When Mikkel Paris took over Auntie Anne’s Philippines, the brand was struggling. Stores were outdated, the team was disengaged, and the franchise was underperforming globally. Instead of pouring money into marketing, Paris focused on something he believed mattered more—retraining and re-engaging the employees.
“The first year, I said what we need to do is retrain all our teams. We need to re-motivate them, re-engage them, and tell them there are new owners now, and we’re here to help,” Paris recalls.
Rather than launching an expensive rebranding campaign, he prioritized fixing internal operations. He reached out to Auntie Anne’s international headquarters and asked for help in retraining the local teams.
“Luckily, there was a Filipino representative. I told him, ‘Come with me. Let’s visit the stores, tell me what needs to be fixed, and teach me what we need to do.’”
Many stores were in bad shape—some hadn’t been renovated since the 1990s. Instead of just pushing sales, Paris worked on revitalizing the stores and energizing the workforce.
“I always believe that without a motivated team, no amount of money can make your brand succeed,” he says.
While other businesses might have launched major marketing efforts, Paris didn’t spend on ads in the first year. Instead, he personally took product photos on his phone and started posting on Facebook.
“I didn’t have a marketing team at the time. I promoted the brand myself, telling friends to like our page and sharing our products on social media.”
By the second year, the turnaround was undeniable. Auntie Anne’s Philippines won the Best New Franchisee award and was recognized as one of the best in the world—a stark contrast from being one of the lowest performers just a year before.
Paris credits the transformation to putting people first, proving that motivated employees—not big marketing budgets—can make all the difference.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
