Carvel is an ice cream
franchiseFranchising is the practice of using another person's business model. The franchisor grants the independent operator the right to distribute its products, techniques, and trademarks for a percentage of gross monthly sales and a royalty fee...
owned by
FOCUS BrandsFocus Brands is an affiliate of the Atlanta-based private equity firm, Roark Capital Group, that owns the Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, and Moe's Southwest Grill brands. It purchased Seattle's Best and Cinnabon from AFC Enterprises in 2004 and Schlotzsky's from Bobby Cox Companies in 2006...
– Carvel is well-known for its
soft serveSoft Serve is a type of frozen dessert that is similar to, but softer than, ice cream, and often called a "creeme," by Vermonters.- History :...
ice creamIce cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners. In some cases, artificial flavourings and colorings are used in...
, its round
Flying SaucerFlying saucer is the name given to a type of unidentified flying object with a disc- or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either alone or in tight...
ice cream sandwichIce cream sandwiches are frozen desserts composed of a layer of ice cream of any variety "sandwiched" between two cookies or slices of cake.-Australia:...
es, and its
ice cream cakeIce cream cake is either ice cream in the shape of a cake or ice cream and cake layered together to make a single form. The idea of ice cream cake came from desserts composed of cream and cookies or cake called trifles, which first turned up in the Renaissance...
s (including
Fudgie the WhaleFudgie the Whale is an ice cream cake shape developed by Carvel.Although the cake depicts the shape of a whale and was originally decorated as such, it was adapted for holiday uses by rotating it 90 degrees counter-clockwise so that the whale's body, now upright, could represent a face...
, Hug Me the Bear, and
Cookie PussCookie Puss is a character created by Carvel as an expansion of its line of ice cream cake characters freshly made and sold only in its stores, which also includes Hug-Me Bear and Fudgie the Whale....
- only available in the franchised stores). In the franchise stores the cake is made there, frozen solid, decorated and placed in the case to be sold. These stores can also customize their freshly made cakes in a variety of ways, such as flavor changes or putting photo images on cakes. In addition to their franchised locations, FOCUS Brands' Celebration Foods division produces ice cream cakes for
supermarketA supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
sales. Celebration Foods has distribution reaching over 49 states in close to 9,500 supermarkets, super centers, and club stores.
Founding
Carvel was founded and run by
Tom CarvelThomas A. Carvelas, also known as Tom Carvel was a Greek-born American businessman and entrepreneur known for the invention and promotion of soft ice cream in the northeastern United States...
for its first 60 years. In 1929,
Tom CarvelThomas A. Carvelas, also known as Tom Carvel was a Greek-born American businessman and entrepreneur known for the invention and promotion of soft ice cream in the northeastern United States...
built and began operating a frozen custard trailer. For
Memorial DayMemorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May . Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service...
weekend of 1934, Carvel borrowed $15 from his future wife Agnes to buy a load of
frozen custardFrozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It typically contains 10% butterfat and 1.4% egg yolk...
to sell to holiday vacationers. When the truck suffered a
flat tireA flat tire is a deflated pneumatic tire. This may cause the rim of the wheel to ride on the tire tread or the ground, and may result in loss of control of the vehicle or irreparable damage to the tire and wheel....
in
Hartsdale, New YorkHartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. The population was 9,830 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hartsdale is located at ....
, Carvel started selling his custard at the site of the breakdown, the parking lot of a pottery store. Within two days, his entire stock, much of it partly melted, had been sold, and Carvel realized that both a fixed location and soft (as opposed to hard) frozen desserts were potentially good business ideas. In his first year there, he grossed over $3500. By 1937 he had a custard stand at the Hartsdale site, with a freezer which allowed him to make his own frozen custard. By 1939, gross was over $6000. The original Hartsdale store was closed on Sunday, October 5, 2008.
In the early 1940s, Tom Carvel traveled, selling custard at carnivals, while his wife Agnes ran the Hartsdale location. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he ran the ice cream stands at Fort Bragg in
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
, gaining additional expertise in refrigeration technology. He soon invented and patented his own freezer, the "Custard King", and in 1947 sold 71 freezers at $2900 each. Some of the freezer purchasers defaulted on payments on the units, and upon investigation, Carvel found that they were not running their businesses efficiently, choosing poor locations and not always maintaining high health
standards. Carvel decided that the best way to correct the situation was to participate in running the operations of his freezer customers; he later claimed this led him to develop the concept of franchising.
Franchising and advertising
By 1949, Carvel had begun franchising under the name "Carvel Dairy Freeze", and there were 25 stores by the early 1950s. New franchisees undertook an 18-day training program at the "Carvel College of Ice Cream Knowledge", and were sent an in-house magazine called "The Shopper's Road". In addition Carvel provided building plans for franchises as well, initially stand-alone glass fronted stores.
In 1955, Carvel began to record his own
radio commercialA radio commercial is a form of advertising via the medium of radio. Airtime is purchased from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials....
s. An unsubstantiated anecdote relates that he was driving in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, and heard a commercial for a new Carvel's store which did not mention the new store's location. Convinced he could do better, he drove to the radio station and did the next commercial himself. True or not, from 1955 onwards, Carvel recorded nearly all of the chain's advertising, eventually maintaining an in-house production studio at the headquarters offices, and becoming something of a regional celebrity.
Carvel's commercials stood out and raised
brand awarenessBrand awareness is a marketing concept that measures consumers' knowledge of a brand's existence. At the aggregate level, it refers to the proportion of consumers who know of the brand.-Measurement driven conceptualization:...
primarily through their lack of sophistication. Carvel had a distinctive "gravelly" voice, lacking the "slick" sound of most professional voice-over artists, and all his narration was unrehearsed. His wording was conversational, with commercials frequently ending with the words "Thank You". Television commercials, aired primarily in the "tri-state area" of
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
and
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
, began in 1971. Accompanied by the familiar Tom Carvel narration, footage showed the products, and employees in the stores; very few graphics or effects were used.
Promotions were part of Carvel's practices from their earliest days. In 1936, they had a "Buy One Get One Free" promotion, and in later years had various contests. They were an early adopter of corporate sponsorship of various events and tie-in promotions, including a tie-in with the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division...
. A long-running and well-known campaign was the "Wednesday is Sundae at Carvel!" discount.
The mainstays of Carvel's line of ice cream cakes were 7", 8", 9", 10" and 12" rounds, 10"x14" and 12"x17"
sheet cakeA sheet cake is a cake baked in a large, flat rectangular pan such as a sheet pan or a jelly roll pan. These single-layer cakes are almost always frosted, and may be decorated on the flat surface on the top...
s, and the "Carvelog," a log-shaped cake made in a cylindrical mold. In addition to
Cookie PussCookie Puss is a character created by Carvel as an expansion of its line of ice cream cake characters freshly made and sold only in its stores, which also includes Hug-Me Bear and Fudgie the Whale....
, there were also special cakes for most major holidays, including a "Flower Basket" for
Mother's DayThe modern Mother's Day holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, as a day to honor mothers and motherhood; especially within the context of families, and family relationships. It is now celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, some of which have a much older...
, "Hoot The Owl" for June graduations, "Dumpy the Pumpkin" and "Wicky The Witch" for
HalloweenHalloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
, "Tom the Turkey" for
ThanksgivingThanksgiving may refer to:*Thanksgiving , the holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.*Thanksgiving , the holiday on the second Monday in October.*Thanksgiving...
, "Seamus The Leprechaun" for St. Patrick's day, and a "Snow Man" for
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
. Most of these were made from one of a limited number of molds and their primary differences from products available year-round were the designs on the icing.
Carvel also popularized various ice cream "novelty" items, such as the "Flying Saucer", a circular
ice cream sandwichIce cream sandwiches are frozen desserts composed of a layer of ice cream of any variety "sandwiched" between two cookies or slices of cake.-Australia:...
, the "Icy Wycy," a paper cone of
sherbetSherbet is a traditional cold drink prepared with rose hips, cornelian cherries, rose or licorice and a variety of spices. In the gardens of Ottoman Palace, spices and fruits to be used in sherbet were grown under the control of pharmacists and doctors of the Palace...
on a stick, "Brown Bonnet" and "Cherry Bonnet," frozen vanilla ice cream on a sugar cone dipped in a sweet, waxy confection, the "Tortoni," a cup of vanilla ice cream covered with toasted coconut and topped with a maraschino cherry, and the "Lollapalooza," cylindrical ice cream on a stick covered with colored
sprinklesSprinkles are very small pieces of confectionery used as a decoration or to add texture to desserts – typically cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, and some puddings...
, as well as the less popular "Mamapalooza" and "Papapalooza."
In 1956, Carvel transformed the Hartsdale location into their first "Ice Cream Supermarket" by adding freezer cases containing these and other pre-made cakes and novelty items which customers could pick out and buy immediately. Also, in 1955, Carvel began its "lease back land offer" program, in which a potential investor could buy land, build a franchise, and then lease it back to the corporation.
Carvel experimented with various ice cream vehicle options for most of their early history; from the first truck through to at least 1970. Vehicle concepts included a scooter (circa 1957) and a custom truck, the "Carvehicle", for which they applied for several patents (circa 1958).
A dispute with franchisees came to a head in 1962. Independent owners attempted to buy products from outside the corporate supply chain (in conflict with their contracts), maintaining that the company was deliberately overcharging them. Carvel argued that the franchisees were trying to use inferior ingredients. As well as the immediate impact on corporate cash flow, this hurt the corporate image, dropping the chain to 175 stores. When the corporation tried to enforce this contract, the
Federal Trade CommissionThe Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
sued them for
restraint of tradeRestraint of trade is a common law doctrine relating to the enforceability of contractual restrictions on freedom to conduct business. In an old leading case of Mitchell v. Reynolds Lord Smith L.C. said,...
; legal proceedings reached the
Supreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
in 1964, with the corporation emerging victorious.
In 1967, the corporation bought the Westchester Town House Motel, on Tuckahoe Road in
Yonkers, New YorkYonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, New York, with a population of 196,086 . More recent estimates put the population at 197,234 in 2002, 197,126 in 2004 and 196,425 in 2005...
and renamed it the Carvel Inn, converting it for use as corporate headquarters, while still operating it as a hotel, providing them with a conference center for the annual franchisee conventions.
During the late 1970s Carvel attempted to distinguish itself from other purveyors of soft-serve ice cream by claiming that its ice-cream machines did not infuse the product with air, unlike the competition.
During the 1970s, when dieting and fitness became more popular, Carvel began offering a low-fat frozen dessert called Thinny-Thin and a frozen yogurt product called Lo-Yo.
From 1973 to 1975 Carvel published a promotional
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
.
By 1985, there were 865 stores with an income of over $300 million.
Carvel introduced the Lil' Love ice cream cake on March 30, 1998. The commercials, which first appeared in its introduction, show small children in special situations, such as losing a baby tooth, starring in a class play, getting an A in a school class, and getting new glasses (sung to the tune of
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay"Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" is a vaudeville and music hall song, copyrighted by Henry J. Sayers, and introduced in Boston, Massachusetts in Tuxedo in 1891. The song was best known in the version sung by Lottie Collins in London music halls in 1892....
). A mother presents the new cake to celebrate. All ads carry the tag line
Surprise someone special tonight.
After Tom Carvel
In 1989, an aging Tom Carvel sold the corporation to
InvestcorpInvestcorp is a provider and manager of alternative investment products, serving high-net-worth private and institutional clients. Principally, Investcorp is an investment intermediary, acting as a vehicle to channel the wealth of its clients in the Persian Gulf into investments in the United...
for over $80 million. In 1991, headquarters was moved to
Farmington, ConnecticutFarmington is a town located in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 23,641 at the 2000 census. It is home to the world headquarters of several large corporations including Carrier Corporation, Otis Elevator Company, and Carvel...
.
On December 11, 2001,
Roark Capital GroupRoark Capital Group is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle market companies primarily in consumer and business services companies. Roark has historically focused on the franchise, restaurant, specialty retail, direct marketing and financial services businesses...
, a private equity firm, purchased a controlling interest in Carvel Corporation from
InvestcorpInvestcorp is a provider and manager of alternative investment products, serving high-net-worth private and institutional clients. Principally, Investcorp is an investment intermediary, acting as a vehicle to channel the wealth of its clients in the Persian Gulf into investments in the United...
. Investcorp became a minority share holder.
Carvel was for most of its history a regional business, most strongly based on the East Coast of the USA. As the business climate has changed, so has some of the focus of the brand. There are, as of 2005, approximately 530 retail franchises, far fewer than at their peak. Carvel branded products are available in over 9500
supermarketA supermarket, also called a grocery store in some parts of North America, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s. Celebration Foods has pushed the brand's presence from 30 states in 2004 to 49 in 2008, allowing them to form merchandising partnerships with national brands, such as ice cream cakes featuring
MarsMars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food and other food products with US$21 billion in annual sales in 2008, and is ranked as the 6th largest privately-held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
's
M&M'sM&M's are candy-coated pieces of milk chocolate with the letter "m" printed on them, produced by Mars, Incorporated. Popular in the United States and many other countries, several variations of the candies exist, including milk chocolate, peanut, peanut butter, mint, dark chocolate , and almond....
characters.
Focus Brands is based in Atlanta, GA, Celebration Foods is based in
New Britain, ConnecticutNew Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
.
In August 2007, the current owner of the very first Carvel store in Hartsdale revealed that he had applied for permission to knock down the store and develop a retail strip on the property.
In October 2008, the current land owners where the first Carvel stands stated they need to put a larger restaurant on the property to make back their investment and the first Carvel store would be closing.
In late March 2009, the Hartsdale location (first Carvel location) was completely demolished. A Japanese restaurant will replace the iconic birthplace of franchising.
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