Queensland’s best in franchising recognised

The Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) honoured franchising’s best in Queensland on Friday night at the Seek Commercial FCA Qld/NT Excellence in Franchising Awards for 2015.

Held at the Hilton in Brisbane, winners at the event included Colin Webster and Andy Stribling of Boost Juice and Salsas Fresh Mex Grill, who were named Qld/NT Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year, Katie Mills and Amanda Mills of Ella Bache, Pacific Fair, who took home the Qld/NT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, two or more staff award for 2015 and Parul Mehta of First Class Accounts, Sunnybank Hills, who was awarded the Qld/NT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, less than two staff.

The awards also recognized Marlies Hobbs, the founder of Paleo Café, as the Qld/NT Franchise Woman of the Year, Debrah Stanton of First Class Financial Group as the Qld/NT Field Manager of the Year and Alexandra Lincoln, John Bleakley and Kim Taylor of PRDnationwide Real Estate, Toowoomba City as winners of the Qld/NT Franchisee Community Contribution and Responsibility Award.

For John and Andy, the journey to becoming multi-unit franchisees started about 10 years ago, when they both opened Boost Juice stores and struck up a friendship that eventually saw them join forces to form the holding company The Kookee Group to manage their franchise businesses.

“We’ve been through several awards processes as we’ve grown and the Franchise Council of Australia was the pinnacle,” said Andy. “You really do analyse exactly what you’ve been doing based on the criteria of the awards. It’s really helped us with our business planning for the financial year ahead of us and what our strategic goals and mission is going to be.”

Qld/NT Franchise Woman of the Year, Marlies Hobbs began her franchising journey when her son, Troy, was born with a severe dairy intolerance. This in turn led her to the paleo diet and to opening the first Paleo Café in Cairns in October 2012. The business was franchised in 2014, and has grown to 12 stores in just 12 months.

“The awards are a great opportunity to reflect on your achievements to date and look at the business from a more objective perspective,” said Marlies. “It’s a really great honour to win this award and it allows opportunities in terms of lifting my profile, not only as a mother in business but also to help inspire people in the health and wellness space.”

Following their success, all winners have qualified as finalists for the MYOB FCA National Excellence in Franchising Awards. The Gala Dinner will be held at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 13 October at the culmination of the National Franchise Convention.

Also on the night, the David Acheson Memorial Contribution to Franchising Award was awarded to Rob Melin of Australian Accounting & Franchising Professionals. The David Acheson Memorial Contribution to Franchising Award is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the franchise sector in Queensland via their advocacy, commitment to leadership in franchising best practice, and for going above and beyond to support the work of the Franchise Council.

WINNERS

Qld/NT Multi-Unit Franchisee of the Year: Colin Webster and Andy Stribling, Boost Juice and Salsas Fresh Mex Grill

Qld/NT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year – two or more staff: Katie Mills and Amanda Mills, Ella Bache, Pacific Fair

Qld/NT Single Unit Franchisee of the Year – less than two staff: Parul Mehta, First Class Accounts, Sunnybank Hills

Qld/NT Franchise Woman of the Year: Marlies Hobbs, Paleo Café

Qld/NT Field Manager of the Year: Debrah Stanton, First Class Financial Group

Qld/NT Franchisee Community Contribution and Responsibility: Alexandra Lincoln, John Bleakley and Kim Taylor, PRDnationwide Real Estate, Toowoomba City

Future Awards dates

Seek Commercial FCA NSW/ACT Excellence in Franchising Awards – Friday 24 July

Seek Commercial FCA WA Excellence in Franchising Awards – Friday 14 August

Seek Commercial FCA VIC/TAS Excellence in Franchising Awards – Thursday 20 August

Seek Commercial FCA SA Excellence in Franchising Awards – Friday 28 August