Coffee Franchise Opportunities: Does Starbucks Franchise?…and Other Coffee Business Franchises

Does the aroma of brewing coffee transport you to a sensory paradise? Is a steaming latte your idea of comfort food? Do you consider coffee its own separate food group? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then a coffee franchise may be for you! When someone says “coffee shop,” the name that most often comes to mind is Starbucks. So it’s only natural that coffee connoisseurs and entrepreneurs will immediately want to know if this wildly successful java chain offers the opportunity to buy Starbucks franchises.

Despite its seemingly ubiquitous presence the Starbucks brand does not franchise or sub-franchise its operations. Rather, the company operates most North American Starbucks stores. The exception to this is situations in which Starbucks will enter into an agreement with companies that may provide physical locations that might otherwise not be available to Starbucks, such as space in airports, grocery chains, hospitals, and on college and university campuses. In addition, in certain areas, Starbucks may enter into an agreement with a group of individuals or a company in which the company or group is permitted to manage and operate Starbucks outlets within a certain region.

The unavailability of Starbucks franchises, however, should in no way dissuade the coffee lover from pursuing a coffee franchise business opportunity. There are numerous coffee companies that do, indeed, franchise their operations, and many even venture beyond the traditional coffee bean to provide gourmet coffees, food options, and even catering services.

The following represents a partial listing of the many coffee franchise opportunities available to java lovers everywhere.

Caffino

With its “60-second guarantee,” Caffino is a drive-through coffee bar that first opened its company doors in 1993 in Napa, California. Franchising since 2003, Caffino currently has 27 locations in 3 states, and it is actively expanding. Caffino prides itself on roasting its coffee on-site using only the world’s best coffee beans, Arabica Grade 1. The startup cost for a Caffino franchise ranges from $212,900 to $373,000.

Beaner’s Coffee

Founded in 1994 and franchising since 1999, Beaner’s Coffee offers a variety of the coffee beverages made from flavored, decaf, signature, organic, and fair trade beans. In addition, Beaner’s goes beyond coffee service and ventures into the world of sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. Beaner’s carries a startup cost of $240,000 to $300,000 and offers the option of express or kiosk franchises. Beaner’s is currently seeking franchisees nationwide, and for its franchise owners, exclusive territories are available.

Woody’s Chicago Style

Coffee and hot dogs? Not your typical combination, but Woody’s Chicago Style has no problem combining the two. Begun in Honolulu, Hawaii, Woody’s Chicago Style is a hot dog, beverage, and coffee cart business that has been franchising its operations since 1991. While franchises are not currently available in every state, Woody’s is seeking franchisees in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wyoming. And with a price tag ranging from $54,100 to $464,000, Woody’s just may be the right option for your pocketbook!

Scooter’s Coffeehouse

With franchise opportunities existing both in the United States and worldwide, Scooter’s Coffeehouse ranked #26 in Entrepreneur.com’s 2007 listing of the top new franchises. In business since 1998 and franchising since 2002, Scooter’s is a specialty coffee franchise that also serves up brewed coffees, espressos, flavored coffees including sugar-free options, teas, and a wide selection of smoothies. Startup cost ranges from $60,000 to $410,000, and, in addition to training, Scooter’s offers significant ongoing and marketing support, including regional advertising, national media, field operations/evaluations, purchasing cooperatives, newsletter, meetings, and a grand opening.

Dunkin Donuts

Who doesn’t recognize this household name in the coffee and donut industry? Established in 1950 and franchising since 1955, Dunkin Donuts now boasts more than 7,000 stores worldwide, including 1900 locations in 30 countries. In the United States, more than 5,200 Dunkin Donuts locations dot the landscape in 36 states. Based on years of operation and experience, Dunkin Donuts has a 5-phase franchising process, which begins with an application, credit check, and criminal background check, among other things, proceeds through several steps including an interview, business plan development, application approval, training, site location, and financing, and ends with restaurant construction and crew training. To ease financing costs, Dunkin Donuts has partnered with preferred lenders who offer franchisees flexible financing options, including Small Business Administration (SBA)-backed loans for certain transactions.

In addition to the five coffee franchise opportunities briefly profiled above, no fewer than twenty franchise opportunities exist for entrepreneurs seeking to turn their coffee passion into a profession.

From Café Ala Carte cappuccino catering service and Grabbajabba gourmet coffee and European sandwiches to It’s a Grind Coffee House and Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffee and Smoothies, numerous coffee franchises ranging from low-cost to high investment are available for serving up that morning cup of Joe, mid-day sandwich on the run, or afternoon tea or smoothie.

So next time you walk into your neighborhood coffee shop to fill your latte craving, imagine providing that same satisfaction to other coffee lovers like you…and even better yet, making a living at it!

Coffee Vending Machine – The Foundation Of the Vending Machine Business

A coffee vending machine is a common sight in most locations where there are plenty of people. Whether you are in an airport, a hospital or an office building, the chances of being able to get a cup of coffee, a snack or a soda from a vending machine is very good. However, the number of specialty coffee shops is proving to be competition for these vending machines. This is why many of the coin-operated coffee vending machines now offer customers the opportunity to enjoy specialty coffee.

When it comes to vending machines, soda, snack, or coffee, customers want freshness. Therefore, if you have a coin operated vending machine that dispenses coffee or snacks, you do have to make sure that the quality of the product is always fresh. If you have coffee vending machines placed in locations where they are not doing well, the best thing is for you to find a location where the product will sell better, After a while the coffee in the machine goes stale and customers will not buy any at all.

Most business owners and managers will be very receptive if you approach them with your idea for coin-operated coffee vending machines. Since most employees do slip out to the nearest coffee shop for a refill, being able to offer specialty coffee at the business location does a lot for company morale. A small store near an office building will also like to have a coffee vending machine because the workers that come in for coffee will also purchase something else. In a vending machine, soda, snacks and fruit are really cold which goes over well on a hot summer day.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to place your coffee vending machines in the staff room of a school or business, you will do well with your vending machine business. All you have to do is set up a schedule for visiting the coin-operated vending machines to replenish the supply of coffee. You also need to provide a telephone number so that if the vending machine, soda, snacks or coffee runs out, someone from that location can call you to let you know. Being able to keep the vending machines fully stocked is one thing you need to do to succeed in this business.

The coffee vending machines of today offer larger cups of coffee than the older models. There are also better thermal and brewing systems in these coin-operated vending machines, which translates into offering your customers a better cup of coffee for their money. You do need to offer the same quality of coffee from your coffee vending machines as the customers can get at Starbucks or Tim Horton’s.

Are Coffee Franchises An Easy Business Opportunity?

Coffee franchises are springing up in almost every town and city worldwide. It is a tough business to be in when you consider the long hours, health and safety regulations and numbers of staff required.

When potential franchisees first look at this business they are blown away by the profit margins. Surely any business that has such high margins built in must be profitable?

In reality it is not as simple as that. For a coffee shop to be truly successful it needs to generate a huge number of sales to cover the fixed costs. The fixed costs are very high primarily due to the fact that business premises are required in shopping malls and busy high streets. This means that over half the turnover goes towards covering the rates and rents.

A coffee franchise needs a higher number of employees then most franchises due to the number of hours the business has to be open. The majority of turnover is done either before work starts, at lunchtimes, after working hours and during the weekends. Unlike some other franchises this is definitely not a nine to five business!

Staff costs are very high and then there is the problem with keeping them. Most employees in a coffee shop franchise are only doing this work until they manage to get a better job! This means that there is a constant turnover with staff and this can be a nightmare to manage. Most new members of staff will require some training.

A coffee franchise usually sells a lot more then just coffee. Most also supply sandwiches, cakes, pastries and other snacks. On a busy day it is far too easy to run out of supplies too early whilst on a quiet day some of the food might have to be discarded. The regulations involved with selling food to the public means that detailed records have to be kept.

Competitive forces are also at play with a number of new fast food franchises entering the scene as well as speciality sandwich makers. These are all conspiring to take away some of the regular trade from the coffee franchises.

It is still possible to make money with a coffee shop franchise and to achieve this needs careful planning and the right strategy. Premises must be found that are on busy thoroughfares for the right terms.

Only the best coffee should be served. Not all coffee shop franchises adhere to this simple rule! Some even restrict you into buying coffee beans only through their own supply chain. This can be troublesome especially if the tastes in your area are varied and different.

The ideal solution is if there is a right balance between the coffee you have to buy from the franchisor and the flexibility to source it elsewhere. This also helps to make the business more profitable as most franchisors charge a premium compared to sourcing and buying quality coffee beans elsewhere.

If you are prepared to work unsociable hours and have people skills especially with regards to dealing with employees, then a coffee shop franchise might still be the right business opportunity for you.

Advantages of Promoting your business with Coffee Mugs

Efficiency and practical fiduciary managements are two important factors for successfully operating a business. For a valuable marketing method, promotion is a must. You can promote your products in enormous way; one of the best ways is to give away promotional coffee mugs. Coffee mugs are identified as a great promotional item for businesses. These items are simply superb for your. With your company logo imprinted in the front of the coffee mugs, your promotion would continue as and when the mug is used. Promotional coffee mugs are best especially because coffee is the world most consumed beverage and most approached drink. Further coffee mugs also remain to be durable promotion as people are less probably to throw away when compared to other promotional products. Using promotional coffee mugs as your advertising material means advertisement of your company is done on an everyday basis.

When it comes to helping business by way of promotional products, coffee mugs are appeal to everyone. These will help you to target the difficult segment of market as well. Embossing your company name and logo is a certain way to enhance visibility and in turn appreciated by most of the people. Besides from the appeal, they are also most common items on the office desk, hence it works best when given to clients as well. Integrating your logo on embossed promotional mugs, should be part of a budding company marketing strategy. If you are hunting for a way to get your logo seen and your business in the community eye then consider investing in promotional coffee mugs.

Benefits of Promotional Coffee Mugs to businesses.

Following are handful benefits of promotional coffee mugs to your business:

1- It captures interest and embraces it for months together, as it is a useful item. It is a way of constant awareness and advertisement.

2- Promotional coffee mugs in turn increase your sales when promotion is done with effective tips.

3- It generates direct response for your company when compared to other promotional products such as mailing and letters.

4- They work amazing with trade shows and build stores; you can find lot of your prospect buyer here.

5- It makes positive attitude towards your company and recognition by your clients.

6- Promotional activities with motivational program improve brand loyalty and generate positive result from employees as well.

Promotional coffee mugs could be made up of different materials, common once are stainless steel, ceramic, glass, and plastic. One as well needs to make precise caution towards shape and size. Additional shape variables form an apparently endless array of possibilities for coffee drinkers to choose from. Internet is the best place to look for high quality with low cost promotional coffee mugs. If you desire getting the most media hype for least amount of bucks, promotional coffee mugs are the choice for you.