HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. -- On the 15th anniversary of the opening of its first Champs Chicken location, Pro Food Systems Inc. is celebrating the acquisition of Cooper's Express, another retail chicken concept with more than 150 quick-serve deli locations in the northwestern United States.
"What makes Cooper's Express a win for c-stores and supermarkets is not only the brand's proven comfort-food appeal to consumers, but also its very low cost of entry," said Shawn Burcham, CEO of Pro Food Systems. "Our potential customers from around the country have been asking us for a licensed program like this, so we couldn't be more excited to expand the Cooper's Express brand into new markets across the country."
Champs Chicken, Pro Food Systems' long-established brand, has locations across 32 states overall, while Cooper's Express dominates a two-state market in Washington and Oregon. Since the Champs Chicken brand was just starting to take hold in the Pacific Northwest, the two branded programs complement each other well geographically. More importantly, deli operators around the country working with Pro Food Systems will now have an opportunity to choose between a true franchise "business-within-a-business" program (Champs Chicken) or a quality licensed program (Cooper's Express) , whichever one best suits the operator.
"I am so gratified that a strong player in the foodservice industry like Pro Food Systems would see the potential of Cooper's Express and want to take it national," said Bill Anderson, founder of Cooper's Express, "My team and I are excited to help Shawn and his team at Pro Food Systems in every way we can to build and expand upon the success we established here in the Northwest."
For convenience store deli operators across the country, the Cooper's Express brand offers a retailer-friendly license agreement and free onsite training during opening week.
Pro Food Systems distributes its chicken and other products out of the company's 65,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and national distribution center located in Holts Summit, Mo. It has nearly 700 branded locations in 32 states.
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