COVER STORY: Dough and Arrows Wants to Extend Franchising Family

The owners of familyoriented business Dough & Arrows aim to expand their business through nationwide franchising opportunities.

Dough & Arrows is well known for their famous edible cookie dough, gourmet ice cream, delicious homemade desserts, and family atmosphere.

Based in Hanover, PA, Dough & Arrows is currently looking for potential franchisees all across the United States.

The main reason for our sweet shop wanting to expand is simply because the demand is there for our unique products. Our customers are literally begging us to open a location near them. By creating franchise opportunities, this is our way of making our customers dreams come true!

“We’re known very well in two states: Pennsylvania and Maryland, and we have customers that drive over two hours just to get to us,” co-owner Brandon Blevins, who runs the company with his wife Crystal, said during a recent interview with Franchising USA.

Not only have customers been asking the pair to open more locations closer to them, but they’ve also received numerous requests from states as far away as Florida and California for Dough & Arrows to start shipping long-distance.

DOUGH you can EAT!

The thought of buying cookie dough specifically to eat unbaked is still new to many Americans, Blevins said, we enjoy not only educating our customers on this iconic dessert but expanding people’s taste buds with our famous edible cookie dough.

“We’re known for our edible cookie dough,” he noted. “It’s like the kind your grandma always made, without the health risks. Our dough has no eggs and we heat treat our flour by baking out all of the bacteria and “bad stuff” making our products safe to consume. LOVE.. that’s what our edible cookie dough is based off of. We also have allergen-friendly options which are soy, gluten, nut, dairy free, and 100% vegan friendly. We struggle to keep these products on the shelves.”

The edible cookie dough keeps for six weeks in the fridge or six months in the freezer. Although customers are not able to bake actual cookies with the edible dough, Blevins said, they are working on a secret dough recipe that customers actually will be able to bake in an oven and still have the same great tastes.

In addition to their edible cookie dough, the business also has gourmet ice cream, cheesecakes that are made from a supersecret scratch recipe, dough pops, cookies, brownies, ice cream dough pies (with cookie dough as the crust and ice cream as the filling), ice cream cakes, and more!

Currently, the business has one shop in operation along with a pull-behind event trailer that they take to events that acts similar to a food truck. EVERYONE LOVES having the “Dough Truck” at their events. The Blevins are set to open their second corporate location in April.

Looking to extend the franchise family

Dough & Arrows’ four-year anniversary is on May 4 of this year and while they haven’t signed up any franchisees yet, they are open to signing up anyone who fits their criteria, which includes being dynamic self-starters with ambition and a desire to succeed along with a strong sense of community and in giving back to others. Blevins said they are looking for people with a strong entrepreneurial nature who are competent with sales and customer service.

Franchisees can expect help with sales, marketing materials along with a comprehensive initial training program that consists of two weeks of on-site training at the corporate location in Hanover, PA and then a week at the franchisee’s location just prior to and after opening.

They will also hold regular workshops, seminars, online training sessions and business coaching that covers the full spectrum of running a Dough & Arrows location.

Franchisees will even have the opportunity to learn how to make their own ice cream rather than sourcing ice cream from a third-party, “If we send the franchisee to school to learn how to make their own ice cream, it would make their Dough & Arrows business location even more unique,” said Blevins.

Our promise is to literally hand you the keys to success!

Perseverance through tragedy

Aside from the obvious demand for the product, one of the other major reasons the Blevins want to expand Dough & Arrows is to honor the memory of their son Coltin. On Coltin’s first birthday, the founders of Dough & Arrows, John and Amanda Watson, asked Brandon and Crystal if they wanted to purchase the business.

The recent parents jumped at the opportunity to become the new owners and throughout their training to take over, they brought Coltin to the shop where he would revel in the opportunity to taste all the delicious sweets. Coltin always described the edible cookie dough as “yummy” and “mmm mmm”.

Sadly, Coltin would tragically pass away just days before the Blevins were set to reopen Doughs & Arrows as their own.

To keep Coltin’s memory alive, they have his smiling face on the cups and some of the confectionaries are named after him as well as some of the couple’s godchildren.

Just as Coltin brought so much happiness into their lives, Dough & Arrows has continued to bring happiness into people’s lives throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Blevins said. They were one of the few restaurants that were open and providing desserts to the public through delivery services and curbside pickup, he explained. They provided personalized birthday parties and delivered many sweet treats directly to frontline workers in hospitals. Our customers would place orders and have us deliver to family, friends, strangers, and business as a way to say thank you. We enjoyed seeing the smiles on people’s faces during this pandemic. Our customers have become our family.

Now, to continue spreading happiness across the United States, they want a Dough & Arrows on every corner. While those are lofty long-term goals, for shortterm goals, the couple aims to have five franchise locations open by the end of this year to go along with their current corporate location and the one that will be opening in spring.

For potential franchisees who are family oriented and who wish to spread joy to the community while being at the forefront of a burgeoning food trend, Dough & Arrows might just be the business family you are looking to join.

www.doughandarrows.com