WorldCity Business Magazine

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

by WC

One of the latest companies to size up Miami-Dade County is a Spanish chain of health supplement stores.

Barcelona-based Natur House something of a Spanish GNC is consulting with Adorno & Yoss attorney Francisco Gonzalez about moving into the U.S. market through Miami.

Its franchise model is tailor-made for this country, says Gonzalez.

“Our client is in the health food sector and it’s tapping in to three market segments that are growing,” he says. “Firstly, franchises are the way to go for newly arrived immigrants. Miami is the perfect portal for that. It is exploiting a successful health food model which has widespread appeal given that health food and weight are growing concerns here. Lastly, the company fits with the profile of companies that are already here since it is not heavy industry-based.”

There are unique challenges about the model.

“We have to be careful,” says Gonzalez, “because the health food sector has been the subject of so much litigation in the past.”

Miami will provide access to other Spanish speaking markets.

“This is the typical company that looks at Florida as a gateway,” says Gonzalez. “It is looking to capitalize on the domestic Spanish speaking market.”

He predicts that part of the appeal is the low cost of operating a Natur House.

“It’s a unique model,” says Gonzalez, “with a low-entry point. The franchise fee is nominal and the risk minimal given the quality of the product.”

In Europe, the annual franchise fee is $920.35 and initial investment of no more than $24,000. Franchisees do not pay royalties.

Aside from Spain, Natur House has outlets in France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal and Venezuela. A concession in the U.K. recently closed.

Gonzalez is no stranger to assisting Spanish companies including those in the franchise sector.

He helped Clean and Clean, an environmentally friendly dry-cleaning business, open an office here before the company relocated to Texas, a phenomenon that is less common these days.

“Until 10 or 12 years ago, Texas was a formidable competitor for companies from Central America or Mexico looking to set up regional headquarters,” says Gonzalez. “Those entities felt more comfortable with Texas or California, however, now Mexico and other investors have discovered Florida and it is becoming more fashionable for them to invest.”

Gonzalez has helped street furniture and advertising specialist Cemusa, a subsidiary of construction company Fomentos Construcciones y Contratas, (see Spanish castles, page 34) which has just moved, move into the U.S. market in 2001.

Back in the food and beverage sector, the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce organized a two-day program last month to show Barcelona-based winery Intravi, some options.

Meanwhile, Grupo Mahou, the manufacturer of San Miguel, has taken an office in Coral Gables at 2655 Le Jeune Road in the same building as the Spanish trade commission from which it plans to oversee the U.S. and Latin American markets. It plans to invest $4 million in Miami-Dade County over the next three years, according to Enterprise Florida which worked with the Beacon Council on the transaction. The company expects to employ 12 at the office, with salaries averaging $60,000 a year.

It launched in style on Jan. 25 with a party at the former Versace mansion in Miami Beach, Casa Casuarina, now a private club and Grupo Mahou has sponsored events including Carnaval on the Mile in Coral Gables on March 2-4.