Franchisees use a proprietary dry biscuit mix to make the concept's signature biscuits.

In 2006, Raving Brands, a multiconcept operator of fast-casual concepts such as Planet Smoothie and Doc Green's, bought The Flying Biscuit, its first full-service concept, which features breakfast all day. When Raving Brands purchased the concept, it only had two units. Franchisees have since opened four units in Charlotte, N.C.; Marietta, Ga.; and Atlanta.

Founded in 1993, The Flying Biscuit started expanding in the second half of 2007, after spending a year preparing for franchising. To ensure consistency systemwide, the company concentrated on making the from-scratch dishes easier to execute.

Champion worked with Raving Brands' menu development team to remove several items that were labor intensive or had high food costs. For example, whole-roasted chicken didn't make the cut because it required brining, was easy to overcook or undercook, and took too long to reheat. It also got rid of its housemade granola with organic, fat-free yogurt because the granola had too many SKUs and distribution of organic yogurt was difficult and expensive.

Several recipes were streamlined to use ingredients already in house. For example, of the 10 ingredients in the original recipe for the roasted-red-pepper mustard sauce, six of them were only used for the sauce. The Flying Biscuit reformulated the recipe to use ingredients that it already carried.

It also had proprietary items made to its specifications. Franchisees use a dry biscuit mix, to which they only add butter and light cream. In addition, a supplier provides cranberry-apple butter and turkey meatloaf, which previously were made on site. “The turkey meatloaf easily has 20 pieces to executing it, not even taking into consideration for us to bake it off. It was probably a two-hour process,” Champion says. “It took so much of the human error out of it.”

The Flying Biscuit Cafe units are 2,200 square feet to 3,200 square feet and cost about $492,000 to $863,000 to open.

To offset the higher food costs without raising menu prices, The Flying Biscuit is trying to buy more in bulk, order less often and keep an eye on portion control. It is also helping franchisees analyze labor needs by determining the appropriate number of employees at slow periods and maximizing table turns during peak periods.

The company is also focused on helping franchisees expand in the Southeast. They are expected to open three to six units in Atlanta and Gainesville, Fla., by year-end and 10 to 20 a year thereafter.