Dec 13, 2012 | Clients in the Media, News
Jim Johnstone
Baskin-Robbins, client of Coconut Creatives, is so much more than just the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty stores. Their mission is to build neighbourhood stores that not only sell ice cream but also create a fun and tasty environment for their customers.
Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burton “Burt” Baskin and Irvine “Irv” Robbins. Today, over 60 years later, Baskin-Robbins sells in excess of 300 million scoops of ice cream each week across 6,700 stores in 50 countries. Since their foundation they have introduced over 1,000 unique, fun and much-loved ice cream recipes, frozen drinks and ice-cream cakes.
We have recently spoken to Jim Johnstone, the UK General Manager at Baskin-Robbins, about what makes Baskin-Robbins such a success.
“The founders, Burt Robbins and Irv Baskin, realised that their strengths were in developing a great brand through focusing on product innovation, marketing strategy, operational excellence and a robust business model. They decided to franchise the stores to enable rapid growth of the brand.”
“The products we continue to develop today are unique and versatile. Ice cream cakes made in-store for any occasion, milkshakes blended in front of you from any of our 31 ice cream flavours on sale at any one time. We bring in a new flavour every month, true innovation! Finally, we have a great team here in the UK who are dedicated to helping franchisees grow their sales and profitability,” continues Jim.
Baskin-Robbins is operating in a market worth $1.8 billion. So we asked Jim what sets Baskin-Robbins apart from other ice cream brands and quick service restaurants.
“It’s a huge market with lots of competition. Other large brands have decided to focus on the take-home ice cream market while we are focusing on the whole experience in-store. As Burt Robbins said, We don’t sell ice cream, we sell fun,” explains Jim.
Baskin-Robbins already has 100 stores in the UK and is now offering opportunities to investors with a minimum of £300k liquid capital to develop a multi-store portfolio. A typical area containing 5 stores has the potential to turnover £1 million in the first full year of trading with EBITDA of 10-15%.†
With a Baskin-Robbins multi-store franchise you will receive full support and training as well as excellent return on investment!
† full details are available during the discovery meeting
If you would like to find out how Coconut Creatives can help your franchise generate great PR please click here
Dec 10, 2012 | Clients in the Media, News
John Booth
Coconut Creatives’ client, Mac Tools, celebrates the success of its franchisee John Booth. He has won this year’s Startups award in the Best Franchisee of the Year category. The Startups Awards are sponsored by NatWest and celebrate the success of businesses in the UK that have been trading for less than three years. 35 companies from across the country had been named as finalists for the awards and were hoping to win one of the 14 trophies up for grabs.
The competition for this year’s Franchisee of the Year award was fierce. John was nominated alongside successful ActionCOACH and Revive franchisees. In the end, John’s hard and consistent work over the last two years earned him the award and the honour of sitting next to Dragons’ Den’s own Duncan Bannatyne at the glitzy awards lunch.
“I’m thrilled but totally surprised and delighted! My thanks go to my wife Jean as I simply couldn’t run my business so successfully without her support,” says John.
John has been operating his Mac Tools franchise in Falkirk since 2010. Mac Tools is part of Stanley Black & Decker, a $11+ billion global organisation employing over 30,000 people worldwide and owner of the world famous Stanley Black & Decker, Britool Expert, Facom and DeWalt brands. The Mac Tools line consists of over 8,000 professional tools which are sold to customers such as car dealerships, automotive repair shops, manufacturing units, and engineering companies.
John is one of over 100 UK distributors. When he first started his franchise in 2010, John was really keen to get out on the road after completing his training within the UK and at the Mac ‘Tool School’ in Ohio, USA. He also receives hands-on support from his Regional Franchise Manager and regular support from a dedicated team of staff at the European Headquarters in Sheffield that are always available when needed. John utilized all the training and support that was given to him and this combined with his strong work ethic also earned him the Mac Tools Franchisee of the Year award twice within his two years of operation.
With a potential UK market of over £150 million, Mac Tools is a great franchise for someone with the drive, passion and desire to work for themselves.
If you would like to find out how Coconut Creatives can help your franchise generate great PR please click here
Nov 19, 2012 | Clients in the Media, News
Cafe2U van on beach
Cafe2U, client of Coconut Creatives, is the world’s largest mobile coffee franchise. Cafe2U continues to grow worldwide and is proud to announce its launch in South Africa. South Africa will be the third international market, next to Germany and New Zealand, that Cafe2U has added to its growing global franchise network in 2012. South Africa is a discerning marketplace offering huge growth potential for Cafe2U’s latest Master Franchise owner, Marco Da Silva.
Marco knows the potential of the South African coffee market from first-hand experience. In 2007, Marco and his cousin Dylan launched renowned Mokador Coffee in Johannesburg, operating as the sole distributors of this premium Italian roasted coffee brand to the South African market.
Marco knows from his experience that the South African market differs from the Australian and English marketplace, even though the coffee culture is quickly developing, it remains about 10 years behind. However, the demand for quality coffee is growing rapidly and so Marco feels this is the perfect time to introduce Cafe2U’s mobile franchises to the market, as there is a definite space for Cafe2U.
“Many of the businesses in South Africa are in business parks meaning employees need to drive to get to their local café. Cafe2U offer amazing coffee and café style bites served at your business address, which is a concept we believe consumers will be very excited about,” says Marco.
“We cannot wait to launch our first van into the market and introduce South Africa to the amazing coffee in the most convenient way possible. The South African coffee scene is going through a mini revolution,” adds Marco.
With a population of just over 50 million, Cafe2U International’s Managing Director Derek Black believes this is a rare opportunity for Cafe2U to be part of the evolving demand for quality espresso coffee in South Africa.
“Cafe2U is already the largest mobile coffee franchise in the world and this development in the South African market marks the beginning of a powerful new clientele and incredible growth opportunity,” says Derek.
Cafe2U have won a multitude of awards for their franchise business model, their coffee and for their service levels. Founded in Australia, Cafe2U has been operating the business for 10 years and have expanded their franchise model to the UK 5 years ago. They already have over 50 franchise partners across the UK, and over 100 in Australia and have successfully launched in the US in 2011.
If you would like to find out how Coconut Creatives can help your franchise generate great PR please click here
Feb 1, 2012 | Coconut Workshops, Events
With the franchise industry changing fast, it’s vital to keep up with the latest thinking for franchise recruitment. This is a unique opportunity to gain up to date insight on the latest marketing techniques that can help boost your franchise recruitment.
Topic: How To Improve Your Franchisee Conversion to 1-in-28
Date & Location: 30th May 2013 – Midlands
Places available: 10
View our 3 minute workshop video
Coconut Creatives is the ONLY franchise marketing specialist offering workshops that bring together independent experts in the key fields of marketing, PR, copywriting, branding, social media and events to show you how they all effectively combine to produce excellent results.
You’ll take away some really valuable pointers to utilise within your own business, including:
- Your perfect business ‘elevator pitch’ for use on flyers, prospectus & at exhibitions
- Top copy tips for franchise advertising and PR
- Franchise branding ideas to help you stand out from the rest
- Video concepts that get prospects listening to you
- An applied budget matrix to manage your recruitment
- A professional structure for your marketing
- Benchmarking your current performance against other Franchisors – see how you currently perform!
- Plus, personal feedback on our 1 to 1 afternoon sessions, worth £450!
“Warm, engaging and creative workshop. We found the day extremely motivating covering so many relevant topics inspiring us to move forward with many of the ideas given.”
Janet Walmsley, OSCAR.
Current Promotion
Places booked 6 weeks in advance will be entitle to our early bird offer – 2 places for the price of 1.
Email Lucy or call 01725 511673 to check availability, for more information, an agenda or a booking form.
Sep 5, 2011 | Clients in the Media
Coconut Creatives’ client news: Driver Hire franchisee takes success into his own hands
Gee Bains owns Driver Hire’s franchise in South East London. Based in Cannon Wharf, his office is part of a nationwide network of almost 100 offices, specialising in providing recruitment services to the logistics sector. Driver Hire supplies some 3,000 personnel each day, mainly drivers and other logistics staff, to organisations in the public and private sectors.
Gee bought his franchise in May 2010 and is a fast-rising new star at Driver Hire. Recently named the network’s Office of the Month, in only his first full year of trading, Gee is on track for annual sales in excess of £700,000 – close to the Driver Hire average of £735,000. This performance is even more impressive when you consider that it is more than twice the £353,000 average turnover for a franchise in the UK, as revealed by the latest bfa/NatWest industry survey.
So how did Gee, still in his early 30s, come to choose to invest in a franchise, and more specifically in Driver Hire? His background is in IT and he had worked for a leading City law firm for over ten years. However, an entrepreneurial spirit was obviously lurking just below the surface – Gee’s father has his own successful business – and once the decision was made to become self-employed, there was no turning back.
Personal Recommendation
“I’d been looking for an investment opportunity for some time, and in fact had first spoken to Driver Hire a couple of years earlier, but the right opportunity wasn’t available at the time. A good friend of mine, Manjit Singh, is the owner of Driver Hire Enfield and he recommended the business to me. I knew how successful Manjit had become and naturally that appealed to me. Manjit is responsible for his own success of course, but he also explained how valuable being part of a successful franchise had been to him, especially through the recession. The package of support that Driver Hire provides really is second-to-none. It’s a franchise with a 50-strong Head Office team, all dedicated to helping make your business a success.”
Extensive Support Package
Driver Hire is a B2B management franchise, operating in a highly legislation and compliance-led industry. Over the years there has been an enormous investment on the part of the franchisor in ensuring that all of its franchisees have a detailed understanding of the relevant rules and regulations, but also in developing systems, processes and training that make day-to-day operations as uncomplicated as possible. This in turn enables the network to deliver market-leading quality standards.
The extensive package of support includes: administrative functions such as invoicing and payroll; a bespoke IT system which takes care of bookings, candidate and customer records, and helps to ensure legislative compliance; a National Accounts team, which delivers centrally-won business opportunities; a Marketing team providing a steady stream of professional marketing resources; and a dedicated Area Development Manager. Franchisees who follow the system and operate their business effectively can take home 10-12% of turnover and of course, build up significant capital value as their business grows.
Keeping it Simple
“It’s actually quite a simple business,” says Gee. “Recruitment is just bringing people together – finding the best match between people who are looking for work, with other people who need staff. We now also have a thriving additional revenue stream in driver training. What I love about my business is the fact that every day is different. I get a real buzz from helping my customers; sorting out their problems and helping them achieve what they are trying to do. The rewards are excellent too. If you are well organised, with great people skills and have the determination to build your own successful business, you should take a closer look at Driver Hire.”
You can find out more about the Driver Hire franchise opportunity by calling 0844 846 0031. Alternatively, visit www.driverhire.co.uk/franchise or email franchise@driverhire.co.uk
