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Where can I buy a Starbucks Franchise ? (hint, you can’t)

Written by: Chris

Article Overview: Judging by the volume of queries made in search engines and forums, many people aspire to the status of Starbucks franchisee. If you´re one of them, you´re out of luck. Almost every Starbucks outlet is a wholly company-owned and operated venture. (Exceptions are institutions at places like airports that operate through a license agreement.). Fortunately, this doesn´t mean you have to give up your dreams of owning a coffee shop franchise. A host of attractive alternatives exist in the lucrative coffee shop franchise market, many of which are giving Starbucks a run for its money

Where can I buy a Starbucks Franchise ? (hint, you can’t)

There's something alluring about owning and operating a coffee shop. Perhaps it's the seductive idea of spending your days amid the hiss of espresso machines and aroma of freshly-brewed coffee. It makes good business sense too. That the USA and Canada are coffee-centric is shown by the fact that industry annually grosses over $10 billion. And coffee is a relatively low-overhead business with a high profit potential. Plus you get regular repeat customers. Some rely on you to help them start their day; others spend hours relaxing on your premises. And all the time they’re ordering cups of your coffee, or other drinks or snacks, all of which have a big mark-up. It's a great business, but you just found out that Starbucks doesn't offer franchises.

Not to worry. You'll be pleased to know that there are an abundance of other successful coffee companies that do offer franchises. What's more, they've got an individuality that Starbucks lacks, and they're surprisingly affordable and offer some intriguing benefits.

Take for example, Sonoma Coffee Café (SCC). A newcomer to the coffee franchising scene, SCC offers a simplified, turnkey package with a relatively low franchise fee of $25,000 and royalties of %4. SCC outlets also offer smoothies, teas, cocoas and frozen coffee drinks, along with the standard hot brews.

With a required investment of $180,000 and up, Sonoma Coffee offers a full range of franchising assistance including finance, site selection, complete equipment and interior décor package installation, along with in-store training and ongoing marketing support.

If you prefer a coffee shop with a concept, take a look at Jazzman's Cafe. This Allentown, Pennsylvania-based enterprise opened its first location in 2000 and has since expanded to over 200 locations in 39 states (as of September 2007). Nations Restaurant Reviews awarded them the Hot Concepts! award for innovation in 2004.

Jazzman's Cafe offers franchisees their own proprietary roasted coffees. These come certified from the major world sources such as Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and USDA Organic.

Jazzman's Cafe franchises require a cash investment of $100,000 and a total investment of $323,825 - $456,100 for a full-service cafe. This figure does not include real estate and land development. The franchise fee is $19,500 and the royalty rate is 5%. Passive ownership is allowed but owner operators are preferred.

The franchisor provides three weeks of training with a certified trainer together with two weeks of on-site support. For promotions, each franchise location gets quarterly promotions that include recipes, procedures, point of sale materials, banners, handouts.

These are just two of the many quality coffee shop franchises available. Take a look online and find one that appeals. Then contact the franchisor for more information. You’ll surely find something that suits you taste and budget.

Owning and running a coffee shop is a rewarding business with great profit potential. Doing it through a franchise helps you get set up in the quickest and easiest way. So enjoy a coffee at Starbucks but remember for your franchise success, there are many quality companies ready and willing to help you get started.

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Article Tags: allentown pennsylvania, business sense, caf, coffee companies, coffee drinks, coffee shop, complete equipment, espresso machines, franchise fee, franchisees, frozen coffee, good business, individuality, jazzman, royalties, s cafe, site selection, sonoma, starbucks, turnkey package



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Starbucks: Licensing vs Joint-Venture - Hello there i have a few questions, i would like to hear from you some ideas and opinions for my case study... 1) Why do you think Starbucks has recently elected to expand internationally primarily through local joint-ventures, to whom it licenses its format, as opposed to a pure licensing strategy? 2) And I was also wondering, what are the advantages of a joint-venture entry mode for Starbucks over entering though wholly owned subsidiaries? On occasion, Starbucks has chosen a wholly owned subsidiary to control its foreign expansion, e.g. uk or thailand? why? 3)And which theory of FDI best explains the international expansion strategy adopted by Starbucks? Thanks for helping me... Best Guy
Re: Why isn't Starbucks instant coffee selling? - I believe that's their strategy... Starbucks is making breakfast sandwiches and bagels now. They're definitely preparing for battle. Maybe there will be Starbucks Diners in the future?
The Starbuck's experience - [quote="Sebastien":3j66y8cv]Being French, I don't really understand what you call the Starbucks experience. We didn't have coffee shops in France until a couple years ago when (surprise!) Starbucks came in. So what's the Starbucks experience? Waiting in line 10 minutes for a cup of coffee? haha I think I understand what you're saying though. I think Starbucks has had tough competition lately with a bunch of coffee shop brands popping up and this is a natural move away from their core business (an actual coffee shop). We're seeing that Starbucks are actually not as profitable as everybody thought. As a side note, I've always said that some day there will be a huge financial scandal about Starbucks. A company just can't grow that fast in a healthy way. Anyways. So Starbucks is calling back founder and old CEO (I'm too lazy to look up his name on Google) to put Starbucks back on track and these vending machines might be some of his first projects. I think it is great to take advantage of such a good brand and do extend it further than a coffee shop.[/quote:3j66y8cv] Hi Sebastien, According to branding expert Martin Lindstrom, "Starbucks' objective is to create an intimate and even romantic atmosphere...The lighting is subdued to keep it cozy. The chairs and floor may be a little scuffed, but that makes it feel comfy and homely, and less intimidating...The music is soothing and sophisticated" (BRANDsense 158). So the Starbucks experience is essentially founder Howard Schultz's recreation of the coffee bar culture in Milan and the reason why they feel they can charge people outrageous prices for coffee. In fact, Starbucks isn't selling coffe, they're selling a unique and memorable brand experience to their customers.
Re: Enticing Franchises - Top 9 List - All Franchise listed above are in millions of dollars. Do you have the list of Franchise in thousands
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.


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