Lunch business

If you are running a successful grab and go outlet, expansion is the next logical step and while opening new premises might make sense, any owner finds the pressure of overseeing extra outlets intense. Unsurprising then, that the franchise model of renting a brand and set-up to a standalone operator is so successful. But could it work for you?

York may appear to be the ideal destination to open a café, with a varied resident population, a high density of shops, providing further potential customers, and a large number of visitors to complete the picture. But when Clare Prowse gave up her job in contract catering in London and moved to the city to join her partner, finding a site proved to be difficult.

Green Cauldron has been trading successfully in Australia for over 10 years, and was launched in the UK two years ago. The business consists of a 100 acre coffee farm in Australia, roasting facilities offsite in both Australia and the UK, and a coffee house in Liverpool, which opened its doors last year.

“The Bakehaus concept is pretty simple”, says general manager Marc Deuring, who launched the store just over a year ago. “We pride ourselves on offering high quality baked goods at affordable pricing.” German born Deuring, a son of one of the founders, came to London five years ago with a vision to bring his own German bakery to the UK.

What’s your background? As managing director of the UK & Ireland business, I am responsible for roasting over 8,000 tonnes of coffee and delivering over 20 billion cups of coffee a year out of home via leading foodservice operators and retailers. I was head hunted in 1996 by First Choice Coffee (later acquired by United Coffee in 2006). With time I rose up to board level and am now the key driver behind the company’s sales growth. I have been with United Coffee for 15 years, and in the hospitality industry for 20.