The support from SITB for

our chocolate vending

franchise is absolutely great.

FRANCHISE OWNER DIARY: Meet husband and wife franchise team Ricky & Anita Fairall

For chocolate vending franchisees Ricky and Anita Fairall, the initial appeal of a Snack in the Box franchise "was the repeated regular turnover we could expect from the machines", says Shropshire franchisee Ricky Fairall.

Wanting to carefully consider their options, the couple began looking for business franchise opportunities over a two-year period. Ricky was originally an Independent Financial Advisor but became disillusioned and wanted to move out of the industry. For them, most important factor in buying a franchise business was financial security. "We wanted something that would be near to fail safe and this led us to the idea of a vending business", recalls Ricky. "We discovered a Snack in the Box vending franchise for sale and knew it was the one for us. We were very impressed and invested in the business in early 2005." After a period of training at Head Office, the couple were taken on site to work with an existing Snack in the Box franchisee. “This franchise was run by another couple', Ricky explains. "SITB gave us the chance to see exactly what the work would be like for us. We thought that this friendly, open approach was wonderful."

By purchasing an established franchise business, Ricky and Anita inherited a number of pre-sited vending machines. However, Ricky says he was eager to invest in more machines. "SITB were great in helping us find more sites and are still helping us by advising us on possible sites in our area as and when they appear", he reveals. "The support we have received has been absolutely great and SITB have been there every time we needed them. They don't interfere with your business, but they are there if you need them. Of course, a very strong factor was the Mars, Walkers and Britvic branding - it's such a strong and prominent brand in the marketplace. Mars manufacture 9 out of 10 of the UK's favourite chocolate bars and Walkers is the no 1 crisp brand. We knew it would only benefit our business".

"I wanted to continue working for myself but thought that it would be great if I could work with my wife Anita. She was considering changing her job and so the opportunity arose for us to start a business of our own."