Julie Bennett of the Wall Street Journal's Startup Journal wrote an article filed under "Franchise Insight" - it profiles Andi Berkowitz, a Dinners by Design franchisee. The article, A Flash in the Pan? Meal-Prep Shops Spread, gives some interesting statistics on Easy Meal Assembly businesses and franchises.

Bert Vermeulen of Cheyenne, Wyoming, founded the Easy Meal Prep Association in 2003; he projects that "...by the end of 2006, there will be over 1,100 meal-preparation kitchens in the U.S. doing about $270 million in sales." The numbers seem huge, but judging by the success of EATS, we're not too surprised.

"About 40% of those stores are independent businesses; the rest are franchised by companies that charge a franchise fee of about $35,000, plus a royalty of 4% to 6% of gross sales and a 1% or 2% ad fee. The total cost of opening a meal preparation franchise ranges from $120,000 to $300,000, depending on size and location, according to Mr. Vermeulen."

So what's the better option? Franchising for a fee, paying the mother company a percentage of your profit, but swimming in their success - using their menu and name to guarantee a profit? Or starting out from scratch, designing your own name and menu, and increasing your risk of failure - plus having to pay the startup costs associated with building your store and your capital?

Andi Berkowitz, the profiled Dinners by Design franchisee, laments, "It's easy to get lulled into a fantasy... You're so sold on the idea, you think that if you open your little store, people will come."

There's definitely measurable amounts of failure and success in the franchise community as well as the independent community.

According to Bert Vermeulen and the article, "...some meal-prep businesses start breaking even within the first two or three months, but some never do and so far, 32 have closed."