The business of selling coffee for take-away is quite profitable: it requires minimal start-up and running costs, while it is highly marginal and quickly pays off. It is believed that it is not difficult to open an express coffee shop, and therefore yesterday’s and even current students often take up business without experience of entrepreneurial activity. But quite often in this area there are absolutely other stories.
The easiest way to start a coffee selling business is to take out a coffee franchise .
But if you still want to do it yourself – we offer you a step-by-step instruction from the expert of Coffee In company Vladislav Petliuk .
Prior to the opening of the first Coffee In point, we already had experience in business, in the b2 b segment , but wanted to work with a wider audience. Therefore, we have an idea to take up the field of express coffee houses.
To begin with, we analyzed competitors in the Chelyabinsk market, there were about ten at that time, and many of them are networked. Some players had 8-10 points.
The sale of coffee on take-away is often highly competitive. Moreover, coffee is not always a popular drink, because in fact few people understand it. There are cities in which it is difficult to excel in this field. For example, in Kazan they prefer tea, and in Chelyabinsk the most popular points are selling shawarma. All this can affect the success of the business, and therefore, before investing in opening the coffee to take, you need to study the market.
I always buy coffee at express coffee shops, so I often went to the competitors and I almost knew how they work. I talked a lot with the barista at the coffee shops, and this helped a lot. Typically, the barista can tell you anything you want: what revenue as customers, etc.
It is necessary to see what prices competitors have, what assortment. As a rule, the overwhelming majority of coffee houses offer the same in terms of assortment and conduct approximately the same pricing.
In terms of prices from the team does not need to break away, especially in the direction of their increase: at first, the inflated price will play against you. In extreme cases, in the future, you can increase prices.
But what about the assortment, here it is necessary to show sharpness and not to offer only those drinks that are best sold by your competitors. The presence of its special «chip» in the menu will help to quickly gain popularity.
Personal experience
When we opened, we entered into the menu such positions as coffee with Nutella , Oreo biscuit , which no one else in our city did anymore. Many people traveled to us from other parts of the city just to try an unusual product, eventually they liked coffee, and they became regular customers.
By the way, over time, the range can also be expanded, based on the needs of the audience. This is exactly what we did in Coffee In – we added coffee, pastry, granola, etc. to the coffee and bakery traditional for express coffee houses. A coffee house does not earn much on such a low-margin product, but its availability makes it possible to attract new customers.
It is believed that the main target audience of express coffee houses are students. That’s why many people try to put an end to selling coffee for take-away near educational institutions. In fact, the public who buys coffee with them can be different. Basically, these are those who work or live in close proximity to your coffee shop.
Investment size
Investments in the opening of the point of sale of coffee for take-away are small, although here one can also «wander around» by buying, for example, a dorogy coffee machine (the price of individual copies exceeds 1 million rubles). And yet, at the very beginning to spend huge amounts does not make sense, it is quite possible to keep within 100-150 thousand rubles.
Personal experience
At the start, we already paid for renting a room in the city center, at a stop, but it was in terrible condition. We found equipment, made repairs. As a result, the opening cost about 100 thousand rubles.
After 3 months we allowed ourselves to buy new equipment and in addition invested 200-300 thousand rubles in this coffee shop: we altered the bar rack, expanded it, bought equipment, and conducted an advertising campaign.
The main items of expenses in the opening of the express coffee shop:
– Rental of premises. It is unlikely to get cheap to get rid of, because the room though it should not be large, but should be located in a passable place. Such areas are quite expensive.
– Repair work. This paragraph is only valid for individual rooms. But many coffee shops open in shopping centers, and here in fact all you need is a bar counter.
– Equipment (coffee machine, coffee grinder). Its cost can be arbitrarily high, but at first it is better not to buy expensive equipment or even lease it.
Another important point is the promotion of your coffee shop.
Initially, we just opened the coffee shop and did not focus on any brand. But later we realized that it’s very difficult to survive in a highly competitive market. Therefore, we came up with our brand, and started working on its promotion. At the same time, there was no provision for promotion – the budget is very small.
In terms of promotion, it is worth using the maximum available relatively cheap channels. For example, a coffee house must have a sign. Also, if you work in a separate room with panoramic windows, you can brand them, place them on information about promotions, which will lead to you buyers.
An important element in the promotion of express coffee houses are cups. They must be made branded, because people often drink coffee, walking down the street. Thus, passers-by see your logo on the glass, it is imprinted in the subconscious.
Personal experience
At the very beginning of our work we resorted to the services of the sounders, and this also led to good results. But it is important that the distribution is not thoughtless. Our promoters presented leaflets with the «second coffee as a gift» to couples. And it attracted people, they went to our coffee shop, made purchases.
Another good advertising channel is «word of mouth». Many customers bring their friends, sometimes up to 10 people. To make this channel work, good quality is important: at first it is better to work almost without profit, than to save on coffee, syrups and other products.
Do not neglect and Internet promotion. Use «VKontakte», Instagram and other social networks – due to them it is very good to attract customers. In the case of Coffee In, paid advertising in Instagram worked well.
Step-by-step instruction
The main thing in the coffee business is coffee itself, so as soon as you analyze the market and determine the range, you need to look for coffee suppliers. There are, of course, express coffee shops that prepare raw materials themselves, but such a minority. Most often the finished product is purchased.
Good coffee is the right percentage combination of several different varieties of coffee beans and their correct roasting. If you are not too well versed in this matter, it is better to involve a competent partner in the business.
Personal experience
We found a partner who used to work in a large network of coffee houses. Go from a well-paid job from one of the market leaders to a little known at that time coffee shop – a difficult step, but he ventured. As a result, I took on all the organizational issues: accounting, sales, etc., and the partner supervised everything related to coffee.
You need to choose the supplier first of all for the price / quality ratio. Coffee can cost as much as 500 rubles, and 2 thousand rubles per 1 kg. But good coffee does not have to be expensive.
At first we bought coffee at 2,000 rubles per kilo, because we thought that the more expensive the product, the better. It turned out that the acceptable price is about 1 thousand rubles. Now we have partners in the Chelyabinsk region, which are engaged in roasting coffee. They are our main supplier. They are engaged in supplies from South America, roast coffee and prepare a mixture for us.
The second most important element of the express coffee shop is the barista. Fortunately, you are unlikely to encounter a shortage of personnel – today this profession is quite popular: when we recruited staff, on the first day fifty people responded, who put different rates for the shift – from 500 to 1.5 thousand rubles. The bad news is that really competent professionals and disciplined employees are hard to find.
When we just started typing the barista, in a day, 50 people responded. Most of them could be swept aside in advance, as they are schoolchildren who do not even know which side to approach to the coffee machine. With a dozen of the remaining specialists, we interviewed, as a result, we eliminated another half. About five people were invited to take part in a test work day, where they worked under the leadership of an experienced barista, he watched how they prepared drinks, how well they trained. As a result, there was only one person with whom we were really ready to work. It is worth noting that not all of those who received invitations came to work.
The profession of a barista is more complicated than it seems at first glance. He should be able not only to make good coffee.
Barista should also be an excellent «salesman», as well as … a psychologist. Coffee house, even in the case when we are talking about express format, is the place where people come for communication. You need to be able to listen to the client, competently conduct a dialogue with him, while maintaining a balance – conversations should not interfere with the work.
Fortunately, for work of an express coffee-house it is necessary not so many employees – only two, working under the schedule 2 through 2. The payment of the barista on the average makes 30-40 thousand rubles. This includes an additional administration fee.
To ensure that the point for selling take-away coffee brought good revenue, you need to set the correct hours of work – it is important to «hook» the time when pedestrian traffic is most active. We work from 8 to 8 on weekdays and from 12 on Sundays. On Sunday it’s hard to get up early, no one is in a hurry, so opening the coffee shop since the morning is meaningless. The most active hours on weekdays are in the morning, around 8.00. The next peak is at 12.00, in the evening – at 18.00. Days of the week are the most active Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
But for a day you can not go and no client, if you choose the wrong place for your express coffee shop. Therefore, this issue should be given special attention.
A place
The point of sale of coffee for take-out can be placed both inside a shopping center, office building or university, and on the street. It is important that the traffic is brisk, you need active pedestrian traffic. Therefore it is advisable to sit down and count how many people are walking next to your future coffee house, at what time and what kind of people.
Another way is to see which institutions are nearby. The presence of shops of large retail chains is a good sign. Typically, they are thoughtfully approaching the choice of location, consider traffic, explore the terrain.
But not always a large number of people around – a guarantee of success. Many decide to place their express coffee shop at the railway or bus station, guided by the opinion that there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, which means there will be no shortage of customers. In fact, most transit passengers are not ready to spend 150 rubles on coffee.
But all this is rather an ideal scenario of events. In practice, places where you can actually rent a room and open up are few. A good room is difficult to occupy – it will not be empty for months.
The room itself should not be large – enough 5 sq.m. area. There are no special requirements for repair for the express coffee house. But it is desirable that the premise was branded, decorated in firm colors.
Documentation
No special permits or licenses are required to open a coffee selling point. But in order to conduct business according to all the rules, you need to register. How to do it – in the form of IP or LLC – depends on whether you work alone or with a partner. In the first case it is better to register as an individual entrepreneur, in the second – to register an LLC.
As a taxation regime, it is worth choosing a single tax on imputed income. It eliminates the need to report on other types of taxation, such as, for example, corporate property tax. The tax rate depends on the number of employees and the area of the institution, so in the case of express coffee, the amount of payment will be small. As OKVED, it is necessary to choose code 55.30 – «Activity of restaurants and cafes».
No reconciliation with SES, fire supervision or other authorities is not necessary. Just tell the state authorities that you have opened. By law, the first three years you can safely work without fear of inspections. Of course, in the event that no one has complained about your activities.
There are certain limitations. For example, you can not open coffee and shawarma in one place: different sanitary requirements.
Check-list of opening
- Registration of the legal entity;
- Registration for tax inspection;
- The filing of an application for the application of UTII,
- Search for a rental location;
- Analysis of lease options (traffic counting, location estimation),
- Signing a lease,
- Search for coffee suppliers;
- Search for equipment suppliers;
- Conclusion of contracts with suppliers;
- Creation of design of a trading rack / signboard / kiosk design;
- Order for the manufacture of the stand / sign / kiosk design;
- Repair of the premises (if necessary);
- Purchase of necessary bar stock;
- Drawing up a coffee card;
- Purchase of consumables for the first two months (coffee, milk, disposable cups with a volume of 200 and 400 ml, covers, spoons);
- Composition of the list of additional assortment;
- Purchase of additional assortment;
- Installation and installation of the rack and equipment;
- Search barista;
- Training barista;
- Development of advertising campaign and promotion strategy;
- Create accounts in social networks;
- The beginning of the advertising campaign;
- Notification of Rospotrebnadzor on the commencement of activities;
- Opening.
Is it profitable to open
Take-away coffee is a reasonably profitable business thanks to a high margin for products. The cost price of a cup of a drink, which includes the costs of coffee itself, a glass and various topings, can be increased for the final buyer by 500%. Although not all drinks are the same. For example, an American – low-margin product, but on a frappuchino extra charge is higher.
Thanks to the large wrapping this business quickly pays off.
Personal experience
With the first coffee house, everything was quite difficult for us, because there was no experience in this business. Therefore, to pay off, it took us 5 months. But it is possible to repay costs more quickly, for example, by purchasing budgetary professional equipment or even renting it.
It is worth noting that the prices in Coffee In several times rose. But you need to raise them competently, so that it does not scare away the final buyer. Our prices grew slightly in monetary terms, an increase of 10 rubles.
Average attendance of the Coffee In Express coffee house is 100-120 people. The average check is about 125 rubles.
The business is seasonal – the demand for coffee is falling in the summer. Most coffee houses do not even work: they are closed for the summer period and again open from September. We worked in the summer with a small revenue, for us it was a difficult time. We opened in February, finalized until May, while untwisted, and after the volume of revenue fell sharply. Overcame the seasonality due to the summer menu: Frapuchino, lemonades, etc.
But the business of selling coffee with itself is associated with many risks. The main one is the wrong choice of a barista.
You can not take a schoolboy 500 rubles per shift, because everything is built primarily on sales.
We train our own employees to sell: more experienced employees are leading newcomers. If someone does not work well, we fire him, and in his place we take a new employee, who leads additional clients with him. Coffee shops mostly survive on regular customers.
Theft is rampant in this area, so staff control is important. To do this, we use the CRM-system, where each barista is contributed by each barrel, the price is also displayed there. Another control tool is video cameras. If the seller sold some position and did not bring it into the system, the cameras help to establish it.
And of course, the competent choice of a partner is important. We decided for ourselves that we will work only with young people, because it is easier for us to find a common language with them, they are interested.
