Supreme bean

One of Australia’s fastest growing mobile coffee franchise operators, Cafe2U mobile franchise, has quickly established itself in Sydney and is kicking off operations in London.

With over 35 franchisees in place and adding another 10 a month across Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, Cafe2U seems set for a secure future.

Indeed, it has many of the hallmarks of a much larger franchise group, with a full business development team, leading edge training facilities and a proprietary territory planing tool to help franchisees achieve rapid and sustained success.

Cafe2U franchisee Angelica Russ took up the Sydney suburb of Artarmon franchise just under two years ago. She has made it such a success that she has been able to divide her territory and sell off part of it while continuing to run the remaining area and still record outstanding takings.

Russ is now also in the process of selling her remaining territory which, with takings of over $1200 a day, boasts an amazing $250,000 a year. Franchising magazine asked here these questions:

How long did it take to achieve the sorts of figures you now record?

Essentially, I built it up over the first nine months to around $600 per day, then moved it along substantially to over $1000 not too long after that. Apart from having an obvious commitment to the job, it has been a clear run for me.

What sort of hours have you put in to achieve these figures?

Usually I start at 7.30am and clock off around 1-2pm, so the best part is not only am I my own boss, but I come home knowing I made more money than my fiancé who is working in a corporate role.

What kind of support have you had in getting this far?

There is a whole team at Cafe2U mobile coffee franchise to help from the word ‘go’ – and even before. In fact, everything from optioning the specially designed Mercedes Cafe2U van to having full barista training, and then to having a small business manager work with me in the field whenever I need some assistance.

What have been some of the most rewarding aspects for you as a franchisee?

To be your own boss and work your own hours instead of doing the corporate grind is rewarding, not to mention the money, which is certainly better than anything I’ve ever seen. On top of this, I have also been building up a valuable asset with substantial value to sell on.

According to Cafe2U general manager, Allan Biddle: “Angelica’s business is not unique, as we have many very successful franchisees on track to reaching the same level of turnover while working the same hours.”

He says this has been achieved through intensive research and planning.

“Having a good understanding of the coffee market, we then built a very strong management team to support our franchisees,” Biddle explains. “We have also developed a proprietary territory design tool that ensures our franchise territories have the right fundamentals to deliver the same level of return that Angelica Russ has achieved. In fact, it is modelled on her $1200 a day territory.

“We believe in an open relationship with franchisees. This relationship, combined with the protection of a ‘complete franchise system’, is what we think differentiates us from many competitors. A true franchise system offers so much more than buying a business and using a brand. We are also the only mobile coffee franchise with HACCP certification for safe food management. These elements combined have enabled us and our franchisees to grow as successful partners.”