Jan 6, 2012 | Portfolio
www.cafe2u.co.uk
“We had a fantastic response even after the first e-newsletter we had fresh interest from people we thought were dead leads.” Tom Acland, MD at Cafe2U.
Cafe2U worked with Coconut Creatives from September 2011 as a full service client. We created their franchise recruitment marketing strategy and 12-month marketing plan following a period of market research. Coconut Media looked after Cafe2U’s advertising, artwork, PR and keep warm activities.
Cafe2U is the largest provider of mobile coffee in the UK. They deliver fresh espresso coffee, hot chocolate and a range of snacks to non-traditional locations in over 50 franchise territories across the UK. These locations are mainly work places, business parks and industrial estates located away from the high-street.
Project Outline:
Create a full 12-month marketing strategy for Franchise Recruitment, taking the business from 50 to 80 franchisees. Also implement a new process for converting leads and managing them throughout the sales process.
Project Outcomes:
- Delivery of an integrated marketing communications plan for advertising and PR
- Development and design of media campaigns
- Development of discovery day programme including NLP PowerPoint presentation, creation of materials, structure for the day and brief to the team
- Full onsite management & training during first successful discovery day
- This project has resulted in an ongoing relationship for 2012
- Cafe2U won the Brand Builder of the Year Award, as part of the 2012 bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards.
Keep Warm Activity:
Coconut Media prepared a monthly branded Cafe2U newsletter targeted at franchise seekers who were at varying stages of their buying decision-making process. The newsletter was sent out to their latest leads list and activity such as opens and click-throughs was tracked in order to provide a monthly report. The data taken from this activity was used to inform Cafe2U of the level of interest from each lead as well as push out messages and recruit to discovery days.
Results of their first e-newsletter in September 2011:
- 194 people clicked through to the Cafe2U website
- 9 people liked this e-newsletter and reposted it on their Facebook page, 3 people shared it on Twitter and 4 people shared it via LinkedIn.
Client Comments:
“September 19th was a boomer day on our website with 295 hits and 13 franchise form conversions.”
Dec 20, 2011 | Clients in the Media
Faye Cochrane loves coffee and, having held management positions with coffee houses in the past, it didn’t take her long to choose Cafe2U as her new business venture. Just 3 years on, she has celebrated launching her third van onto the roads of Edinburgh!
Cafe2U is the world’s largest mobile coffee franchise system and their franchise partners are reaping the rewards of the fast-growing coffee industry by providing the highest quality espresso coffee, hot chocolate, premium teas and complimentary snacks to people in non-traditional locations including workplaces and events.
Faye, Cafe2U’s Edinburgh Franchise Partner, explains how the Cafe2U franchise has built to a successful multi-van business.
“I started working in the hospitality industry at the age of 13 and have worked in the food and hospitality sector ever since. I have always wanted to start my own business but the recession meant that it wasn’t a good idea to start a business from scratch; I liked the idea of the support from a franchise’s head office.
“I loved the idea of being completely mobile but with the barista quality coffee and all the equipment that it requires all built in to the bright red Cafe2U van. After signing the franchise contract, I spent 2 days training in Leeds at the Cafe2U head office. I took my first van out in June 2008 and since then the Cafe2U head office has provided ongoing support via phone and email and I receive regular quarterly visits from a member of Cafe2U team.”
Faye now owns three Cafe2U vans and celebrated her third year as a franchise partner by enjoying a record day on one of her vans with coffee sales up from the average by a whopping 58% for the day!
“My customers include HSBC, Tesco Management Offices and JP Morgan in my Edinburgh Park territory. Each van has regular stops every day but I also have some regular management and marketing tasks each week. The usual bookkeeping activity won’t come as a surprise to anyone but I also produce a weekly newsletter for my customers and award someone with free coffees for a week each week; my promotions build customer loyalty and bring new customers to the van on a daily basis.
“If anyone was thinking of buying a Cafe2U franchise I would say ‘Go for it!’ but remember that running your own business is much harder work than you think – your success is your responsibility.”
If you would like to know more about Cafe2U, why not join one of our Discovery Days? You can register by calling 08456 444708.
You can also see more from Faye on our events video: http://cafe2u.com/uk/cafe2u-at-events
Dec 20, 2011 | Clients in the Media
The world’s largest mobile coffee franchise Cafe2U has welcomed Will Vernon to the post of Operations Director. Will’s 21-year career with Whitbread including 4 years as Head of Brand Standards & Training at Costa shows Cafe2U’s drive to take its last 5 years of success in the UK and build an even brighter future.
Tom Acland, UK Managing Director at Cafe2U explains: “We picked Will for his operational experience, vision, drive, enthusiasm, and understanding of the branded coffee market place that we aim to continue to dominate, from a mobile perspective, into the future. He will lead the operational support and supply side of the business. This means he will have responsibility for training, launch and support of our franchise partners, as well as the equipment and product supply chain.
Will is really excited about joining Cafe2U: “Although adapting to life away from my previous corporate background won’t be without its challenges, I am looking forward to the involvement and impact I can have on the development of one of the most exciting brands to arrive in the UK for a long time.
“I started with Cafe2U on 7th October and two days later I was in Sydney, their founding franchise country, for a fortnight of intensive training and orientation. Now I’m back in the UK, I am working hard with the head office team to make the next 5 years an even bigger success.”
Proudly born and bred in Australia, Cafe2U is already the world’s largest mobile coffee franchise with over 100 mobile coffee vans in Australia and over 50 in the UK and Ireland. You can find out more by visiting www.cafe2u.co.uk or by registering for one of our discovery days on 0845 6444 708.
Nov 17, 2011 | Coconut in the Media
Sarah Carlile, Founding Partner of Coconut Creatives, the only marketing company to be accredited by the bfa offers her advice on preparing for a successful and sustainable 2012.
Whether you are looking to start a business or buy a franchise, now is a really good time of year to ask yourself some questions. What will be the best industry to be in, in 2012 onwards? How will the changes in Government affect me? What franchises are growing and providing profitable sustainable business opportunities. In the UK there are around eight hundred franchisors both from inside and outside the British Franchise Association, all looking to recruit the best candidates for their franchise network. Could that be you?
October through to April is the most important time of year to focus on business development. The kids are at school, the summer holidays are over with and Christmas provides an ideal opportunity for reflection on the previous year’s accomplishments. As we approach Christmas many people start to re-evaluate their life choices and a big part of this is their career. We are all familiar with cyclical national headlines such as ‘new year new career’ but how you maximise your chances to capitalise on business opportunities will depend on a number of factors:
It is all about timing. Being in the right place, at the right time and meeting the right franchisors for you. Here’s what you can do:
- Review online profile’s for franchisors: it is really important that you can access current information including availability of territories, current prices, quotes and case studies. You can spend time comparing information you find on different website against information on 3rd party websites. If you find conflicting information on different recruitment websites, the franchisor could be unprofessional or just not keep their communications up to date and this can give you an indication of how they might treat you if you bought into the business.
- Case studies are really useful to you to build a picture of the types of people that have already bought into the franchise. Many franchisors like the van based franchise, Cafe2U will offer video case studies which are very useful in understanding what you might do on a daily basis. The reality is that if they invest in video and better communications, they are likely to be investing more in you when you join. You can gain a huge amount of confidence by reviewing case studies and if you can’t find any that are publicly available, call the franchisor and request some.
- Social Media sites like LinkedIn can be very useful to gain an insight into the business community that you are interested in. Whether you choose a business or a franchise, ensure you join LinkedIn and sign up for some of the special interest groups. See how they communicate with each other and what discussion topics are brought up.
- Consider ALL your options including who the client/ customer will be. Is the market growing? Do you see it growing through 2012? Undertaking due diligence into the market sector, general growth statistics online can give you a good indication of whether your chosen sector and business will work for you.
- Read around the subject: Magazines such as this one and newspapers will have a number of features on business opportunities. These are great for you to review and to gather information on specific individual businesses and also sectors that you could be well suited to.
- Make sure you reach a decision! Ensure you do set yourself a deadline for making a decision about your next career or business move. It is easy to get stuck in ‘analysis paralysis’ and spend so much time deciding what to do, that you never actually get on and do it! Make sure you evaluate all your options and make an informed decision on moving ahead. Gut instinct is usually right, so let this also guide you.
- Relationships are key: No matter how good a franchise opportunity, you need to make sure you get on with the franchisor you will be working with. Relationships are key for your ongoing business development, especially where training takes place.
Overall consider whether a business or a franchise is right for you. Franchises can often be seen as the more expensive choice but the reality is often that the money you invest will save you time and money later on by avoiding common mistakes.
Aug 8, 2011 | Clients in the Media
A New York Police Officer enjoys the Cafe2U experience
Coconut Creatives’ client news: Cafe2U launches in the USA whilst business in the UK booms
The world’s largest mobile coffee franchise Cafe2U has had a superb 2011 in the UK so far this year and the buzz is spreading across the pond! Tom Acland, UK Managing Director, has been celebrating the successes of their first 5 franchise partners to reach 5 years with all renewing their agreements for a further 5 years, as well as launching seven new Cafe2U franchises.
Cafe2U franchise partners are reaping the rewards across the UK. Faye Cochrane, who owns three Cafe2U vans in Edinburgh, celebrated her third year as a franchise partner by enjoying a record day on one of her vans recently with coffee sales up from the average by a whopping 58% for the day! Faye trades in the Edinburgh Park area of Edinburgh where her clients include HSBC, RBS, and Regus.
Rachel Wilson, Cafe2U Bristol, reports a large rise in the demand for flavoured coffees in 2011, with customers trying all sorts of different flavoured syrups and even cocktail combinations! Rachel, and her husband Gary, who were the 2010 Cafe2U Franchise Partners of the Year have customers who have designed their own drinks, which are now sold on the van! As a result of the fantastic range of flavours they can now offer in their great tasting Cafe2U coffee, sales have grown 67% from February to June 2011 and it shows no sign of slowing down.
As the nation’s favourite mobile coffee service, Cafe2U is seeing a large increase in demand from event organisers right across the UK in 2011 as they begin to realise that having great tasting espresso coffee, from a well-branded, professional, reliable and award-winning company is a crucial attraction to an event. Cafe2U have serviced school fetes, sports days, car rallies, Race for Life events, fun runs, outdoor theatre evenings, as well as Hollywood film sets and TV studios. Doug from Cafe2U Milton Keynes had a fantastic day at a Royal Wedding Street Party in April!
Tom Acland explains: “There has never been a better time to start a new Cafe2U business, with our low overheads and profitable business model, the Cafe2U business allows franchise partners to visit the customers, prompting them into the purchase decision rather than sitting and waiting for customers in the traditional manner. We have identified and mapped territory opportunities right across the UK, for single unit franchise partners as well as multi-territory management opportunities. Demand for great tasting espresso coffee, whilst at work or an event just keeps growing, and Cafe2U is the only company able to satisfy that demand in non-traditional locations up and down the country.”
The Cafe2U Acceleration Training and Launch program is another winner for franchise partners as it accelerates their business development by up to 3 months. With higher takings, larger customer bases, and more coffees sold, Cafe2U franchise partners see the success of their efforts far quicker.
And now, Cafe2U, has signed a Master Franchise deal for the USA. Australia’s Cafe2U Managing Director, Derek Black said: “We are so excited to finally be taking the brand to America! The US market represents a mature coffee market with many significant opportunities to stimulate growth. Consumers have been very welcoming of the mobile Cafe2U concept with one of our new American customers quoting: It’s even better than Starbucks!”
Cafe2U is tackling the US coffee scene with the upmost confidence and is certain that the partnership with their Master Franchisees will see rapid growth for the Cafe2U business into a significant worldwide coffee market.
Proudly born and bred in Australia, Cafe2U is already the world’s largest mobile coffee franchise – now poised to propel this domination quickly into America in 2011. Cafe2U has 110 mobile coffee vans in Australia and 55 in the UK and Ireland.
You can find our more by calling 0845 6444 708.
