Shipley Donuts will exhibit at the IFA World Franchise Show, held September 25 and 26 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, as the 90-year-old donut brand looks to expand its presence across Florida. Attendees can meet the brand's franchise development team at Stand 1616 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day of the show.
Founded in Houston in 1936, Shipley Donuts is known for its hexagon-shaped glazed donut and kolaches, savory pastries filled with sausage, cheese and egg. The brand has also rolled out a new coffee program featuring espresso-based drinks, including the Glazed Latte, served hot or iced. With nearly 400 locations across 13 states, Shipley has built a following well beyond its Texas roots, though its Florida footprint remains small by comparison, with just three locations currently serving the Orlando, Jacksonville and Clearwater markets.
That gap is exactly what the brand is looking to close. Shipley is seeking qualified franchise operators for available territories across Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough and Orange counties. Todd Brin, Shipley Donuts' Chief Development Officer, said Florida offers the right combination of growing communities, strong consumer demand and experienced local business owners, and that the show gives the brand a chance to meet prospective franchisees and talk through what has kept Shipley growing for nine decades. Brin brings more than 30 years of unit development and operations experience to the role, including 22 years at Wingstop, where he helped scale that brand from 85 to 2,500 locations worldwide.
Attendees interested in Shipley will be able to speak directly with brand leaders about site selection, restaurant development and multi-unit growth opportunities, backed by training and marketing support the company has refined over nine decades in business. The brand has picked up recent industry recognition as well, landing at No. 77 on the 2026 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers list for a third consecutive year and No. 142 on the 2026 Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurants list for a second straight year.
Turning conversations at a two-day expo into signed franchise agreements across five different counties means keeping a lot of prospective leads organized at once. Gorilla Dash offers a Recruitment feature designed to help franchise brands manage that pipeline, tracking candidates from an initial conversation at a booth like Shipley's all the way through to a signed development deal.