THE MYO STORY
Have you wasted an entire lunch break standing in line to buy a soggy sandwich
made with too much margarine, not enough filling, and even ingredients you don’t
like?
Mr Nicholas Bird certainly has, and he realised that like him, other discerning
inner-city workers were also being denied the opportunity to quickly purchase
the exact lunch they desired. So in 1994, with 20 years’ experience in the food
and beverage industry behind him, Mr Bird decided to open an up-market fast food
outlet for office workers in Perth, Western Australia.
Called MYO (Make Your Own), this revolutionary sandwich and salad bar gives its
customers the power to create their own lunch, exactly the way they like it. MYO
promises no queues, value for money, an easy to use system and most importantly,
choice – a promise the company has delivered on since day one.
Your lunch, your way
The MYO concept is incredibly simple and ingenious. On entering the store
customers grab a tray, choose their favourite freshly baked bread and begin
assembling their sandwich, wrap or roll from the 75 fresh gourmet sandwich
fillings, including deli-style meats and cheeses, as they work their way around
the servery.
For those who prefer their sandwiches toasty, our instore sandwich presses allow
customers to heat up their sandwich, wrap or roll, just the way they like it.
Salads are created in much the same way. After choosing their meal size,
customers go on to fill their bowl with as few, or as many, fresh ingredients as
they like, making the perfect salad, their way.
Each and every fresh, high-quality filling is accompanied by detailed
nutritional information giving customers the low down on fat content, calories,
carbohydrates and so on. This is making MYO particularly popular with dieters,
calorie counters, and those with specific dietary needs.
A food for all seasons
For those looking for a caffeine fix, steaming cup of soup or a perfect piece of
pizza, MYO offers these product lines and more. We make daily fruit salad from
the freshest available produce. There’s a great range of muffins and cakes for
those with a sweet tooth. Cereal and toast is on hand to satisfy customers’
breakfast cravings. We have the biggest range of steaming hot soups through
winter, and hot dishes including curries and pastas. MYO really does have a food
for every season.
A food for all customers
There’s also a food for every imaginable customer, not just those who are
diet-conscious. Lunchers on the go can grab their favourite fresh sandwich
without having to wait in queues, fussy eaters can have their lunch without the
annoying extra fillings often found in pre-packaged sandwiches, and creative
eaters can go to town, assembling taste sensations filled with unusual and
exotic ingredients.
MYO today
While MYO may have been born in Australia’s most isolated capital city, the
concept is appealing to office workers the world over.
Today, MYO has spread like mayo across the globe. Currently there are 19
branches in Australia, three in Scotland, three in England, and one in Canada
and Ireland, with plans to expand to New Zealand, the US, Asia and the Middle
East.
MYO is currently recognised as Australia’s leading sandwich brand and the
company anticipates there will be 50 franchises across the country by the end of
2011.
MAKE YOUR OWN FORTUNE
MYO is the totally unique and original “Make Your Own” sandwich, salad and
coffee bar franchise established in Perth, Western Australia, in 1994.
The humble sandwich is currently Australia and the UK’s number one lunch food
item among young office workers. While countless independent operators sell
run-of-the-mill, pre-made lunches over the counter, no one caters to this
discerning population of sandwiches lovers quite like MYO.
At MYO we offer our customer unrivalled choice, quality and freshness, and by
putting them in charge of their lunch, they get exactly what they want, the way
they want it.
Over the past 14 years we have successfully created a network of like-minded
individuals who sought to run their own business, and who also have a great
desire to actively promote a healthy lifestyle.
Today, MYO is an internationally recognised franchise with 29 stores across
Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and England. By the end of 2011 it is
expected that the MYO community will have grown to 50 stores globally.
MYO BRAND
As Australia’s leading, most recognised sandwich brand, MYO recognises the need
to continually evolve and stay at the forefront of our competitive industry.
To guarantee we remain ahead of the game we have launched a fresh new brand and
added several additional product lines.
This new brand is contemporary, innovative and punchy. It delivers clarity,
effectively communicating to customers that they can have their lunch just the
way they want it.
Our colourful new branding tells consumers that the MYO product is fresh and
affordable; that the MYO store environment is bright, light, efficient and fun;
and that the attitude of our staff is helpful, approachable and friendly.
Ultimately, everything we do at MYO is about giving people the power to choose
exactly what they want, exactly the way they like it.
MYO CAFÉ
MYO is so much more than a lunch bar. It’s a one-stop destination where our
customers can get absolutely everything they want at lunch, prepared just the
way they like it.
No longer do inner city workers waste time grabbing a sandwich from one operator
and a coffee from another. At MYO we serve the world’s greatest coffee prepared
by the most talented baristas, the way our customers like it best.
Our premium coffee is roasted in Naples using arabica and robusta beans. Unlike
most locally-used coffee blends, which are made from 100 percent arabica beans,
our coffee has a superior flavour thanks to the robusta beans, which have the
strength to cut through the milkier styles 90 percent of Australians prefer to
drink.
However having great coffee is only half the challenge. At MYO we understand
that the hand that makes the coffee must be equally as good, so we go out of our
way to ensure we hire only the most talented and experienced Baristas.
Once hired, we provide our baristas with regular training to ensure we stay at
the top of our game. We promise our customers they’ll get the best coffee made
just the way they like it at MYO.
We’ve also introduced a trendy lounge for our customers to use while their
coffee is being made. This stylish new area has been designed specifically to
make customers feel comfortable while they wait for the city’s best coffee.
Having great coffee is integral to our business. We offer our customers
everything they want in one fresh and friendly location.
MYO FOOD SYSTEM
Getting the best lunch in the city is simple at MYO where customers are given
choice, freshness and quality previously unseen in any other lunch bar.
There are no queues or stale pre-packaged sandwiches at MYO. Instead, customers
create their own sandwich, wrap, roll or salad using fresh, healthy,
high-quality ingredients, taking as little or as much time as they like to do
so.
Customers grab a tray on entering the store, choose their favourite freshly
baked bread and begin assembling their sandwich from the 75 fresh gourmet
sandwich fillings, including deli-style meats and cheeses, as they work their
way around the servery.
Toasters are provided for customers who prefer their sandwich steamy. And for
those who prefer not to lunch on sandwiches at all, we offer the biggest and
best range of pre-prepared food, all prepared the way our customers like it
best.
Salads are created in much the same way as the sandwiches. After choosing their
meal size (either regular or large), customers go on to fill their bowl with as
few, or as many, fresh ingredients as they choose, making the perfect salad,
their way.
Alternatively, we have the most extensive and creative range of pre-prepared
salads made fresh daily for our customers to choose from. The impressive list
includes traditional favourites such as potato, Greek, Caesar, Waldorf,
coleslaw, nicoise, and continental pasta salad. It also features daring new
salads such as Thai beef, pumpkin on couscous, nutty noodle, Greek bean,
Moroccan rice and many, many more.
And to warm up the chillier months we have a mouthwatering range of pizzas and
the largest selection of steaming soups with up to four available daily. To
ensure we truly give our customers exactly what they want, we also offer lasagna,
pasta and potato bake, cabonara, tortellini, spaghetti and chicken curry
throughout winter.
MYO INNOVATION
Although incredibly simple, MYO’s business model is completely unique. At MYO
you not only have access to the freshest, tastiest food and beverages, you’re
given the freedom to make your own choices at a pace that suits you.
MYO’s main competitive advantage is that, unlike its competitors, it literally
turns the counter around and puts the customer in charge. Effectively, the
customer fills the role of a counter assistant.
This minimal use of labour and subsequent cost savings is one of the key
elements to the MYO operation. The fact that labour is expensive and hard to
find has made the concept of MYO not only appealing to our franchisees, but also
to our customers. No longer do they have to accept poor service or inferior
produce any longer.
These savings on labour are given back to the client by way of better value,
greater food choices and higher-quality produce. MYO offers its customers up to
75 fresh gourmet sandwich fillings, including deli-style meats and cheeses,
which sit alongside freshly baked breads and other mouth-watering product lines
including wraps, salads, soups, pizza, coffee and muffins. At MYO there’s a food
for all seasons.
This business model also suits every customer – the time poor, the fussy eater,
the dieter, the big eater and the luncher looking for value for money.
MYO LIFESTYLE
MYO offers hospitality professionals the perfect lifestyle – a successful,
proven food and beverage business with office hours. Food five days a week means
a more balanced way of life with time to exercise, catch-up with friends and be
with family. Plus, since the customers make their own lunch, less time is needed
to prep at the beginning of each day. No other hospitality business offers such
a balanced lifestyle.
Testimonials
“Prior to the purchase of my MYO I had three franchised bakeries and I was at
that stage, a supplier of bread products to the MYO chain in Brisbane. I got to
know the MYO business quite well from a supplier’s point of view. I watched my
bakery business grow quite rapidly with the MYO group. I eventually bought an
MYO and have been part of the group going on eight years. I have refurbished my
store twice and am about to embark on a third refit – we keep growing.
”I continue to be part of the MYO franchise and continue to invest time and
money in the group for reasons as follows: great return on investment; great
return on effort; trading with office workers allows (us to operate) Monday to
Friday; great lifestyle – you have a life with weekends and public holidays off.
Finally, the make your own concept is unique. We have a point of difference and
the system is simple,” – Owen Manning, owner of MYO, 313 Adelaide Street,
Brisbane.
MYO CUSTOMER
The MYO target audience is the professional who works in the central business
districts and business parks of the world’s major cities. These locations have
high populations of office workers who would traditionally buy their lunch from
one of a number of food operators in the inner city areas around where they
work.
The young professional is typically time conscious and demands quality and
choice. Rather than having to wait in line to order a pre-packaged sandwich from
inner-city lunch bars, MYO offers choice and allows busy, health-conscious
office workers to have their lunch made just the way they like it.
MYO offers countless fresh fillings, nutritional information for each ingredient
and a time-saving servery system that’s free of queues, guaranteeing our
customers get what they want, and get it quickly.
MYO CONTACT
The MYO family is continuously growing. To date there are 19 stores across
Australia with three in Victoria, seven in Queensland, one in South Australia
and eight in Western Australia.
The phenomenon is also catching on abroad with four stores in England, four in
Scotland, and one in Ireland and Canada.
By the end of 2011, MYO expects the company will have grown to 50 stores
globally.
For further MYO franchise information contact us via the Quick Request form
below.