KOLOA — How does a couple move from romance to franchise? Blame it on the gelato. When Lauren and Marck Shipley met in Hawai‘i 25 years ago, they never dreamed that their journey together would take them from the islands
KOLOA — How does a couple move from romance to franchise?
Blame it on the gelato.
When Lauren and Marck Shipley met in Hawai‘i 25 years ago, they never dreamed that their journey together would take them from the islands to Silicon Valley to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada and back again to Hawai‘i.
There were many stops in between, most notably to Italy, where they fell in love with gelato and gelato making.
Today, Lauren and Marck are the owners of Papalani Gelato in Koloa, enjoying the laid-back lifestyle that lures so many to Hawai‘i.
But they are mellow with a mission: to spread the joys and profitability of handmade gelato, frozen yogurt, chocolate and soon coffee.
The Shipleys are offering franchises for sale throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
Marck said that “aside from a reasonable initial investment, the franchise opportunity of a lifetime requires passion, dedication and the willingness to learn Papalani Gelato’s unique methods of making the finest Italian gelato, sorbetto, espresso, coffee, chocolates, frozen drinks and yogurt.”
From his “tried-and-true experience,” he believes that through this kind of product diversity, “customers always have something mouthwatering and satisfying to choose from, which spells dollars in the cash register.”
Beyond the pure business and profit-end of the operation, Lauren attests to the high quality of Papalani’s handcrafted, Hawaiian-made, gourmet gelato and sorbetto in a variety of local flavors.
“We also offer all-natural, artisanal chocolates grown or made right in Hawai‘i. Our coffee is to be Hawaiian grown as well,” she says. “We are devoted to local products because of their quality and because its sound environmentally.”
The Shipleys are looking for “people who want to combine the easy going aspects of island life with the desire to make money in a business they own and run — people who want to be masters of their own destiny but don’t want to start the effort from scratch.
“People looking to make a change are ideal candidates — especially those with some sort of business management or food industry experience,” Marck said. “We started our company because we had a shared passion for Hawai‘i, gelato and success.”
“Now we want to share that passion and our success with others,” Lauren said.
For more information, call 265-1062 or visit www.papalanigelator.com.
