The Scoop On Marble Slab Creamery
The Houston-based family-owned business is taking its line of fresh frozen desserts overseas — to the Middle East.

Marble Slab Creamery is based in Houston, Texas. It expects to reach 500 stores by July.

“When we first began entertaining the possibilities of international development, our plan was to develop either in Canada or Mexico or maybe Western Europe, to get our feet wet in the international markets,” says Ronald J. Hankamer, president and CEO of Marble Slab Creamery, Inc., a franchisor of gourmet ice cream stores known for its fresh, superpremium, homemade ice cream and innovative “mix-in” concept.

Just over 2 years ago, the company did venture first into Canada, where it has signed on to open at least 70 stores through a Calgary, Canada-based company. Six units are currently open, with two more under development. Marble Slab's master franchisee in Canada, Cam Inglis, plans to sell 12 additional franchises during 2005. Because of the company's success in expanding to Canada, it felt it was ready to accept the Middle East offer.

“We have not been out aggressively trying to find master franchisees in these various countries,” Hankamer points out. “When you're franchising, you kind of have to wait until the interest comes along. The next one might be in Western Europe or it could be in Asia.”

The first Marble Slab Creamery opened here in October 1983. This location remains the company's only non-franchised store.

Chris Dull, Marble Slab's vice president of development, has made several trips in the past couple of months to evaluate the store's progress. “Chris said the malls over there are unbelievable,” Hankamer says. “The Galleria in Houston is the biggest mall in this city [at 2.4 million square feet of retail], but he said the malls in Dubai make The Galleria look small by comparison.”

Back in the USA

While such high-profile deals generate buzz in the industry, Hankamer says Marble Slab's focus is still stateside: “These international deals get people's attention, but our focus is still on growing domestically. We presently have 437 stores open and under development in the U.S. in 32 states, so there are still a lot of states left to develop. We're not anywhere near reaching saturation in the United States.”

Typically located in strip shopping centers, Marble Slab Creamery likes to be at least 1,200 square feet in size so it can accommodate seating in the store.

“Obviously, our plan is to develop through franchising,” Hankamer says. “We think it makes sense for this concept. We may at some point need additional company stores, but at this point just one is large enough for our research, development and franchisee training. It has worked out extremely well.”

A typical Marble Slab Creamery store is 1,200 square feet in a strip shopping center. Some enclosed mall food court locations are as small as 450 square feet, and some outdoor locations are as large as 1,800 square feet. Only about 15 percent of the company's franchised stores are in mall locations, and just three locations are freestanding. Hankamer says the company prefers to build stores in strip centers that are at least 1,200 square feet so that it can accommodate seating inside, as opposed to the takeout-type facility that the company originally developed in the early 1980s.

Family Ties

Marble Slab Creamery, Inc. has evolved quite a bit since October 1983 when it first opened as Cones ‘N' Cream. Founders Tom LePage and Sig Penn, both native to Houston, began franchising the concept under the name Marble Slab Creamery in spring 1984. Twelve franchise locations opened — including one whose franchisee was Ronald Hankamer.

“I actually came into their first store, which is now our company store, with my two boys in early 1984,” Hankamer recalls. “My boys, Ron Jr. and Richard, had told me about this ice cream store and took me over to see it. I was extremely impressed with the product. The entertainment value of the frozen slab and the mixing in on the slab is an important part of the concept, but the quality of the product is unsurpassed — and that's what got me interested in the concept.”

To the elation of his two young sons (who like any kids simply loved ice cream), Hankamer bought a franchise and operated it until April 1986. Then, on April 16, 1986, he closed a deal with the founders to buy them out completely. Now, both sons are grown up and are stockholders in the company. Ron Jr. was vice president of development for about 9 years until 2000 when he bought another franchise business called The Closet Factory, a company that fabricates the shelving and cabinets for closets and furniture. Hankamer's younger son, Richard, still serves as Marble Slab's vice president of operations, a position he's held for about 8 years now.

“It's worked out extremely well having my sons be involved with me,” Hankamer says. “And it's been rewarding to see the company grow from 12 stores when I purchased it to 279 open and 158 under development.”

The growth is controlled, however. The company is still relatively small — only 33 employees in the corporate office — and it likes it that way. “With our size, we are able to react very quickly to changes in the market, unlike some of the larger chains that have much larger corporate staffs,” Hankamer says. “We think that's a big advantage. We can move very quickly, make our decisions and then carry those through into the marketplace as needed.”

Hankamer's keen eye for business and business growth can be attributed to his background in the food service and hospitality industry. After working his first 4 years out of college in the Houston oil business, Hankamer decided to enter the hospitality sector. He spent the next 10 years with Southwest Inns, Ltd., where he was involved in the management of Holiday Inn hotels.

“While managing those hotels, I got to know the food and beverage business by operating the restaurants and bars associated with the hotels,” Hankamer says. “When the Marble Slab opportunity came along in 1986, by that time I had run the franchise store for a year and a half. But my background in the restaurant/hospitality business was very important to our success here at Marble Slab. Ice cream is a little different, but it's still a food establishment and the principles of successful restaurant operations certainly apply to the operation of an ice cream store.”

This year, Marble Slab Creamery expects to sell 130 new franchises and to open 80 additional stores. The projected sales goal for 2005 is $86 million, up from $68 million in 2004. Hankamer also predicts the company will reach a big milestone by July: the 500-store mark.

“The growth is strong, but I still think we're rather conservative in that we're developing through franchising rather than putting company stores all over the country,” Hankamer says. “We recognize the importance of having a strong operations team, and we consider ourselves very operations-oriented. I think that's one of the big reasons we've been as successful as we have been.”

The Taste of Success

Another reason Marble Slab has enjoyed so much success is its quality of product — a quality that Hankamer says sets it apart from the competition. “Marble Slab Creamery, Inc. deals directly with eight regional dairies in the U.S., which produce our proprietary ice cream mix fresh, and it's sent directly to our stores in those regions,” he says.

The refrigerated liquid ice cream mix is made expressly to Marble Slab's specifications under a confidentiality agreement. Once it has been shipped to the franchise, it is flavored and then goes through a freezing process at the store. That mix, once it's produced, has only an 18- to 20-day shelf life, which guarantees an extremely fresh product. Many of Marble Slab's competitors, Hankamer says, use a different process. They buy an ice cream mix of similar percentage butter fat, but in many cases it has gone through a UHT (ultra high temperature) process, which prolongs the shelf life of the ice cream but, according to Hankamer, destroys some of the base mix flavor.

Marble Slab's product is available only through its dipping stores. Hankamer says the company never plans to sell its ice cream through supermarkets. “That competes with your franchisees,” he says. “We want our customer to come into our dipping stores and get the fresh product, not something that's sat in a supermarket for months. We want people to come into the Marble Slab Creamery stores and have the Marble Slab Creamery experience: smell the fresh cones baking and taste the homemade ice cream that was just made in the store within 2 days of their coming in.”

Hankamer adds that the company never plans to bring in any unrelated products, such as sandwiches or hamburgers. Marble Slab does have a bakery program and a coffee program that are optional to its franchisees, but the emphasis remains on frozen desserts. The company also sells soft-serve frozen yogurt, but it comprises only 7 to 10 percent of its business. The vast majority — 85 to 88 percent — comes from its super-premium butterfat ice cream product.

“We believe a customer wants to go to an ice cream store where they specialize in making the very best ice cream,” Hankamer says. “And we know we do that.”

— Katie Foxworth