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Kerri Wightman
Fletcher Martin PR
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Tremendous Growth Leads to Local Expansion for Edible Arrangements
New corporate headquarters, call center and training facility planned

Hamden , CT. (April 5, 2005) - Edible Arrangements Franchise Group, which opened its first store in East Haven , Conn. , in 1999, is expanding its local presence to accommodate the company's monumental growth and aggressive expansion activities. Edible Arrangements had a milestone year in 2004, opening a total of 32 new stores and entering six new states. Currently, the company has 82 operating stores and plans to open 43 additional locations by mid-summer.

To continue this aggressive pace and keep up with the demands of new franchisees and stores, Edible Arrangements executives knew they had to expand beyond their existing office space, located literally "above the store" on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden.

The corporation purchased a 2,000 sq. ft. building next door and initially planned to move the headquarters staff there and convert the existing office space into conference rooms and additional training space.

Before the deal was complete, Founder and CEO Tariq Farid and his team realized that they would outgrow the new space in less than a year if they met their expected growth projections.

As a result, the company has leased 4,000 sq. ft. of space at 95 Barnes Road in Wallingford and will develop the space at 1932 Dixwell Avenue into a state-of-the-art model store and training facility.

"In our current space we're only able to conduct training for about 10-12 people at a time," explained Farid. "Plus, training is conducted in a 'live' store, which sometimes interferes with normal store operations. Moving the training exercises to a 'model' store in the new location will allow us to triple the size of our training classes, while minimizing disruptions to the working store."

Growth Leads to Local Expansion for Edible Arrangements

Edible Arrangements will convert the former staff offices above the original store to a national call center to handle customer inquiries and orders for all stores in the system. The company's first national toll-free number (800-236-7101), was launched February 1.

"The addition of a national call center will improve our customer service capabilities and enable us to better respond to our customers," said Farid. "With one call, customers will be able to locate the nearest Edible Arrangements store, inquire about our arrangements and place an order, regardless of whether they have access to our Web site." Currently, calls to the 800 number are redirected to the appropriate store location. The call center is expected to be live this spring.

"Even as we are growing across the country," Farid continued, "we continue our commitment to our Connecticut roots. That's why we're proud to be expanding within New Haven County , where we started the business just five years ago."

Edible Arrangements currently operates nine stores in Connecticut in the following cities; Danbury , East Haven, Hamden , Meriden , Milford , Norwalk , Rocky Hill, Waterbury and Waterford/New London. A store in West Hartford opens today and license agreements have been signed for stores in Stamford , Bridgeport and Manchester that will open soon.

Edible Arrangements expects to hire approximately 30 additional team members over the next year in conjunction with this expansion.

About Edible Arrangements

Edible Arrangements ( www.ediblearrangements.com ) specializes in creating delicious fruit designs filled with fresh, hand sculpted fruit, including strawberries, pineapple, grapes, oranges, cantaloupe and honeydew. Arrangements are guaranteed fresh and are available in a variety of styles and sizes. They are perfect for any occasion from birthdays, thank you, congratulations and sympathy, to business events, client gifts and employee appreciation. Each arrangement is made to order and can be complemented with a jar of all natural fudge and a special occasion Mylar balloon. All ingredients are natural; no preservatives or sweeteners are used. Special seasonal and holiday arrangements are available throughout the year.

Please visit www.ediblearrangements.com for more details.

Edible Arrangements stores are currently located in 22 states and Toronto , Canada . Look for new stores coming soon to the District of Columbia , Maine , Pennsylvania and Tennessee , plus additional locations in states with existing stores.