Published on 10/03/2015 by Punchmedia

Mobile Food Industry Australia: Spotlight on Coffee Franchises

These days, almost every arts, cultural, or musical festival in Melbourne brings with its multiple mobile Food and Beverage vans ranging from specialist muesli to burger trucks and it doesn’t appear that this surge in mobile food and beverage vans is going to slow down any time soon.

The Beginning of the Coffee Van

According to John Greco, Australia’s first mobile barista was launched in Sydney’s northern beach suburbs in 1999. Since this time, the mobile food and beverage industry (which comes under Fast Food Services) has increased significantly in both its worth and popularity. Greco saw his one van franchise Cafe2U grow to a fleet of 45 in the space of just a few years. It appeared his intuition was correct, Australia wanted high quality, affordable espresso coffee delivered to them wherever they were.

Bean Provider Turned Business Buyer

Cafe2U’s bean provider – Belaroma Coffee decided in 2004 it wanted to purchase the franchise company that they could clearly see had the potential to turn into an even more successful and thriving business. Greco sold for an undisclosed 6-figure sum at what could arguably be the turning point in the mobile food van business. Now that Café2U has infiltrated overseas markets including the UK, the US, South Africa, and New Zealand, its growth has been incredible. Cafe2U International turned over $48 million in 2013/2014; the companies 236 franchisees generated this sum. Derek Black, Cafe2U’s managing director, says that the average turnover per franchisee is $130,000. Further, franchisees are charged with only a very small initial fee, a marketing fee to cover field support, and, following, a fixed royalty fee. 90% of Café2U’s franchisees are first-time business owners, with the majority of these never having made an espresso. Many of these franchisee owners saw an opportunity to purchase a business for sale and have never looked back.

How Does Cafe2U Differentiate Itself in the Market?

Being the biggest mobile coffee franchise in the world is always going to help in terms of growing sales. However, it is still imperative Cafe2U has a marketing strategy that is unique and stands out from its competitors in terms of finding a niche position to sit within the market. Café2U presents itself as an affordable and high quality espresso company to its markets. It targets markets with ‘time-poor’ office workers that may not have the time to take a leisurely morning coffee break and thus they need to be able to access their ‘coffee/snack-fix’ quickly and efficiently. The majority of Cafe2U franchises sell coffee, tea, cool drinks, and pre-packaged snacks for pick me ups on the run. Are you interested in getting involved in the mobile food and beverage industry? Perhaps through purchasing an existing franchise similar to Cafe2U where your business strategies, customers, and potential employees are already existent? Check out the huge variety of potential businesses for sale on AnyBusiness today!

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Curtis is a leading expert in the business-for-sale industry, serving as a senior content creator at anybusiness.com.au.

With a career spanning over fifteen years, Curtis has accumulated extensive knowledge in the domain of business sales, acquisitions, and valuations. His deep understanding of market dynamics and his ability to translate complex industry jargon into accessible insights make him a trusted resource for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to buy or sell businesses.

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