Auntie Anne’s UK & Ireland is the UK master franchisee of the world’s largest soft pretzel franchise.
Founded in 1988 from a single stand at a Pennsylvania farmer’s market, Auntie Anne’s has grown into a global brand with over 2,000 locations in 25+ countries. It is known for its signature, hand-rolled and freshly baked pretzels, made from a 30-plus-year-old recipe and natural ingredients, alongside a growing menu of sweet, savoury and seasonal favourites.
Auntie Anne’s opened its first store in the UK in 2008 and has since grown to operate more than 45 franchised locations. Over the past five years, the brand has grown at a CAGR of 12%, opening 25 new sites across a variety of formats. Today, the brand serves more than 2.2 million customers, selling more than 400,000 of its best-selling cinnamon pretzels, 500,000 portions of nuggets, and 300,000 mini dogs.
Amid a growing cultural shift towards natural treats, Auntie Anne’s is executing an ambitious strategy to scale its UK footprint over the coming years with a medium-term target of reaching 100 stores by 2030. As part of this, it is targeting new store openings in high footfall locations, such as shopping centres and travel hubs, where there is strong demand for fresh, quality food-to-go options.
