Spotlight on Choco Churro

How would you define your brand?

Fun, indulgent, and Spanish - how's that for a personality! Churros are all about Spanish culture - rich and exciting and more than a little seductive. Choco Churros' branding is vibrant, it's a bold statement of colour and style, and like the country it comes from, it's got a visual flair all of its own. We are truly Spanish and through our retail presence we seek to provide a kiosk setting with delectable products that are impossible to walk past.

How old is the company and when did you start franchising?

Marcos Pereira and Juan Torres founded the Choco Churro cafe in 2004 and began franchising in 2006. Initially their partnership was founded in a desire to create a new Australian business, but draw­ing on a shared Spanish heritage. What soon emerged was a thorough approach, drive for excel­lent customer service and a commitment to producing a truly unique and indulgent food and beverage menu with a view to offer it to the world.

How many franchises do you have?

Six franchised stores and one company owned store.

How are you going to grow the business in 2008?

Choco Churro is now well established on the Melbourne retail scene, with seven outlets spread across the city. Having consolidated and refined its business model, the company is now poised for rapid expansion throughout Australia and internationally. This expansion is based on franchising each of the outlets to carefully selected owner-operators. Franchising provides the company with the best of both worlds - corporatised branding and operating systems coupled with local ownership and on-site management.

Where do you expect the business to be in 2010?

It's in the hands of the Spanish nomads. No seriously, we are very focused on achieving and celebrating our success by estab­lishing a strong foothold in Australia and key markets overseas.

What do you expect from a franchisee?

Our franchisees are very much part of our brand and our family. In fact we like to say they are our brand ambassadors - and so we place great care on their selection. We want a friendly, outgoing customer service champion with sound business intuition and a winner's resolve, a positive and dynamic participant in the business, an enthusiastic product quality advocate who values and upholds the Choco Churro operating system. The future of the Choco Churro brand and its expanding network of franchisee-owned retail outlets will continue to be further strengthened by our policy of thorough and professional training of our master franchisors in the careful selection of local area franchisees.

What are the start-up costs for a franchisee and what work­ing capital should they have?

The initial capital investment for a Choco Churro outlet within Australia is from $300,000 to $400,000 and franchisees are required to have $50,000 for working capital.

What is the length of the agreement?

Five years.

What sort of hours will the franchisee have to work to get the business established and how long should that take?

Our franchisees typically work up to 40 hours a week. Like all things in life the more you put into something the more you get out.

What profit can a franchisee reasonably expect to make after two years?

Further financial information is made available during our fran­chisee interview process.

This article appears courtesy of Franchising Magazine