Hudsons Coffee reveals there are new opportunities for would-be franchisees coming up as the cafe chain looks to expand in the suburbs.

“More and more people are shopping local and this is opening up opportunities for sites I wouldn’t have looked at before,” says general manager Jarrod Montigue. “Consumer trends are shifting, local suburb strips are thriving.

“I’m seeing the local shopping strip coming to life again and we’ve got to be smarter and more convenient for people.”

Many of the network’s outlets are currently in hospital locations and Montigue reveals swift action to boost business has paid off.

“The big thing that is working well for us is the click and collect app now has a delivery function which we switched on for hospital staff.  When we launched the app last year it wasn’t ever tested for delivery. Through necessity we ramped it up pretty quickly.”

The swift action proved worthwhile, with delivery now accounting for about half of the revenue in some hospital cafes.

Hudsons Coffee offers five cafe formats, from a 10sqm hole in the wall concept up to a 200sqm roast house flagship. The turnkey cost is between $270,000 and $500,000, which includes working capital, project and design, legal fees and equipment fit out.

Montigue says there is plenty of interest from Aussies wanting a fresh start.

“People now are looking for a career change,” he says.

After 21 years in business Hudsons Coffee has navigated the GFC, drought, floods, bushfires and now the Covid-19 crisis.

The business has used its slow period wisely, bedding down on new processes brought in with a brand overhaul.

“Last year we had a complete brand refresh so what we’ve been able to do over the last six months behind the scenes  is develop new tech, new training modules, update recruitment tools, a new website, enhance our digital capabilities to touch more consumers – we’re investing in ecommerce.”

Encouragingly, despite the tough trading conditions, franchisees in Townsville and Tasmania have reported back-to-back weeks of record sales.

Montigue says“We’re a brand that’s been resolute and we’re still a network that’s proud and strong, and born in Australia. We’ll be here at least another 21 years.”

Find out more about the brand and its new opportunities here.