We’re delighted to say that we’ve seen both a boost in recruitment with 14 new franchise partners joining the business in the last year and now record sales for our franchisees, all despite the challenges faced during the pandemic.
When the first lockdown hit in March 2020 sales initially plummeted, however, our savvy entrepreneurs all over the country were able to keep their business ticking over by pivoting their business model to unlock new channels of trade.
Seeing their regular customers at office blocks disappear overnight, our mobile coffee van owners began servicing key workers through lockdown. This saw high demand from NHS sites, police, building sites and garages. Many of our franchisees also started branching out into supplying the demand for those having to work at home.
The success seen by our franchisees has also been due in part to a number of emerging trends with coffee and mobile catering across the pandemic:
With at home workers now becoming ‘at home baristas’ consumers are demanding higher quality in all areas, from the grade of coffee beans to the craftsmanship of the overall drink.
Home delivery has been a good business model, with customers valuing not just the coffee but the social interaction with their baristas.
2020 saw a surge of independent coffee roasters now offering retail coffee subscriptions through the post catering to the more demanding consumer.
Sustainability remains a key focus, with consumers highlighting the importance of purchasing from responsible suppliers. Many have also become very conscious of supporting their local businesses and giving back to their local communities through the pandemic.
In addition to this, convenience has still proven to be a growing factor in coffee drinkers’ habits - a trend we had previously identified pre-pandemic.
As such, online ordering has been very popular and our franchisees have been able to smartly capitalise on this with the launch of the Cafe2U app. Launching this app was once something that some saw as risky in the initial lockdown uncertainty, but one which has ultimately paid off for us.
Our CEO, Martyn Ward, had this to say:
“The lasting legacy of the impact the coronavirus has had on the coffee-to-go industry will be positive for consumers and small coffee companies alike with superior quality and growing demand for convenience.”
This year we will continue to push our franchise recruitment and will aim to grow on the success of 2020 and make 2021 even better. Hopefully this will also set a positive example for others that businesses can still survive and flourish in these unprecedented times.