Market Focus glorious food
growing interest in the nutritional value of the food we eat. It’s not just the quick-service food sector that’s booming, either. With coffee remaining the second largest commodity sold within Europe, coffee shops and mobile coffee businesses, such as Cafe2U, are also big news in the UK with many franchisees making a successful living from investing in this sector. Here four franchisees working in the food and drink industry tell their stories.
Riverford Organic
In what way did your earlier experience help?
Having worked in sales and marketing, I think it put me in a great position to take on a franchise. In any business sales and marketing are crucial, so being able to take a lead in those areas has helped me to build my business. I am comfortable either selling face- to-face or over the phone, and I am interested and experienced in marketing, which will help me to continue to build my business.
Simon Harrop was working in a regional marketing role in Hong Kong before he decided to take the leap into franchising. He now runs a Riverford Organic franchise, organising the delivery of fresh organic produce to his customers across Surrey and South London.
How did you go from a marketing role to running a franchise? My background is in business-to-business marketing. After working as a travel agent for a few years, I went back to university to do a masters in marketing and then went on to work for a homeless charity in their marketing team and then for an international market research company. Immediately before I took on my Riverford franchise, I was working in Hong Kong in a regional marketing role. The idea of a franchise always appealed to me, as I wanted to be my own boss, and the idea of being supported in that as part of a franchise network was reassuring. Having said that, I looked at countless franchises and thought I would never find one that appealed to me. But then I saw the Riverford Organic franchise. It was perfect for me, appealing to
Did you have an interest in organic food before joining the company? Yes I did. I knew about veg box delivery before, from when I lived in London. My interest came initially from a concern for the environment, but also from looking into our food system in this country and a desire to find out where my food was coming from. It was something I felt very passionate about, which made me feel that it would be something I could sell to other people.
What are the best things about franchising?
I think the idea that you are running your own business, but are not alone. You are still part of a group trying to achieve the same thing. When I have a problem or want to talk about something then I have people to talk to – either my peers or the team at the farm, who are very supportive and will listen to what I say.
How has the business fared during the economic downturn? We have done well so far. I have continued to grow throughout my six years with Riverford.
my environmental concerns and the fact that it is so real. Previously I was working for big blue-chip companies that I had no empathy for and felt like I was taking part in a great meaningless enterprise. But Riverford is a real farm and a place where food is grown to feed families, so it was perfect for me. From my first visit on a trip back from Hong Kong I was very excited about the opportunity. The farm liked what I had to say and vice versa, so here I am six years later.
I have tried to use my marketing background to keep pushing the business forward, but it is certainly not something I feel complacent about. Our product is not premium priced and people do still need to eat, so I think there should be a place for us going forward too.
Cafe2U
Paul Newman is no stranger to franchising after spending 30 years working for McDonald’s, seven years of which involved being a business manager and running his own branch. After this time, Paul decided he was ready for a change and following some internet research, Paul discovered Cafe2U, the largest provider of mobile coffee in the UK and the franchises they offered. He now runs its Rochester territory.
Why did you decide to go into franchising?
I started working for McDonald’s when I was only a 17-year-old and progressed through their training programme, being continually promoted until I was at management level. Once I had gained the experience of running my own branch, I decided I wanted to try working with another company. I chose to continue down the route of franchising, as opposed to starting my own business from scratch, because I knew it had much more solid foundations.
Franchises also have a great network of contacts, which is something you don’t necessarily have when you start up alone. Having already proven to be a good starting point, franchising with the right company also offered a strong brand and the back-up of existing knowledge and support.
July/August 2012 |
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