Cafe Franchise: Best Opportunities
Thinking about opening a food franchise? There are endless possibilities. More and more investors are looking at the benefits of a café-style restaurant. A café is simply defined as a restaurant that does not offer table service. Customers order their food from a counter and they either pick it up when it’s ready or staff members deliver it to the table. You can find cafes that serve any number of options including coffee, bakery items or smoothies.
Many entrepreneurs consider owning a café franchise. Franchising provides an investment opportunity where you benefit from using a proven franchise model with established systems, and a recognized brand name. Your investment includes training and on-going support from the franchisor. Many investors prefer the franchise model because it can often mean a quicker ramp-up from the inception of your business compared with an independent start-up.
Having a blueprint to begin your business is a great way to launch in the competitive food industry. So, let’s compare café franchise options for you to consider.
Coffee Houses
Coffee houses are prevalent and have been experiencing a strong growth rate thanks to expanding menus which include flavored coffees, lattes and teas which are customizable for any taste palette. Coffee cafes are popular places to meet friends or work associates in a relaxed environment or enjoy a take-out or drive-thru, on-the-go option. Franchise coffee cafes have franchise fees ranging from $15,000 to upwards of $90,000 for a multinational franchise like Dunkin.’
When looking at the pros and cons of this investment, the pros include the growing coffee shop industry. Stats show it’s a $47 billion industry with a 3% annual growth rate. However, on the negative end of this investment is the tremendous competition. There are many growing brands and you must provide something quite unique to stand out from the rest. Analysts say there are more than 24,000 coffee shops in the U.S. with numbers growing daily. In order to make it in the industry, many coffee cafes are serving up a food menu of breakfast and quick lunch foods. Expanding the menu means they now compete with other fast-food businesses.
Bakery Cafes
Bakery cafes are experiencing much of the same issues. Rather than being able to solely concentrate on the old-fashioned concept of baking breads and pastries daily, franchise bakeries are forced to increase their offering to compete in a crowded market place. Although people occasionally enjoy specialty baked goods, by far, the bakery café concept has evolved to quick service breakfasts and lunches with sweets taking a back seat. In fact, from a franchising standpoint, even the industry is recognizing this sector as Bakery and Café Deli Franchises.
Much like coffee cafes, the franchise fees for “bakery cafes” range from $15,000 to upwards of $150,000 for a brand like Honeybaked Ham Co. and Café. Bakery café franchises are an $11 billion dollar industry here in the U.S., and although they are also seeing modest growth, they are also experiencing heavy competition.
Smoothie Cafes
One of the newest concepts, smoothie cafes are proving to be strong investments. Compared with coffee and bakery café franchises, smoothie cafes are seeing the highest growth rate. The smoothie industry is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 10.1 percent and achieve a market valuation of $17 billion by 2025.
Growth is happening for good reason. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the health and wellness industry was seeing remarkable growth. Wellness is a $4.5 trillion industry, globally. People are understanding the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and are more aware of what they’re eating. Trends indicate people want healthier food options providing a wealth of nutrients.
Consumers are more concerned with staying healthy in the wake of the two-year global pandemic. Eating foods to boost immunity is top of mind for many. Trends indicate the demand for more plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables and the need to consume more protein. Smoothies achieve the goals of a nutritional meal replacement with great taste.
Trends also indicate a wholistic approach to eating to aid physical and mental health. With stress and anxiety on the rise, people are looking for new ways to improve mental wellness through a well-balanced diet that’s both satisfying and filled with proper nutrition. Achieving a healthy balance by consuming the right level of nutrient rich ingredients via fruit and vegetable smoothies may strike the right balance for functional health benefits.
Perhaps one of the greatest “pros” about enjoying smoothies is that each cup consumed can be customized, personalizing your particular health and wellness goals.
This year’s food trends indicate among the top demands of consumers are plant-based offerings as well as beverages with benefits.
Smoothies are a perfect example of making a healthy and delicious food choice. Typical ingredients include fruits, vegetables, yogurt, seeds, nuts, juice, and often protein powder. Nutrition experts agree that there are a number of health benefits gained by drinking smoothies.
Smoothies are a great way to get in the number of servings of fruits and vegetables we need on a daily basis. Eating fruits and vegetables is essential to good health. Consumption can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of some cancers, lower the risk of developing diabetes and reduce cardiovascular and stroke risk plus, the fiber available in fruits and vegetables aids in digestion.
Careful monitoring of healthy ingredients in smoothies can assist in weight loss as a meal replacement serving as a source of energy and protein while balancing your intake of fats, protein, carbs, vitamins and minerals, and often managing food cravings.
SoBol Smoothie Café Franchise
At SoBol, we serve up a completely customizable menu of fresh ingredients for our smoothies and acai bowls, catering to our customers health goals or dietary restrictions. Our offerings require heart-healthy, all natural, and fresh products.
SoBol is a growing smoothie café franchise with over 50 locations throughout the U.S. Our formula is working. We keep it simple from our healthy ingredients to our franchise model.
We are looking out for your success as a franchisee and for a great experience for our customers. We are committed to being a positive force in our community by doing all we can to be involved and give back. That can mean anything from philanthropic work to providing good service to each person that walks in the doors in an effort to improve their day. We have successfully created a unique niche in the industry.
If you are interested in learning more about our smoothie café franchise, sign up and our Director of Franchising will be in touch.
