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Bram Ladage: Building a succesful franchise
For decades, Bram Ladage chose new store locations based on gut feeling. In 2024, the beloved Rotterdam snack bar chain turned to data-driven insights with IRIS to guide its expansion into the Netherlands and Germany.
The challenge
Bram Ladage is a family-owned Dutch snack bar chain known for its fresh, hand-cut fries since 1967. With 45 locations, mostly in the Rotterdam metropolitan area, Bram Ladage is ready to grow. They aim to expand further in the Netherlands and into Germany. To do so, Bram Ladage sought a smarter approach to selecting and optimizing new store locations.
“By the end of our current three-year strategy, we want to grow to 50+ locations in The Netherlands. We’re financing this growth ourselves—no banks involved.”
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Refining the brand, focusing the strategy
Over the past decade, Bram Ladage has sharpened its strategy and brand focus. “We now have one team of four marketers dedicated solely to Bram Ladage. This allows us to work with much more focus. We’ve learned that if you do a bit of everything, you never achieve the maximum result,” CEO Robin Dijkstra explains. That same drive for focus and impact led Bram Ladage to partner with The Big Data Company to improve their revenue predictions.
From Intuition to Insight
Founder Bram Ladage knew Rotterdam like the back of his hand. For decades, choosing new locations was guided primarily by gut feeling and experience. While this approach helped Bram Ladage become a beloved local brand, the next phase of expansion requires a more reliable, data-driven approach. “When you pick a location, you’re committing to a long-term lease,” says Robin. “It’s expensive to set up a store, and if you want to leave tomorrow, you can’t just pack up and relocate. That’s why we need to get it right the first time.
Transforming location strategy
By using IRIS, Bram Ladage can virtually scout territories, evaluate potential store openings, test new markets, and fine-tune their expansion plans. “We now make decisions backed by data rather than just intuition,” says Robin. In the past, Bram Ladage’s analysis of new sites was a lengthy and relatively unstructured process. “IRIS is easy to learn and use, allowing us more time to focus on what we like most: building our brand,” Robin explains.
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