Photo courtesy of Edible Arrangements International Tariq Farid launched Edible Arrangements International with his brother, Kamran, in 1999 and has seen the chain hit the 400-store mark. Edible Arrangements sells fruit shaped as flowers. Arrangements are made fresh and come in many styles.

HAMDEN, Conn. — Tariq Farid started working in the flower business when he was just a teenager. Years later he is still in the flower business, only with a twist — his Edible Arrangements International is a skyrocketing franchise chain that sells fruit shaped as flowers.

As Farid points out, Edible Arrangements offers all the benefits of giving a flower bouquet, only after all is said and done, you can eat the bouquet. "Not only does it look good, but it also tastes delicious," said Farid, president and chief executive officer of the Hamden-based Edible Arrangements.

Edible Arrangements overcomes the worst part about giving flowers — no matter how beautiful the bouquet, the flowers always die in the end, he added.

The concept specializes in creating fruit designs filled with fresh strawberries, pineapple, grapes, oranges, cantaloupe and honeydew. Arrangements are fresh and are available in a variety of styles and sizes. They are targeted for birthdays, weddings, thank you gifts, congratulations, sympathy and business-related uses such as events, client gifts and employee appreciation.

Each arrangement is made to order and can be customized with a jar of all-natural fudge and a special occasion balloon. All ingredients are natural and no preservatives or sweeteners are used. Arrangements come in several sizes and range in price from $32 to $200. There are over 40 kinds of arrangements.

In 1999, when Farid launched the Edible Arrangements concept with his brother Kamran, who serves as the company chief operating officer, fruit bouquets were not an unheard of concept. However, from the first East Haven store location to the some 400 current locations the chain has today, Edible Arrangements has become a giant in the fruit bouquet industry with over 400 stores open and approximately $50 million in system-wide sales.

The second Edible Arrangements store was opened in 2000 and the first franchise location opened in Waltham, Mass., in 2001.

Edible Excitement
Photo courtesy of Edible Arrangements International  Tariq Farid’s Edible Arrangements International has grown into a dominant franchise chain with over 400 stores since it was started in 1999. Edible Arrangements offers bouquets that look like flowers, but are made of fruit.

Tariq Farid said that the company had considered franchising, but planned to take it slowly. "We were going to do it, but we were going to take some time," he said. However, the eventual Waltham franchisee saw an Edible Arrangements fruit bouquet and pursued the company doggedly, aiming to open a store. The passion for the product proved to be prophetic.

A second Edible Arrangements franchise opened in Atlanta in 2002. By the end of that year the chain expanded to half-dozen locations. By the end of 2003, Edible Arrangements hit the 100-store mark. The chain signed deals for 200 more stores in 2004 and 2005.

In addition to 400 plus stores open, Farid said the chain currently has 200 stores under development.

Edible Arrangements has locations in over 45 states. California leads the way with 75 stores; Florida follows with 43; New York has 42 stores; New Jersey has 33 stores; Massachusetts has 28 stores; Texas has 25 stores; Connecticut has 24 stores.

The chain expanded internationally in January 2006 with a store in the United Kingdom.

There are other international locations in Canada and Puerto Rico.

Farid said that the uniqueness of Edible Arrangements and the quick acceptance by customers has always made him confident that the franchise concept would be a tremendous success.

"The attraction of franchising was mostly the ability to expand quickly and, second, we truly believe we need owners in the stores to be successful," he said.

From the start, Edible Arrangements never shied away from concerns about quick growth or maintaining a franchise chain spread out over a large geographical distance.

"It is sort of like planting seeds — you have to plant them in different places — and the first stores are seeds," Farid said. "If you bloom, you learn the challenges of each market."

Keeping track of a growing chain involved a lot of travel and a lot of time on the road, but Farid saw the work pay off. "In each area the stores started to sprout," he said.

In 2000, Farid also started Netsolace Inc., a company that provides software for the franchise industry. Through Netsolace, Farid provides tools to help his Edible Arrangements franchisees run their businesses and also manage his chain.

Photo courtesy of Edible Arrangements International The typical Edible Arrangements product, above, looks like a flower bouquet, but is made of fruit, such as strawberries and grapes, and can be eaten.

Farid previously operated a similar software company, called Northeast Systems Group, which focused on flower shops. In 1997, he sold Northeast to Teleflora and worked for the flower-ordering and delivery-business for short time after the acquisition. He first came up with the idea of starting Edible Arrangements at Teleflora.

Born near Lahore in Pakistan, Farid's family came to the United States in 1981, when he was 11 year old. His family purchased a flower shop in Connecticut when he was 16 and he helped run the store while he was in High School. The one store eventually expanded to two and combined totaled approximately $1 million in sales.

Farid's success with Edible Arrangements makes him positive about the chain's future. His plan is to continue to the current rate of growth and hopes to hit the 1,000-store mark in the next year-and-a-half.

In addition to driving forward as a successful chain, Edible Arrangements has also found time to give back and contribute to a worthy cause. In October, Edible Arrangements sold two special bouquets honoring The National Breast Cancer Foundation and Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Breast Cancer Awareness Bouquet featured pink-chocolate-covered strawberries designed in a special breast-cancer-awareness keepsake ceramic container. The Awareness Celebration arrangement had pink chocolate strawberries, pineapple daisies and stars, cantaloupe, honeydew and grapes designed in a special breast cancer awareness keepsake ceramic container.

According to Farid, Edible Arrangements cherished the ability to help The National Breast Cancer Foundation and contribute to an important cause.

"The National Breast Cancer Foundation is excited that Edible Arrangements has joined us in the fight against breast cancer," founder and president of the National Breast Cancer Foundation Janelle Hail said in a statement. "These wonderful and delicious bouquets are a special way to honor women everywhere and contribute to such a worthwhile cause."