A profitable business that “doesn’t really feel like work”
Introducing Really Awesome Coffee
Really Awesome Coffee serve gourmet coffee, hot drinks and food to people at workplaces and events nationwide. Since the first mobile café launched in Coventry in 2010, we have gone from strength to strength to become the largest mobile café network in the UK.The Concept – it’s simple; take advantage of the huge demand in the ever expanding UK coffee market but avoid competition on the high street by taking the "coffee shop" directly to customers in our unique mobile café vans.
What's Involved in Running a Mobile Cafe?
The business is built around a daily coffee round that we help you establish, with the mobile café visiting local businesses at agreed times each day to serve a full range of gourmet coffees, frappes & smoothies as well as hot and chilled food options – everything you would expect in a top quality high street café. There is usually a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere at the van, with your day being made up of other people’s breaks! Over time, it feels more like driving around making coffee for your mates than it feels like "work".A large portion of franchise partners also make significant additional income from optional weekend ‘events’ work.
What Makes Us Unique?
At Really Awesome Coffee we pride ourselves in the level of training and ongoing support we provide our franchisees, and we also like to be at the forefront of the industry in terms of technological developments and advances.There are lots of things that we believe make our business a unique prospect – here are a few:
The Mobile Café – developed and built by us, our coffee vans are uniquely capable, efficient, and environmentally friendly. We are very proud of the vans and provide a full tour on our Virtual Discovery Presentations.
The Really Awesome App – we like to make it as easy as possible for our customers to buy from us. Our bespoke app alerts customers when our franchisees’ vans are on their way and also allows them to pre-order their drinks so that they can avoid the queue.
RAPoS – our bespoke electronic-point-of-sale till system. As well as performing standard functions and linking with the customer app, it also syncs with online coffee route maps and generates a suite of detailed ‘coffee-stop specific’ reports that are vital in tracking performance and ensuring that optimal business development advice is provided.
Training & Support
We like our franchise partners to be able to concentrate on the most important things – providing great service and building lasting relationships with their customers.As franchisors it’s therefore our job to make the day-to-day operation of your business as simple and easy as possible. This starts with providing structured, comprehensive training, and continues with regular in-territory support from your Franchise Development Manager and remote support from our head office team.
Full details on our training and business launch program can be found on our website; however, here’s a quick breakdown for you:
Step 1: After an initial training day we carry out detailed business launch preparations with you.
Step 2: You spend 2 weeks with us at our training centre in Coalville.
Step 3: We spend 2 weeks with you in your territory to launch your business.
Step 4: We review your trading data and your Franchise Development Manager visits you regularly to maintain momentum and keep your business growing.
Investment & Returns
With our longstanding finance partners, the required initial investment is just £9,000. However, some franchise partners invest more up-front to reduce monthly finance repayments over the first few years.With turnovers exceeding £100,000p.a. and an average combined gross profit margin of over 60% (combined gourmet drinks & food sales), there is plenty of profit to be made for those willing to put in the work and commit to the tried-and-tested system.
Who Makes A Great Really Awesome Coffee Franchisee?
A lot of our franchise partners cite the fact that although they work hard, it “doesn’t really feel like work”.The honest answer to this question is it’s simply someone who will enjoy the social aspect of the role and who, with our assistance, is prepared to put in the short term hard work that is needed to grow any business.
If you think that you might enjoy running your own mobile café then I’d love to invite you to attend one of our online Virtual Discovery Presentations. Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and please feel free to request some more information or visit our website to find out more.
From Employee to Franchise Partner
“I had been part of the Really Awesome Coffee Head Office staff for over 6 years before deciding to take the plunge and run a franchise myself.
When I first started working at HQ, I was part of a 4 person team, the premises housed a couple of vans (at a push) and we looked after around ten franchisees.
I've seen the business grow from these humble beginnings over the years and am happy to say I've played a decent role in this too...one of my proudest moments was rebranding the company (I am also a professional graphic designer), and therefore creating a brand that now adorns over 90 vans nationwide!!
Whilst Really Awesome Coffee has grown substantially since I joined, what has remained the same is the commerardarie between the staff, the passion and dedication of the business owner Kevin, and the determination to never stand still and always be at the forefront of the industry.
I've seen so many changes in my time in the business, changes that have demonstrated the above. I have always envied those fortunate enough to be financially equipped to purchase a franchise, as it really is a cracking business model.
I've seen from the inside how a bespoke point of sale system has been built, a custom built app has been heavily invested in, not to mention the constant improvement in the technology incorporated in the vehicles themselves. I feel I can never stress to people just how much better they are than the rest, you need to see it to believe it!
So, after many years of managing the office and operations, from van build schedules to consumable buying and pretty much everything in between, in March this year I decided to invest in my future and took over the Coventry South franchise (previously Head Office's training vehicle).
I have absolutely loved my first few months running my own van, the systems in place and the tools at my disposal mean I can earn a very good living using proven systems… and yet still drop my little one to school and pick her up.
I still feel part of the team in a way, a team that now sits at 14 Head Office staff. Kevin works all hours to ensure Really Awesome Coffee thrives, franchisees are looked after and that the brand doesn't stand still. I think joining Really Awesome Coffee, as corny as it sounds, is like joining a family.
The team are lovely, straight talking, normal people. They will do everything they can to help you grow the business you want, so long as you stick to the workload you agree to in your business plan in terms of the hours you want to work and the lifestyle you want then you will get the support and advice you need to achieve your individual goals. Oh, and the coffee is quite good too!!
