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The online food delivery market has exploded across the UK in recent years, as consumers spend more time online and less time cooking at home. One company that has taken advantage of these new opportunities is Camile Thai Kitchen, the healthy Thai restaurant chain. Camile have almost 30 restaurants in the UK and Ireland (over half of which are franchised). They are the market leader in its space, with new restaurants opening monthly. Franchising has been particularly successful in Camile, where operators are opening multiple outlets – their biggest franchisee has currently 6 restaurants. Shabu Mani, Head of Franchising and Co-founder of Camile, explains some of the reasons why Camile has achieved this momentum.
When was the Camile Thai Kitchen brand established?
We set up Camile back in 2010. At the time, we noticed that as guests were getting more time-poor, they didn't have a lot of choices when it came to healthy takeaway food. Secondly, as people spend more time online looking at screens, the amount of time spent cooking from scratch is falling. There was an opportunity in the market for a new healthy brand selling delicious Thai food.
What makes Camile Thai Kitchen stand out amongst other Thai food restaurants in the UK today?
We're doing a 21st century version of what a takeaway and restaurant should look like. We were the first restaurant in Europe with full compostable packaging, a vegan section, calories on our menus and celebrity chefs. We want to help our guests to make informed eating choices, and reduce their impact on the environment, and we can do that while serving totally delicious food.
More and more people are ordering food online. In what way has this trend impacted your business?
It's been a huge change in the way companies like us do business. More and more consumers are choosing to get home delivery and to order online. This has spelled big trouble for traditional mainstream restaurant chains, which haven't been able to adapt quickly. Camile has benefitted from this, by really understanding and embracing home delivery and ordering online. We have our own award-winning app, which gaves the same or better experience than guests are used to on Deliveroo or Just Eat. We have packaging specifically designed to hold food for up to 30 minutes while we deliver it.
Describe an average day in the life of a Camile Thai Kitchen franchisee.
Well, it's not short of variety, that's for sure! A typical day might include interviewing new team members (a typical Camile will have 20-25 team members), training the existing team, checking rosters, calculating food and labour costs for the previous week, meeting local business people, supervising busy periods, overseeing ordering of stock and organising maintenance. Of course, as franchise owners go on to open a second or subsequent outlet, they have to develop their own management teams and spend more time working on the business rather than in it.
What kind of training and support can a prospective franchisee expect when joining your team?
We do our best to prepare new franchise owners for starting their business and the starting point is that we assume they know nothing about our type of business. Training takes place over 5 weeks, and is a mixture of classroom and on the job. It's effectively a "Start Your Own Business" programme specifically for Camile. No matter how much training we do, it's no substitute for practical experience, and that's why we hand hold heavily, especially for the first few weeks that the new restaurant is open.
We, and our franchisees, then expect that a new owner can stand on their own two feet and get on with it themselves. After the new branch opens, we look after the purchasing, central marketing, product development, training and communications. The franchise owner is responsible for running their own business, hiring and firing their staff, making sure the business runs effeciently, being a great ambassador for the Camile brand and makes a profit. If we both do our jobs correctly, that's what success looks like.
What should a prospective franchisee look for in a brand like Camile, which is not yet well known in the UK?
Prospective franchisees have options to choose from in a franchise. The well-established franchises started with single stores of their own in the UK, just like Camile did back in 2017. The bigger brands are very well established, but have less opportunities to get into them. With a fledgling brand like Camile, there is loads of opportunity as we develop but it comes with a higher risk because the brand's not as well known yet. That suits some incoming franchisees.
They should look for honest interactions with the franchisor, not being put under pressure and an open book as to how the business is performing. It goes without saying that if the franchisor is not happy to introduce new prospects to their existing franchisees, they should question why. Camile think of a franchise relationship a bit like a marriage in a business sense. Both parties should woo each other and then take the time to get to know each other before a commitment is made – by either party.
What is the best feedback you have heard about Camile Thai Kitchen?
Here's some of our funny guest (and we say "guest" not "customer") feedback from Twitter:
- "I'm a little obsessed. I live in fear of their spice bag going off the menu one day."
- "Is it really wrong to get Camile two nights in a row?"
- "Self-care is going to involve ordering Camile for dinner."
- "I love Camile because they don't mind me grilling them on what ingredients they use, and their food is light and fresh."
Shabu Mani is Head of Franchising with Camile Thai Kitchen. One of the founders of the business, alongside franchise veteran Brody Sweeney, Shabu is an experienced accountant, with a deep understanding of what makes franchising successful.