Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. (GIGL): The Number One Fam
Post# of 3935
A growing number of Americans today are eating healthier, with a keen eye for locally-sourced, organically-grown ingredients, and this has led to an unprecedented shift towards healthy, organic foods in the roughly $709 billion in sales (National Restaurant Association’s 2015 Restaurant Industry Forecast) restaurant and foodservice industry. And while fast casual chains, which saw 11 percent sales growth the year before last overall, continue to increasingly move towards healthier choices, there has yet to be really big winners over on the $224 billion by 2018 (Euromonitor) full-service side of the equation. With recent winners in the fast casual game like Panera Bread’s (NASDAQ: PNRA) bakery-cafe locations and Noodles & Co. (NASDAQ: NDLS), which features globally inspired noodle and pasta dishes, as well as soups, salads and sandwiches, it is clear that organic choices and newly rethought menus designed to cater to the health-conscious are now officially big business in the restaurant industry.
Fusing a best-of-breed organic menu featuring fresh salads, sandwiches, wraps, Panini’s, pizzas and pasta, as well as appetizers and desserts, together with a Gymboree-like child play area that is full of climbers, ball pits, castles, dragons, pirate ships, and fun tactile games to play, is LA-based Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. Designed as a family casual dining restaurant and playspace targeting parents and their young children, Giggles N’ Hugs has the potential to develop into a household name brand that is recognized by everyone, thanks to the deep bench of management talent, with decades of collective experience spanning both the fast casual restaurant sector, and child play area market. The concept and target market is simple to grasp, but until now no one was really catering to the upscale kid party market in dining with an organic restaurant concept, leaving the much sought after high earner demographics to fend for themselves.
Organic casual dining for mom and dad, with a giant playroom full of wonders for kids 1 to 12 to explore and play around in, getting good exercise and being periodically entertained by events like arts and crafts, puppet shows, or music. And the kids get to eat healthy, organic foods that parents can feel good about. Health-conscious, organic food-buying parents know that establishing healthy eating habits while young and associating healthy eating with physical activity is a great way to prepare kids for a lifetime of better living. Something which gives parents a huge incentive to come back again and again.
Whether it’s for a play lunch, a chance for parents to simply unwind with a drink while the kids play happily, or to leave the kids where they can enjoy themselves safely in an expansive 2,500 square foot or more play area. Under the watchful and attentive eye of trained “aides” who assist with the children’s enjoyment, parents can feel easy as they take in the consumer buffet of the numerous shops available in the mall or galleria where the Giggles N’ Hugs location is present. Being able to shop in peace, secure in the knowledge that the kids are happily playing and are safe is a godsend for busy parents. This one factor of the company’s approach to the space could drive sustained revenues to new levels amid a nationwide expansion.
This aspect of the business represents a significant asset to mall owners, offering potential mall goers a service that enables their overall experience mightily. This synergistic relationship between the nature of the business and the location where a given venue is present gives GIGL attractive expansion benefits, such as an on average 75 percent discount when it comes to commercial space rental fees, and as much as $700,000 up-front cash in some cases, enough to cover around half the build-out or site refurbish needed to open a new location. The company has taken serious interest from major mall operators throughout the country like Westfield Group, Macerich Group, General Growth Properties, and even Simon Properties, the biggest of the four, who collectively represent over 550 properties across the nation, each with access to choice demographics.
With three initial locations in upscale LA malls (Century City Mall, Glendale Galleria and the Topanga Canyon Mall) and plans to expand nationwide already in the offing, a sumptuous organic menu might drive customers in the doors, but it’s the kid-friendly amenities that will get shoppers to come back for more. GIGL takes in revenue from all the usual restaurant sources like food and beverage, as well as beer and wine, but gets the added revenues from admission fees for the play area, membership fees (one-month, three-month and six-months unlimited play) from regulars who get a substantial discount with the membership, and themed parties (roughly 40 percent of revenues), which put those typical at competitors in the industry, like Chuck E. Cheese, to shame.
At Giggles N’ Hugs, kids get organic food, drinks, a fresh desert, a wide variety of engaging activities including games, dance parties, puppet shows and music by professional entertainers, as well as return passes, and the entire party can be from among a whole range of themes. Chuck E. Cheese by comparison only offers Superhero and Princess themes, with two slices of pizza per kid, drinks, video games, and a candy piñata for around the same $350 price tag. At Giggles N’ Hugs kids can choose from over eight different themes, and the highly trained, CPR-certified staff really go out of their way to ensure the quality of the experience.
Take a closer look, visit www.gigglesnhugs.com
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