A Great Concept Needing a Reset
Founded by Tomo Takahashi, JINYA Ramen Bar® had all the makings of a national brand: exceptional full-service ramen, an authentic story, and growing consumer demand. Yet after three years, expansion had slowed, and the brand risked losing momentum. Without a strong franchise development engine, JINYA couldn’t capture multi-unit investor attention.
The Challenge
Despite its strong product and brand equity, JINYA lacked a disciplined franchise sales process. The investment deck, website, and recruiting framework were outdated. The approval system wasn’t attracting the well-capitalized, multi-unit developers the brand needed to fuel its next phase of growth.
Our Franchise Rebuild Approach
SLFG was engaged to rebuild the system from the ground up:
-
We overhauled the franchise deck, website, advertising, and FDD.
-
We redesigned the recruiting process and approval system for efficiency and compliance.
-
We repositioned JINYA’s story around quality, kaizen (continuous improvement), and category leadership.
-
We refined the ideal candidate profile toward experienced multi-unit developers.
-
We built a CRM-driven sales pipeline with disciplined territory planning.
Results That Sparked Growth
The turnaround was immediate. Within 12 months, JINYA sold 18 new units, growing from 24 to over 70 locations in just a few years. National limited-time offers (LTOs) and strong media coverage supported the expansion, cementing JINYA as a leader in the ramen category.
This case underscores how SLFG’s franchise sales strategy and growth planning can restart even stalled concepts and create momentum for years of expansion.