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Liv-eat and the sandwich business

Sarah Stowe

Liv-eat outlets are seeing a healthier eating trend among customersHealthy takeaway food is on trend and there are plenty of options to consider if you want to buy a franchise. Here we discover how Liv-eat is making its mark in the sandwich niche.

What's your core product?  

From great coffee, salad bowls, new toasties and fresh juices the total sales units of product ranges have spread dramatically with a healthy trend in sales for all departments. We see higher salad and juice sales in summer with heartier soups, sandwiches and toasties achieving higher sales in the colder months. As expected we have also seen some decline in the demand for products with hi carb ingredients.

How do you differentiate your brand?

One of the hardest questions to answer in our industry is differentiation and competitive advantage over competitors. There are no hero products in our industry or special methods, Liv-eat's differentiation comes from market position and company culture. We position our brand above Subway in the market, but below the expectation of the healthy cafŽ with higher prices. We aim to offer a fresher more natural product that supports local business with a fantastic company culture between all stores.

How do you work with franchisees to ensure profitability?

We work with each store to ensure the team understands the core principles of business. True understanding of these business principles seems to prove fruitful in success for each store in increasing profits and team functionality. From market research and competitor reviews, it seems to be the stores that lack this training and focus are the stores that struggle for sales, cost control and profits. 

How do you maintain food standards across the network? 

From the moment a new team member enters the store, they are trained and mon-itored on their food handling skills.

Having systems and procedures is key, as unqualified team members need to be trained to follow a system that works, delivering the same consistent and fresh product to each and every customer.  

We work heavily with store managers and supervisors to push the boundaries of amazing displays and presentation in our industry. Team culture and competitiveness is also encouraged to push the limits. With hard work comes rewards and recognition. 

How will you drive business growth?

Growth is what you make of it¬ there is always strong growth in a business willing to listen and provide for its customers. As our mission states ''we are committed to making the world a healthier, happier place, one customer at a time¬'' so we see plenty of growth opportunity here. 

How is increased competition changing how you do business?

Dealing with competition is part of every business. In our market the majority of increased competition comes from cafŽs, which have a higher price point than Liv-eat's offering. This allows us to distinguish our offering, experience and price point to our customer. 

Balancing these is the trick and keeping a keen eye on industry innovators is forever helpful. Food trucks offer a great experience to customers but a different experience to what we provide. We ensure that our values don't clash and we continue to focus on our core values to build our business. We evaluate store positions and offerings to counter any adverse effects of any competitors whether they are a cafŽ or a food truck.