What began as a project of passion to prove what good coffee should really taste like has turned into a flourishing business for Shane Hepburn, who has experienced 300 percent growth for his business in the first six months and is now launching a franchise model that values flexibility as well as quality control.

Good Bean Espresso has three cafes on the Sunshine Coast, one of which is franchised, and attention is now on the rest of Australia, with plans to double numbers in the next six months and shake up perceptions about good coffee.

“As a coffee lover, it used to frustrate me that there was no tried and tested place where I could rely on getting a high quality espresso,” says Hepburn.

“I quickly realised that it wasn’t just me- the market was thirsting for high quality coffee.”

Hepburn cites predictions that the coffee and cafe industry will increase revenue by 2.4 percent in 2014-15, to $4.3 billion, and the popularity of espresso style coffee. “I saw there was a real opportunity for a caf_ concept that could be replicated but wouldn’t sacrifice the quality or uniqueness of the coffee served.” 

Good Bean Espresso expects to maintain its high standards throughout its stores by combining a boutique caf_ attitude with the benefits of being a national franchise.

“The difference with Good Bean Espresso is the flexibility our store owners have in sourcing their produce based on their local knowledge. While all stores will stock our most popular, high quality blends, to ensure consistency across the franchise, each caf_ will also have their own repertoire of beans and food choices that have been chosen based around local tastes and the values of the owner.

“For example, Good Bean Espresso owners in major cities might choose to stock a particularly strong blend within their cafes, as that is valued by many metropolitan coffee drinkers.”

Hepburn sources all the coffee beans, which gives him both control over the quality, and some profits.

“We want to create a franchise with more flexibility, but that has certain KPIs for the shop, coffee and milk.”

His reasoning is that hospitality staff members are likely to be more engaged with the business, and therefore stay longer than the average five months, if there is a constantly changing coffee profile at the caf_ – and they are encouraged to talk with each other about coffee quality.

“We have invested a huge amount of resources into developing and accessing the latest and best in coffee knowledge and technology. We use specialised coffee machines that allow us to measure the exact amount of coffee used in each shot, down to the gram, and the exact temperature the coffee is made at. This means that we can guarantee a top quality coffee, every time.”

Coffee opportunities

Andrew Wood, the master franchisee for Good bean Espresso Queensland, has spent the last seven months working alongside Hepburn developing every aspect of the business model.

“Australia is undergoing a shift in what consumers want from their coffee shops, and Good Bean is the first franchise catering to this new market,” he says. “We want to take advantage of this, and are looking for franchisees across Brisbane and the rest of Australia to help us meet our aim of 15 stores across Queensland, and at least three interstate by the end of 2016.

“The Good Bean franchise is ideal for the experienced barista looking to start his own business, or for an investor looking for a safe and profitable business opportunity.”

The turnkey cost of a franchise in the chain starts at $125,000 for a kiosk, which includes eequipment and fitout. The initial franchise fee is $30,000 plus GST. Ongoing franchise fees are six percent, the marketing levy two percent.

There’s an emphasis on keeping costs low for franchisees: a 15sqm to 40sqm footprint for the store keeps rents down, there is minimal training, and lots of outsourcing.

Inevitably, franchisee training is focused on coffee. Because there is limited food service training required (food is outsourced and franchisees and staff just use a sandwich press) this can be done through local council courses, explains Hepburn.

“We wanted to ensure that each and every franchisee would be able to run their business, and meet their financial goals, without having to forgo their work life balance.”