Why invest in a coffee shop franchise?
Delicious, invigorating and addictive, coffee is big business. Thousands of coffee shops can now be found in the country’s towns and cities with many of these companies among the largest chains in the UK. In 2014, the country’s coffee shop industry was worth a huge £6.2 billion and sales had grown 6.4%. By 2016, the number of coffee shop outlets in the UK had risen from 16,500 in 2014 to almost 23,000. Turnover had reached an impressive £8.9 billion and sales growth had jumped to 11.2%.
These figures show that the UK’s appetite for coffee has yet to slow and indicates that further growth could be on the cards. For entrepreneurs looking for a lucrative investment, this makes the coffee shop a good potential choice with a number of franchises now offering opportunities around the country. Investing in coffee shop franchises is appealing to entrepreneurs for many reasons, with potential income high on the list of attractive features.
Before investing in a coffee shop franchise, or any other type of franchise, it’s important to have a good understanding of both the industry you’re investing in and how the franchise model will affect your business. Getting to grips with these two key factors will help you to decide if a coffee shop franchise is right for your next career move.
Cashing in on a growing trend
In 2009, around one in nine people visited a coffee shop every day. By 2014 that figure had jumped to one in five and in 2017, the average Brit was visiting a coffee shop 152 times a year, spending £2,111 in the process. This consistent and persistent growth shows that the demand for easily accessible, good-quality coffee continues to rise. More and more people are building a visit to a coffee shop into their daily routine and many depend on their local baristas for their daily hit of caffeine.
As well as coffee, many of these outlets also offer food and wireless internet access. This helps to attract people into the shop and ensures many spend a little extra time and money when they get there. In fact, the average visit to a coffee shop in the UK now lasts around 93 minutes, with each trip costing a pricey £13.85.This has led to many coffee shops becoming the go-to destination for the self-employed and office workers on their lunch breaks as well as passing shoppers and other hungry customers looking to fuel up.
Entrepreneurs investing in coffee shop franchises will be able to cash in on this rapidly growing market. As long as they have a good location and high-quality products, new coffee shop franchises should be able to attract passing trade and build up a customer base relatively quickly. Those looking to invest in a coffee shop franchise should therefore look for brands that already have a good reputation and a reasonably good level of brand awareness. These two factors will be crucial as the franchise grows, so it’s important for entrepreneurs to choose wisely when they invest their cash.
Becoming your own boss
One of the main driving factors for many looking to invest in a franchise is the desire to become their own boss. Franchises offer entrepreneurs a good degree of autonomy, allowing them to make a number of decisions about the business, hire the staff of their choice and make their own hours. The more work they put into the business, the more they’ll get back, allowing entrepreneurs to benefit directly and instantly from their own hard work.
However, it’s important to remember that all franchisees have to work closely with the franchising brand when building and developing their business. Often the head office will have the final say on branding, operations and marketing decisions with franchisees required to follow their lead. As long as franchisees have a good relationship with their franchisor, this shouldn’t be an issue, and in most cases the franchisee will benefit from the continued involvement of the brand.
A readymade business
Another important benefit of investing in a franchise rather than starting a new business from the ground up is that most of the hard work has already been done for you. The franchising brand will have undertaken market research, developed products and services and built a brand identity before they began franchising. This allows you to walk into a business that’s already a few steps ahead of the competition.
When you become a franchisee, you’ll be given comprehensive instructions from the franchising brand detailing how every aspect of the business should be run. This information is often invaluable and helps to guarantee that your venture will be a success from the outset. With the coffee shop industry so competitive, any edge that you can garner will give you a real advantage as your business begins to make a name for itself.
Support and training
Throughout the franchisee’s relationship with the franchising brand, they’ll receive on-going support and training. This can take the form of workshops, training days, seminars and help with branding, marketing and development. If the franchisee has a good relationship with the franchisor, and if this help and support is of a high quality, it can be invaluable for entrepreneurs trying to build their business and expand their market share.
Brand recognition
Another important reason for entrepreneurs to choose a coffee shop franchise instead of attempting to start a new business from scratch is brand recognition. Brand recognition plays a huge part in attracting customers and encouraging them to spend in your coffee shop. If the brand you’ve invested in already has a good reputation among coffee drinkers, the customers will be a lot more likely to pop in for a drink when they see your new branch open up in their local area.
In most cases, the franchising brand will continue to carry out marketing campaigns to raise the profile of the business and attract new customers to its locations. This should complement and enhance your own marketing efforts, helping to raise your profile and boost sales in the process.
How to invest in a coffee shop franchise
If you’re considering investing in a coffee shop franchise, the first thing you’ll need to do is take a look at the available opportunities on our site. The amount of money needed to invest in a franchise can vary dramatically between brands, so it’s important that you consider your finances before applying to become a franchisee.
When looking through the opportunities available there are various factors you need to weigh up. For example, if your location is fixed you’ll need to find a brand with opportunities in your local area. In some cases, franchises may also ask that you have relevant experience in the industry, something that could make you ineligible to invest. Once you’ve found the opportunity that’s right for you, get in touch with the franchising brand to find out more.
Browse through the various franchise opportunities on our site or have a look around to find out more about the benefits of franchising, and a wide range of coffee shop franchises.