Mrs. Fields Australian Master franchisees win coffee franchises top international award

Australian franchisees, Andrew and Debbie Benefield have taken out the top prize at the Mrs. Fields Gourmet Cookies  Famous Brands Convention in Las Vegas, bringing home the coffee franchises ‘International Master Franchisee of the Year’ award.

They were selected from 23 Mrs. Fields Famous Brands Master Franchisee nominees from outside of the United States, from locations including Canada, Costa Rica, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines.

Tim Casey, President and CEO of Mrs. Fields Famous Brands told the Benefields, “This honour reflects your commitment, your enthusiasm and your belief in the enduring success of Mrs. Fields Cookies.”

The coffee franchises award is based on three main criteria; franchise growth, operational excellence and representation of the brand while nominees were representative of Mrs. Fields Famous Brands two brands – This Country’s Best Yoghurt (TCBY) and Mrs. Fields.

“It is good for the whole team and recognition of our collective effort. I couldn’t be happier with the result,” Mr Benefield said.

“It is a massive achievement as the last time this honour was awarded in 2007 we were really just starting out as the Master Franchisee in Australia. It was great to have a mixed team there to share the accolades; we had members of the support team, our coffee roaster Daily Roast there as well as two of our franchisees. ”

The award coincides with the announcement that Mrs. Fields Australia has been selected to export their local coffee blend to the global brand’s coffee franchises around the world. The coffee blend was developed in conjunction with Victorian coffee roasters Daily Roast Coffee and will be exported to Mrs. Fields coffee franchise locations in China, Pakistan and potentially South Korea, Russia and Vietnam.

“It’s good to get recognition for the Australian franchise operation. I have always been a believer that the Australian franchise sector operates in one of the most competitive markets in the world, and this ensures the systems here have world class operations,” Mr Benefield said.