photos by Sarah Griffin

Roses are beautiful, but they wither and die. Chocolate’s delightful, but it goes straight to the hips and thighs. Wondering what to do for Easter and Mother’s Day … well, worry no more, a heart-healthy indulgence is on its way.

Edible Arrangements are tailored to keep those unwanted pounds at bay. Subscribing to an eat-well, live-well philosophy, a New Braunfels family is bringing to our community colorful and luscious arrangements lavish with taste-bud tantalizing, high-quality fruit. From birthday and graduation parties to bridal and baby showers, Edible Arrangements – the gloriously cheerful focal points of best-dressed, head-turning tables everywhere – are a splendid, cheerful way to enliven any special event. /p>

The arrangements, several of which have themes centering on life’s joyous occasions, can be scrumptiously dipped in chocolate and garnished with shaved coconut or almonds. Special shapes and containers are also available for the kid-friendly arrangements that accommodate a child’s birthday party or holiday. With or without the accoutrements, the arrangements are teeming with a profusion of freshly grown produce, including mouth-watering, succulent red grapes, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, strawberries, pears, bananas and pineapple. “It’s definitely the highest quality of fruit you can get,” Heather Roberts explains. “Our vendor, who we will be using, will find the best fruit available even out of season. So, if it’s out of season here, we’ll get it from South America where it’s in season. Our prices don’t change for our customers. The prices stay the same regardless of the fruit. Everything except for the pears and watermelons is always available, and we definitely get the freshest fruit.”

With the introduction of Edible Arrangements to this area, those of us who are counting calories can find a more nutritious alternative to cakes, candy, cookies and pies. Presently, people have the luxury of purchasing tastefully ornate fruit baskets locally thanks to the enterprising, close-knit family of mother, Pam Mills and husband, Skip; daughter-in-law, Natalie Mills and husband, Aaron; and daughter, Heather Roberts and husband, Brady. The three couples, who promote eating fruit for longevity, own the franchising rights to Edible Arrangements, their latest business venture.

Setting in motion their plan to open a couple of businesses in this region, the couples encourage others to indulge to their heart’s content without any guilt. “It’s great for Valentine’s Day. People love to give chocolates, but as women, we enjoy the chocolates, but at the same time, they’re such a guilty thing for us. We eat the whole thing, and then we feel bad about ourselves. This way, if you get something like this for Valentine’s Day, you don’t feel bad about eating so much of it. Plus, it’s so pretty that you can share it with everybody else,” said Heather Roberts, whose adorable son, Tristan, is the family’s official taste-tester. Pam Mills discusses the ever-growing popularity of Edible Arrangements and why they make the ideal gifts for everyone. She says the baskets make appealing gifts for men who would otherwise devoutly adhere to their carnivorous ways and meat-and-potatoes diets.

“We’ve been to about four or five different stores throughout the United States. I visited one in Arizona – and (for) everyone we’ve talked to – this has been a wonderful and very successful franchise,” she says. “You don’t send flowers to a man, but you could send something like this to a man for his birthday. You know, men will eat. And, they’re not necessarily sweet eaters so fruit – you could send to a man where you probably wouldn’t send flowers. It’s a wonderful alternative.” Natalie Mills and Pam Mills, who sells Mary Kay Cosmetics and is president of the New Braunfels Women’s Chamber of Commerce, elaborate on the history of Edible Arrangements and why they wanted to be a part of this one-of-a-kind business. “Edible Arrangements started its first franchise store in 2001 out of Boston. Its headquarters are in Connecticut. There will be more than 900 stores by the end of this next year. We are stores 888 and 889. Look at the product -- it’s beautiful,” the women said. Natalie Mills says Edible Arrangements are certain to be the smash-hit and much-talked-about conversation piece of office parties. She says the arrangements are designed to be more desirable for party goers rather than humdrum, cookie-cutter pastry, candy and relish trays.

“We are so excited to bring Edible Arrangements to New Braunfels and let everybody share and take it to office parties or bridal showers or weddings,” Natalie Mills said. Without hesitation, the trio of women resoundingly say, when researching the prospect of opening Edible Arrangements, they were almost instantly aware that there was a niche market for their specialty business that they could tap into and fill by opening their own stores. The women first became enamored with the fruit arrangements, which last three to four days, during the wedding reception of a family member before entertaining the idea of bringing the product to New Braunfels, says Pam Mills. “Mother’s Day, Natalie and Aaron searched out a place, and there was only one place here in the San Antonio area that did it.

So, Aaron said, ‘You know what, if there’s only one place for all of San Antonio … ’ So we just started to look into it, and by July, we had already bought the franchise for two areas – the one here in New Braunfels and the other one is at The Forum in San Antonio. So, we’re going to have two stores opening up.” Meeting customer demand in a family-oriented setting by outfitting their clientele with the finest and freshest, affordably-priced product is their ultimate aim, says Heather Roberts.

The family will take a hands-on approach to operating their stores, emphasizing cleanliness, consistency, stellar customer service and, of course, a quality product that you can’t find at the grocery store. The baskets start at $35 and range in price up to $200 and feed parties of 100 or more.

Another highlight of Edible Arrangements is that it offers individual boxes of chocolate-dipped strawberries and apples. The happy family members anticipate opening their store located at I-35 and Walnut, behind Target, in early February and their store at The Forum, adjacent to Bath and Body Works, sometime in March. They are looking at opening more stores in the future.