Franchise FAQ

Artees Corporation develops food products, locked formulations and the production systems needed to make them consistently in owner-operated stores. Artees Sweets is its first franchise business. It is a separately incorporated subsidiary that franchises Artees Sweets stores under an exclusive long-term license from Artees Corporation, which owns the intellectual property.

No. Artees Corporation has developed 319 products across ten food domains. Artees Sweets is the first domain offered as a franchise. Artees Chill’n Cream and Artees CakeLab are launch ready; the business structures for the other seven domains are still in development.

South Asian sweets have an established customer base and are bought for everyday enjoyment, hospitality, gifting, festivals and celebrations. Concentrated South Asian communities provide an identifiable starting market. Gateway products and Global Classics extend the brand to customers beyond that market.

Exceptional food often depends on the skill and judgment of particular people. Chef-led shops can reach a high standard but struggle to reproduce it across teams and locations. Chains can expand while giving less attention to exceptional food. Artees develops each product against a strong comparable product in the market, then documents how to reproduce it so a trained owner can maintain its standard.

No. A formulation is only one part of production. Ingredient specifications, equipment, sequence, timing, temperatures, handling, measurement points, corrective actions and training all affect the result.

Each Artees store procures its ingredients locally and makes every product on site. The trained owner receives the complete formulations and operating procedures needed to do so and runs the store directly. Artees does not keep part of production in a central kitchen or supply finished components as its ordinary store-production model.

The food is made in each store by people using defined methods and an all-electric equipment package. Some steps are automated, while employees prepare, operate, monitor and check the work. Category A has five automated steps, Category B three and Category C two.

The owner does not need to hire a chef or professional sweet maker to create or maintain the products. Artees Sweets trains and certifies the owner to make them through its system. The work still requires skill, practice and attention.

No. The decisions that shape the food are developed into the formulation and process. The owner learns to carry out the methods, judge the result and correct deviations. People make the food; the system defines its standard.

The model reduces costs around the food: no chef, no hired management layer, a simple store design and suitable locations that need not depend entirely on prime-street foot traffic. A store must still cover its actual costs.

The starting products serve an established category tied to household, gifting, festival and celebration occasions. The performance of any individual store still depends on its market, location, prices and execution.

Forty across eight categories: syrup-based (5), malai-based (4), fried sweets (6), halwa (3), pitha (5), yogurt (5), Gateway variants (6) and Global Classics (6). Products enter the franchise menu only when they can be formulated, measured, taught, supervised and reproduced within defined limits. Each store starts with 20 sweets and increases the number depending on its progress.

South Asian sweets that establish the brand and serve customers already familiar with the category, such as Rosgolla, Chomchom, Rasmalai, Gulab Jamun, Jalebi, Kheer, Halwa, Sweet Yogurt and Pitha.

Products that introduce customers to the category through approachable textures and presentation, such as Velvety Rasmalai, Satin Sweet Yogurt, Crepe Pitha, Custard Puli and Silky Payesh.

Widely recognized desserts that give other customers a familiar way into the brand: Tiramisu, Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse, Crème Brûlée, Panna Cotta and Tres Leches.

Core products serve existing demand. Gateway products broaden the audience across generations and related food cultures. Global Classics reach customers looking for familiar desserts, within the same Artees Sweets brand.

Customers familiar with South Asian sweets in trade areas where they are concentrated, starting in Queens and the wider New York City market, Central New Jersey including Edison and Iselin, and Jersey City. The broader range is intended to attract second- and third-generation South Asians, customers from related food cultures and other dessert buyers over time.

No. Everyday purchases, hospitality and gifting create other occasions, while Gateway products and Global Classics reach customers outside the traditional category.

No. The owner must use approved products and locked formulations. New flavors or changes go through Artees product development and approval.

The store operates within its approved product assortment. Any change must follow Artees Sweets’ approval rules and account for demand, capacity and quality control.

Every product adds ingredients, training, production work and checks. The range must remain manageable enough for the store to make every product well.

The store may offer catering, delivery and online ordering under Artees Sweets’ operating and brand rules. Wholesale sales are not part of the stated store offering.

Artees Sweets sets retail prices. The reference model uses $13.95–$14.95 per pound for box formats and $3.95–$4.45 per 100 ml for portion formats.

No. The model is not designed for passive or semi-absentee ownership. The owner is the store’s daily operator.

The owner holds the complete formulations and owner-only procedures, which are applied in daily production. The owner leads the employees and is accountable for the food.

The complete product formulations and standard operating procedures needed to run the store, including the procedures reserved for the owner. The owner is not given the development history, the science behind the formulations or the reasons they were designed as they are.

No. Employees learn their assigned tasks and work from ingredients the owner has prepared. They do not know ingredient weights and, in some cases, do not know the names of certain ingredients or premixes.

Artees Sweets trains and certifies the owner. The owner then trains the store’s employees for their assigned work. Artees Sweets does not train store employees.

No. The owner may have supervisors on the team, but they do not receive the formulations or owner-only procedures. The owner may not hand the running of the store to a hired manager.

No. Each store has its own owner-operator because the person holding the complete production knowledge must work in and lead that store.

Yes. Each person who will act as an owner-operator and hold the restricted production knowledge must complete and pass the owner certification program.

The owner must be present on site daily during production and peak hours, subject to the approved temporary-absence procedure. After opening, the owner completes a 90-day in-store operational ramp with Artees Sweets support.

No. Daily presence during production and peak hours is not compatible with another full-time commitment.

Yes. The stated requirement is that the owner live in the same city as the store and be able to meet the daily attendance requirements.

With Artees Sweets’ permission, an owner may be away for up to three days. Production needed for those days is completed before the owner leaves, under the applicable storage, freshness and handling rules. Employees carry out their assigned service and operating tasks without receiving the formulations or owner-only procedures.

For an approved absence of more than three days, Artees Sweets supplies the sweets either from its shared commercial kitchen or through one or more nearby franchise stores. The employee in charge informs Artees Sweets of problems or deviations. That employee takes corrective measures only within the authority Artees Sweets has delegated. The absence does not give the employee access to owner-only production knowledge.

The store cannot continue indefinitely without a certified owner-operator. Artees Sweets and the owner, or the owner’s successors, will work through an orderly transfer to a qualified person who completes certification. During that process, Artees Sweets may arrange temporary product supply or limit operations to protect food quality and the system’s intellectual property.

A transfer must also protect the owner’s or successors’ financial interest. Its proceeds, outstanding obligations, approval requirements and timing are governed by the franchise agreement. Artees Sweets will not place the restricted production knowledge with an uncertified hired manager simply to keep the store operating.

Someone with a builder’s mindset who is comfortable with defined processes and connected to the community: willing to learn practical production, follow methods, keep quality records, lead employees, serve customers and take responsibility when the food falls short of the standard.

No. Artees Sweets trains and certifies the owner. The owner must demonstrate the ability to perform the work to standard.

The owner receives protected production knowledge and bears direct responsibility for quality. Having the investment funds alone is not enough. Owner suitability and Artees’ capacity to support each store determine growth.

Each store procures its ingredients locally and makes its products on site, so the person running daily production must hold the complete formulations and owner-only procedures. In an Artees store, that person is the trained franchise owner. A company store would require Artees to hand that knowledge to a hired manager.

Artees does not keep any part of ordinary store production in a central kitchen or supply finished components to its stores. The owner in each store receives the complete production knowledge needed to make the products locally. That makes careful control of who receives it essential.

The owner who holds the complete method also works in the store and is directly accountable for its execution. A company store run by a hired manager would depend on an employee to protect the standard day after day.

A pilot would be a company-owned store and would face the same problem: someone other than an owner would have to hold the formulations. Artees Sweets instead uses a licensed shared commercial kitchen in New York City for product validation, limited pre-launch sales, prospect evaluations and owner training. Restricted production knowledge remains under Artees’ control there. The first retail location will be franchisee-owned.

The founder runs the franchisor: product development, owner training and certification, and franchisee support. He cannot also be the daily operator of one store. Without him there each day, a pilot would require a hired manager.

A three-session product evaluation, so qualified prospective owners can assess the food themselves before deciding whether to proceed.

No. It lets a prospect judge selected products. Demand, sales, costs and profitability require separate assessment.

No. No Artees Sweets store is open yet. The first franchisee-owned locations are planned for the second year of rollout.

Over approximately six years, through formulation, ingredient and equipment evaluation, process testing, blind comparisons and documentation. Internal testing recorded 192 observations across 16 panels. The internal approval standard requires a product to score at least 8.4 out of 10 and outperform the strongest comparable market product.

Brand-masked, coded samples let participants judge the food without brand names influencing the result.

Yes. Before public sales and prospect evaluations begin, selected launch products will undergo independent third-party blind testing against strong market benchmarks. Each must score at least 8.4 out of 10 and outperform the strongest comparable product. This is separate from the internal validation described above.

It records how the products were judged under the conditions tested. It does not establish future sales, repeat purchasing or acceptance in every market.

Yes, in limited quantities once the pre-launch sales program begins. Before prospect evaluations begin, Artees Sweets plans to offer selected products to the public at stated retail prices to gather reviews, feedback on price and repeat-purchase information.

Two to five people from the prospective franchisee’s group. The proposed owner-operator must attend all three sessions, and the same group attends each one.

The same five products at each session: three Core, one Gateway and one Global Classic, tasted one at a time. Sessions take place on Day 1, Day 8 and Day 15, each with a separately produced batch.

One designated Artees Sweets production employee makes all three batches, working from ingredients prepared in advance and without access to the formulations. Participants evaluate the food and do not take part in production.

Private scoring preserves each participant’s own judgment before others influence the discussion.

Session 1 assesses quality, benchmark performance, price-value and purchase interest. Session 2 tests whether the same quality is reproduced in a separate batch. Session 3 tests whether it holds consistently across all three.

Yes. After each session, participants may buy the products they tasted and share them with family, friends, business partners and financial advisers. That feedback is recorded separately because conditions outside the session are not controlled.

No. Products taken home are purchased at stated prices.

Not yet. No Artees Sweets store is open. Once stores open, prospects will be able to speak with operating owners.

New York City and New Jersey: Queens and the wider New York City market, Central New Jersey including Edison and Iselin, and Jersey City. The rollout then extends to other U.S. states and Canada as franchisees, support capacity and site feasibility allow.

From the trade area and its likely customers, rather than foot traffic alone. The reference model uses an average order value of about $16 and a weighted purchase frequency of about 4.5 times per year across four customer segments. A relevant population is a starting point, not an assumption that everyone will buy.

They buy at different rates in the reference model: habitual customers about 24 times a year, moderate customers about 12, adoption and affinity customers about 6, and mainstream customers about 2. Estimates must reflect the expected mix rather than apply one buying pattern to everyone.

Re-engaging diaspora customers who have reduced their purchases because of inconsistent products, limited selection or disappointing retail experiences. It is a hypothesis to test in each market, not a guaranteed source of sales.

Passing people may have little interest in the products. Relevant demand, access, rent and operating suitability matter more than a high pedestrian count by itself.

Yes, where access, destination demand, delivery feasibility and visibility allow occupancy savings without making the site unsuitable. Product quality does not remove the need for an appropriate location, and every site requires approval.

The franchisee finds and leases the site. Artees Sweets provides site-selection guidance and gives final site approval based on the full feasibility assessment.

Suitable production and retail space for the approved format, code-compliant ventilation and HVAC, food-grade drainage, sufficient electrical capacity for the all-electric kitchen, zoning for food-service use, street frontage and an efficient delivery path.

The equipment and processes depend on them. A deficiency may be expensive to correct or may make the site unsuitable.

Yes. An existing restaurant space may have useful infrastructure, restroom and utility capacity, reducing some build-out work and approval risk. It still has to meet Artees’ production, layout, demand and cost requirements.

Final approval requires a feasibility study and an independent site evaluation paid for by the franchisee. Artees Sweets then decides whether the proposed site meets its market, physical and operating requirements.

Only if the lease is conditional on Artees Sweets’ site approval and the other approvals needed to use the premises for the proposed store. The franchisee should not become unconditionally obligated for a site that Artees Sweets may reject.

The franchisee signs the lease and is responsible for the rent.

Yes. Each approved location is allocated to one franchisee for one store, with a protected trade area of 1 to 3 miles depending on the density of the diaspora it serves. The exact boundary and any reserved rights are set during site approval and stated in the franchise agreement.

By assessed customer demand and the area the store can realistically serve. The exact boundary and rights are set out in the franchise agreement.

Category A: 1,500 square feet; designed capacity 300 lb/day; 10 production stations; five automated steps; typically 6–7 employees in addition to the owner; estimated investment $445,000–$495,000.

Category B: 1,200 square feet; designed capacity 250 lb/day; eight production stations; three automated steps; typically 4–5 employees in addition to the owner; estimated investment $345,000–$395,000.

Category C: 1,000 square feet; designed capacity 200 lb/day; six production stations; two automated steps; typically 3–4 employees in addition to the owner; estimated investment $295,000–$325,000.

Capacity is how much the store is designed to make under defined conditions. Sales depend on customers buying. The Category A reference model assumes 54.17% utilization in the opening year, rising to 78.33% by Year 6. The model’s revenue also depends on the mix and selling prices of products, not only pounds produced.

Expected demand, the available site, production requirements and total costs must support the format. A larger store is not automatically better.

The layout gives each task a place and sequence, supports safe handling and reduces delays that could affect the food.

The production system uses electric equipment so heat, timing and other operating variables can be specified and controlled. Products that require frying are still fried using the approved electric equipment.

Artees Sweets provides the standardized store design, layout, workflow, mechanical, electrical and plumbing specifications, and approved equipment specifications. The franchisee funds and completes the build-out.

The franchisee, with guidance from Artees Sweets. The reference build-out estimate includes an allowance for permit costs.

The franchisee. The Category A estimate includes a build-out contingency, but site condition and local requirements can affect the final cost.

The reference schedule is about 26 weeks, assuming a suitable site and timely permits. It allows approximately 19 weeks for design, permits and build-out after the early qualification and agreement steps, with owner training overlapping the final part of construction. Pre-launch preparation follows, then a soft opening and launch. Actual timing depends on disclosure, site approval, financing, permitting, construction and certification.

The owner plans batches around demand while following capacity, freshness, holding and quality rules. Too much production creates waste; too little loses sales.

Category A: $445,000–$495,000. Category B: $345,000–$395,000. Category C: $295,000–$325,000.

The New York City reference total of $495,000 for an existing food-service space comprises:

• Initial franchise fee: $35,000
• Launch-marketing budget: $14,000
• Other start-up costs, including formation, lease deposit and first month’s rent, insurance, loan fees, technology and security: $70,638
• Leasehold improvements and build-out: $130,000
• Equipment, instruments and furniture: $167,128
• Pre-opening costs, including recruitment, training travel, wages, test production and initial inventory: $15,485
• Operating and working capital: $62,749

These amounts total $495,000. The $14,000 launch budget and required startup equipment and toolkit are components of the stated investment, not amounts to add a second time.

$35,000, paid in full at signing. It includes owner training.

No. It is nonrefundable.

7% of gross sales, withdrawn automatically each day.

There is no ongoing marketing fund. The franchisee pays a one-time $14,000 launch-marketing budget 30 days before opening. It is spent from 15 days before to 15 days after opening, and Artees Sweets provides a spending report. System-level marketing is funded from the royalty.

The required startup equipment and toolkit costs $8,000 and is supplied before opening. The transfer fee is $15,000. The renewal fee is $10,000 at the end of the 10-year term. There is no technology fee paid to Artees Sweets; the franchisee pays required third-party technology vendors directly. The $8,000 toolkit is included in the equipment component of the initial investment, not added to the total in Question 86.

Format, site condition, utility work, local construction costs, rent and opening cash needs vary. The estimate is a range, not a cap.

$62,749 in the Category A estimate, covering register cash, a two-month operating reserve and an additional opening cash reserve. The owner should assess whether a particular site needs more.

The Category A reference financing case assumes $75,000 of owner equity from personal funds, about 15% of the $495,000 project cost, with the balance financed. That is a model assumption. An applicant must demonstrate the equity and financing required for the approved store; lender requirements may differ.

No. Artees Sweets does not lend or guarantee loans. The Category A reference case assumes a $420,000 loan at 8.75% fixed over 10 years with a six-month moratorium. Actual loan terms and approval depend on the lender, which may require a personal guarantee.

$13.95–$14.95 per pound for box formats and $3.95–$4.45 per 100 ml for portion formats.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

The owner’s working wage is included in labor costs before EBITDA. The reference model separately assumes $25,000 a year of owner distributions while servicing the loan. A distribution is a withdrawal of available cash, not an additional operating expense or a second component of accounting net income.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

See Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) of the Artees Sweets Franchise Disclosure Document.

Twenty-eight days of owner training, eight hours a day, or about 224 hours. It covers sourcing and intake, production foundations, production control, service, store management and food safety. Training uses demonstration, supervised execution, measured repetition, written assessment and observed full-cycle performance.

At a shared commercial kitchen in New York City. Training is included in the franchise fee. The owner’s travel and related costs are part of the pre-opening budget.

Correct execution of the production and operating cycle under observation. The program has three competency gates: Certified for Opening, Independent Operation and Owner-Level Decision Authority. The owner must pass the opening gate before the store opens; the remaining gates are assessed as the owner progresses through the supervised operational ramp.

The owner is retrained and retested against the relevant competency gate. The store cannot open without the required opening certification.

The owner holds and applies the complete method. The owner trains employees for assigned tasks without passing on the formulations or owner-only procedures.

The franchise owner, who must staff the store adequately while following Artees Sweets’ training, production and service standards. Employee training begins about three weeks before opening.

Category A: 6–7; Category B: 4–5; Category C: 3–4. The owner works in addition to these employees.

Employees are trained for more than one assigned task so work can be covered. The owner trains replacements and checks their performance.

Different equipment or ingredients can change the result even when the formulation is followed.

The store buys locally from Artees-approved suppliers. Ingredients, packaging and supplies must meet Artees specifications.

The $8,000 startup equipment and toolkit, supplied before opening at the stated price. Other equipment and supplies come from approved vendors.

Only under approved, specification-based substitution rules. Alternate suppliers are qualified in advance.

Approved vendors provide service under service arrangements, and the store keeps critical spares. Affected production stops until the required standard can be met.

Through measured production variables, batch logs, calibration checks and quality reviews. Deviations trigger containment, investigation, correction and, where needed, retraining.

Maintaining permits and licenses, following food-safety procedures, training employees in them, keeping required records and reporting serious problems promptly.

Site-selection guidance and approval, standardized store design and mechanical, electrical and plumbing specifications, equipment specifications, the startup toolkit, quality-assurance tools and calibration equipment, owner training and certification, a brand kit and the launch-marketing program.

One Artees Sweets representative provides up to three working days of on-site pre-opening and grand-opening support, followed by a 90-day operational ramp with field support.

Operations support, digital reporting, remote quality review, audits, corrective-action assistance, retraining, equipment support through approved vendors, software oversight and remote review of customer feedback.

Through the Artees Sweets operations support team and franchisee portal. The contact route and urgent escalation process are set out in the franchisee support documents.

Procedures can drift in practice. Audits check that the food and the way it is made meet the standard so deviations can be corrected.

Four field audits a year, two announced and two unannounced, plus daily remote review of the operating information required by Artees Sweets. Failed audits lead to corrective-action plans, retraining or recertification. Artees Sweets can suspend affected products or operating privileges when quality or safety standards are not met.

Yes, when deviations, recurring errors, performance gaps, role changes or system updates require it.

The owner informs Artees Sweets immediately. In the owner’s absence, the employee in charge does so. Affected product is contained and removed from sale, the cause is investigated and corrected, and production resumes only when the required standard can be met. The employee in charge acts within the authority delegated by Artees Sweets.

Yes, within Artees brand guidelines. Local knowledge helps the owner choose relevant community activities and tastings.

Through the $14,000 launch campaign, brand materials, local launch support and product tastings.

Lower-than-expected demand, costs above plan, staffing and supply problems, equipment failure and failure to maintain food quality. A defined system does not eliminate business risk.

The owner and Artees Sweets examine demand, prices, costs, quality, service and execution. Corrective steps may include staffing changes, an approved adjustment to the product mix, and more focused local marketing and sampling. The owner remains responsible for the business while addressing the cause.

No. Awareness, execution, product quality, service and costs also affect results.

The initial term is 10 years. Renewal requires a $10,000 renewal fee and meeting the conditions in the franchise agreement.

Yes, with Artees Sweets’ approval. The buyer must qualify as an owner-operator, complete the full training program and pay the $15,000 transfer fee.

An early closure or transfer must follow the franchise agreement and requires coordination with Artees Sweets. Closing the doors does not by itself end the lease, financing or other outstanding obligations. A transfer to a qualified new owner may be an option.

Access is withdrawn, and confidentiality and post-termination obligations continue under the franchise agreement.

No. Artees Corporation owns the formulations and brand. The owner receives the right to use them under the franchise agreement while it is in force.

Property, general liability and workers’ compensation coverage as required by the franchise agreement, applicable law and any lender.

Apply online, describing your experience, proposed market, available capital and interest in operating an Artees Sweets store.

No. An application begins qualification; it does not create a franchise agreement or guarantee approval.

Artees Sweets screens the applicant and may require a nondisclosure agreement. Qualified prospects complete the three-session product evaluation, receive the FDD for the required review period, and assess the proposed market and site. If both sides decide to proceed and all applicable requirements are met, they sign the franchise agreement and the fee becomes payable. Financing, training and opening preparation follow.

Detailed discussions may involve protected production and business information. The agreement sets the rules for receiving and using it.

At least 14 calendar days before signing an agreement or paying money to Artees Sweets in connection with the franchise.

The fees, estimated investment, financial performance representations, obligations, restrictions, territory, supplier rules, agreement terms and information about the franchisor.

Yes. Review the FDD, agreement, financing and proposed site with independent legal, accounting and financial advisers.

No. The person must qualify for the owner-operator role, and the site must meet Artees’ market, physical and financial requirements.

Whether they want to work in the store every day, learn to make the food, lead employees, follow defined standards and accept the financial risks of owning a business.

Seeking passive ownership, wanting to change products independently, or intending to hand daily operation to a hired manager.