be 500 Kona Ice franchises across the country in just the next five years, company officials said.
Rennick, whose wife is a teacher, said he paid $12,500 to purchase his franchise. The truck – which is dubbed a Kona Entertainment Vehicle – cost another $77,000 to purchase, paint and equip with counters, four sinks, huge freezers and flavor dispensers. There is also Advertisement
a $3,000 annual royalty, which Kona officials say is low for the industry.
Rennick said he wants to eventually purchase a second truck to expand his coverage of the area. He has the only Kona franchise in southwest Riverside County.
Tony Lamb, who founded the company in 2007, said his community-oriented company is being built by "incredibly-driven entrepreneurs" who have embraced the concept of a mobile franchise that requires no real-estate investment.
Lamb has said his idea for the franchise was inspired by his daughter’s first encounter with a traditional ice cream truck. Lamb said his daughter was frightened by the "scratchy music, a beat-up vehicle and freezer-burned treats."
In a press release, Lamb said Kona "is becoming as much a fixture in Americana as baseball, apple pie, July 4th parades, little league games and summers in the park."
The colorful trucks and customers’ ability to customize their purchases by pouring their favorite flavors, alone or in combinations, onto the ice are aimed at making it a fun, interactive experience for kids, company materials state.
The trucks feature Kona Ice "characters" cast in an island setting amid a blend of music set to a tropical beat. The flavored toppings include "tiger’s blood," "godzilla tropicana" "cactus juice" and "wild poison-berry."
As a result, the novelty of the truck, the music and the do-it-yourself flavoring options can cause lines of children to form on neighborhood sidewalks and at community events, school functions, sports games and private parties.
Kona Ice also helps sponsor community, church, school and sports league fund-raising events. In it first two years of operations, the company has donated more than $250,000 of its proceeds to such causes, according to its media materials.
Rennick said he has done likewise in his service area. He said he has donated more than $1,000 thus far to Temecula-area school booster clubs, parent-teacher groups and other education-related programs.
"We have become a part of the community and there’s still so much more for us to do," Rennick said. "It’s really a fun, dynamic thing and giving back to the schools is just a treat."
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/42699/
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