DALLAS, U.S. — Le Duff America, the Dallas-based affiliate of Groupe Le Duff, the world leader in the French bakery-café segment, continues executing its asset-light, French concept-focused growth strategy with the pending sale of two of its Canadian brands, Timothy’s World Coffee and mmmuffins, to a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTY Food Group Inc.
Timothy’s has seven corporate and 30 franchised locations in Canada and two licensed locations in the U.S., and mmmuffins has four Canadian franchised locations.
Le Duff America acquired both brands as part of its purchase of Bruegger’s Bagels in 2011. It has since sold Bruegger’s Bagels to Caribou Coffee to spur growth of its French-heritage brands, including la Madeleine French Bakery & Café, Brioche Dorée and Mimi’s.
“The sale of Timothy’s and mmmuffins is another important step in sharpening our focus as a French company and preparing for the upcoming U.S. launch of our legacy Brioche Dorée brand,” said Le Duff America CEO Olivier Poirot.
“As with our recent sale of Bruegger’s Bagels, we have found an excellent organization to steward the future of Timothy’s and mmmuffins brands while continuing to strengthen our position for rapid growth with our French-heritage brands.”
The sale will be completed by early April. Le Duff America will continue Canadian operations from its Montreal office, which supports its Montreal Au Pain Doré brand and Brioche Dorée cafés in Montreal and Toronto as well as airport locations in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Brioche Dorée, founded in 1976 by Louis Le Duff in Brest, France, offers uniquely Parisian-style and urban French cuisine, with fresh-baked breads and pastries and housemade sandwiches, soups and more.
With more than 500 international locations, it is the world’s leading French-style fast food brand and serves more than 300,000 guests daily. Its U.S. launch will be led by Julie Hauser-Blanner, who joined Le Duff America in mid-2017 as the first U.S.-based Brioche Dorée president.
“This transaction further clears a path for one of the most exciting undertakings in Le Duff America’s history – the full launch of Brioche Dorée in the U.S.,” said Hauser-Blanner. “My top priority is to make this iconic global brand relatable to the U.S. consumer while maintaining the highest standards of guest experience and exceptional food quality that have made it the world leader in French-style fast food.”
In addition to the Brioche Dorée expansion, Le Duff America has also accelerated its growth with the successful refranchising of its la Madeleine brand and is continuing to open new markets for the French bakery and café concept.
About Le Duff America Inc.
Le Duff America Inc. is owned by Rennes, France-based Groupe Le Duff, which was founded by Louis Le Duff in 1976 and serves more than 1 million customers daily at its nearly 2,000 bakery-cafés worldwide. It operates multiple restaurant concepts in the U.S., including Brioche Doree, la Madeleine French Bakery & Café and Mimi’s, which focus on fresh ingredients, hand-prepared foods and authentic flavors.
