Twenty-eight-year-old Matthew Corrin is a quick study in Generation Y. As the motivated, hard-working father of a 2-year-old daughter, life is less about what Corrin does as it is why he does it.
His goals? To become the next Howard Schultz and to bring his concept Freshii to street corners across the globe.
If you look at the number of development agreements he signed in 2009 — at least 300 stores are under development with 60 expected to open this year — he's moving in the direction of accomplishing both.
Freshii's mission is to provide "fresh food, custom built, fast," and served in an environmentally sustainable environment. The menu isn't focused on one central theme as customers can order salads, wraps, sandwiches, bowls and burritos filled with ingredients of their own choosing.
"We don't savor one type of menu," Corrin said. "That's not to say you can't be successful at one thing, but I think that's a unique situation. If we're the most convenient choice, we may be that choice."
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Freshii was first introduced to consumers in 2005. The concept is focused on providing fresh food, custom built, fast.
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Corrin launched Freshii in 2005 after a public relations stint in New York City working for designer Oscar de la Renta. While in New York, Corrin noticed a high number of fresh food bars and decided that if someone could successfully brand one, they could create the "Starbucks [of] the fresh food business."
Indeed, he's attempting to do just that.
Bright beginnings
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Corrin, a Winnipeg, Ontario, native, opened the first Freshii location in Toronto in 2005. It was the first time he had ever worked in a restaurant or any other type of retail environment, he said.
And anything that could happen on his first day did.
His executive chef cut off the tip of his thumb and had to be sent to the emergency room. His souf chef then passed out at the site of the blood. So, Corrin went to work in the kitchen — aided by his then girlfriend (and now wife). The two chopped lettuce, cooked chicken and prepped the additional ingredients for the day's service.
"That's when I realized this business is not rocket science; it's just hard work," he said. "I just learned about what it takes to be successful. I'm not smart; I'm just a hard worker."
The restaurant was a hit with customers and in two years' time, Corrin opened another eight corporate-owned locations.
"Then, I started to look at what we were doing and we started U.S. expansion," he said.
He found three angel investors to help with the concept's U.S. expansion. He then temporarily relocated his family to Chicago, the location of Freshii's first U.S.-based store.
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Customers order via clipboards hanging from the wall that feature a range of ingredient listings such as cucumber, avocado, wontons and smoked bacon.
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With Starbucks and Chipotle as his guide, Corrin's goal was to develop an iconic brand of scalable, corporate-owned locations, but the economic shift caused him to reassess his plan.
"I had never been an advocate of franchising," he said. "I didn't even like the word … but we started to look at the types of applications we were getting. We don't market franchising. Our market [plan] is to have partners that will help create a successful brand."
Corrin's first U.S. franchisee was Chicago-based restaurateur David Grossman, who signed on to open 80 units over the next 10 years.
"He was our first big multiunit partner," Corrin said. And he also went into the deal knowing the company had just started its U.S. expansion.
"Our model from day one was being global or scalable. And that's how we set up our entire supply chain," he said.
Make or break
Over the past five years, Corrin has expanded the Freshii brand throughout the world and he views 2010 as the concept's "make or break" year. In 2010, units are expected to open across the United States, Middle East, and Vienna, Austria.
"You can't be on every corner on the street, but you can launch business initiatives that let you be the convenient place of choice. We want to eliminate the excuse of people not eating fresh food because it isn't convenient," he said. "I think the industry in general is pretty passive and we're trying to become a direct sell."
To further fuel Freshii's momentum, the company recently hired a Los Angeles-based PR firm.
"We want our demographic in Chicago or LA to read US Weekly and see Reese Witherspoon eating Freshii," Corrin said. "Momentum breeds momentum. I've been fortunate the people I surround myself with have been in the business for years. Hopefully, I'll be a good story when this is over."
