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Approximately 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day, so the coffee industry is undoubtedly a lucrative market to enter into – if you have the skills and experience needed to flourish. Really Awesome Coffee offer prospective franchisees a stress-free opportunity to thrive in the coffee market. Their mobile coffee business has been incredibly successful, with franchisees enjoying a healthy work-life balance and delivering coffee in a sociable and fun environment. In the first Franchisor Q&A for 2019, Really Awesome Coffee discuss their business, the rapidly changing coffee industry and helping their franchisees succeed.
How did the Really Awesome Coffee business begin?
Kevin Haswell founded Really Awesome Coffee mobile cafe franchise in 2010. He spotted the boom in coffee sales early and he was confident there was the potential for huge growth despite the recession. Recognising that the coffee shop sector was growing rapidly, Kevin seized the opportunity to take the high quality coffee shop to the customer. His franchise career had begun six years earlier within automotive glazing, and Really Awesome Coffee perfectly combines Kevin's love for great coffee and his van-based franchise experience. He actually operated the first van himself for over a year and perfected the Really Awesome Coffee system before his first franchisee joined in 2012.
Do you think the coffee industry has changed in recent years and if so, how?
Coffee has changed dramatically over recent years and Britain’s appetite for coffee shops continues to grow. Customer expectations have evolved from being happy with an instant coffee or even a percolated pot of coffee to expecting an artistically topped latte or a chilled frappé. Visiting coffee shops is a ritual that many Brits routinely adhere to and you can't walk more than a 100 yards on any British high street without finding one. This has been great for our business, as this habit has formed an appreciation for freshly roasted coffee and has raised expectations for a high quality brew.
Much of the growth we’ve seen in recent years is driven by the habitual coffee drinking made popular the global coffee chains. This has been great for Really Awesome Coffee, as this habit combined with an appreciation for fresh roasted coffee, has transferred from the home to the high street and to the workplace. While the coffee shop revolution is clearly visible, the mobile cafe market remains accessible and fresh, as it offers our franchise partners a fantastic opportunity to follow this demand by taking the traditional high street coffee shop direct to the customers, wherever they are!
As a coffee business, we are mindful of how the coffee landscape is changing and we continue to meet our customers' ever increasing expectations by thinking of new and exciting ways we can deliver their favourite hot drinks. Millennials are more than willing to spend more for top quality gourmet coffees and we are have a whole range of flavours and spices to create speciality drinks, as well as offering a range of dairy-free milk alternatives including almond, coconut and soy.
What makes the Really Awesome Coffee brand different to other brands within the coffee industry?
Our mobile cafes are state of the art and truly unique and have been designed around the franchisee / barista experience. We build them ourselves in our Coventry premises, which allows us to update the design as technology improves and new products come to market. In comparison to other generator or engine-powered coffee vans, our unique power system can save our franchisees over £2,500 per year. In addition to the essentials (commercial espresso machine, large display fridge, heated pie cabinet etc), our van comes with a number of unique features which make it stand out from the rest: a bespoke EPoS Touch Screen Till System, Frost Protection System, solid rear extendable awning and a unique power system incorporating solar technology.
Our franchise embraces the use of technology to help franchisees gain a competitive edge and make the running of the franchise easier. Recently, we launched our new EPoS software that incorporates an electronic loyalty card app and app-based ordering system, as well as making the whole platform cloud-based (with off-line capability). This has increased franchisee efficiency and improved the customer experience, as well as allowing us to more easily monitor and support our franchise partners as our network grows.
We do not charge a marketing levy and instead supply all our franchisees with a regular updated portfolio of editable marketing material at no cost. Our marketing department supply franchisees with regular creative ideas to engage with their customers so that they can concentrate on looking after their customers.
What type of franchisee would be best suited to running a Really Awesome Coffee franchise?
We are looking for franchisees with a commitment to serving exceptional quality products, providing top notch customer service and with an aptitude to follow a proven system. To run any business you need to be self-motivated with a 'get up and go' attitude and perhaps more so running your own mobile cafe, as being reliable and consistent is the key to developing customer loyalty. The majority of Really Awesome Coffee franchises are those who have wanted to escape the office and break the corporate chains. Our most successful franchisees are those who are easy to talk to and would class themselves as a 'people person'.
What kind of training is offered to franchisees and how long does it last?
Our fast-track training and launch programme is typically spread over a three week period and is designed to accelerate business growth and provide franchisees with the necessary skills, knowledge and information to ensure that the franchise gets off the best possible start. Backed up with an assisted business launch, their dedicated franchise development manager covers everything from professional barista training to bookkeeping, sales and customer service to general business management. Franchisees do not need to have prior experience running a business or in the hospitality industry, as our training and ongoing support provides them with all the skills and knowledge required to run a successful mobile coffee business.
How do you support franchisees after initial training?
Over their first year’s trade, each franchisee has a number of 2 day on-site support visits from their franchise development manager. Preparation work is carried out before each support visit and at the end of each visit the franchise development manager leaves the franchisee with a fresh business development plan. After this initial intensive level of support, our franchise development mangers routinely perform follow up visits with franchisees to assess and review how their business is progressing. They are on-hand directly via personal dedicated phone lines, email and remote support.
Franchisees also get access to the franchise network portal, a hub for all franchisees in the network to help, share and collaborate on best practice or resolve any issues. On top of all of this, they also gain access to cloud storage drives full of marketing materials that they can use in their business. This material is constantly updated by our small in-house marketing team and is formatted both for print and for use via the bulk email client we set the franchisees up with for the purpose of connecting with their customers.
How do you help franchisees to achieve a work-life balance?
Becoming a part of the Really Awesome Coffee franchise is very much a positive lifestyle change. Franchisees can enjoy a healthy work-life balance delivering fresh coffee and food in a sociable, stress-free environment while having the added benefit of being their own boss. We work closely with all of our franchisees to define their meaning of success and help them work towards that goal. We are on-hand to make sure they achieve their desired outcome, whether this is earning a specific amount or working more sociable hours. Our franchise is extremely flexible, with franchise partners able to earn more or less depending on the amount of time, effort and energy they wish to invest, as well as having the opportunity to enjoy additional income from weekend work such as events, festivals, charities and fetes if they desire. Whether new franchisees want to run one van around their family commitments or are aiming to manage a fleet of mobile cafes, we can help them achieve their goals.
Learn more about a Really Awesome Coffee franchise opportunity right here.