Sip into a terrific business opportunity

In the fast growing coffee business, Internationally acclaimed Green Beans Coffee Company carries a mission to provide a terrific cup of coffee every time, the highest quality food options and a friendly, welcoming environment to its patrons. It is a brand that serves 20,000 cups of coffee every day all over the world. It’s COO, Brian Laliberte spoke exclusively to Franchise India on the growth of the brand in India and how he strongly believes that the beauty of being a Franchise Owner is that you can control your own success!

Tell us about your different business models.

Green Beans Coffee Company has 3 flexible Café concepts: a Dine-in Café Concept, an Express Café Concept and a Kiosk Café Concept.

What are the key differentiators between owning and operating a Green Beans Coffee Café vs. a coffee store like Starbucks, Costa Coffee or Café Coffee Day?

Green Beans Coffee has distinguished its brand by serving coffee in all types of markets; from US Military bases in active conflict zones, to high-volume airports in American cities, to high-traffic street locations. We serve 20,000 cups of coffee every day all over the world, and we’re proud of every single cup. Green Beans Coffee brand is distinguished by offering the highest-quality coffee and gourmet menu items, especially our fresh-baked Flavored Muffins, Cakes and Pastries, in a welcoming, friendly café environment with exemplary customer service.

What qualities you seek in a prospective franchisee?

We are seeking ambitious, driven owner candidates that are motivated to grow the Green Beans Coffee brand regionally in an impactful way leveraging supplies, infrastructure, staff and marketing to create mind share and develop customer loyalty quickly. We at Green Beans Coffee believe it’s important to take ownership of your business through direct guidance and immediate supervision, to ensure it is operated correctly and efficiently.

We assist in the training and development of your staff to effectively operate a Green Beans Coffee facility; however it is your responsibility to execute the collaborative plan for building your business and developing a substantial base of loyal customers. Our preferred candidate for Area Developer and/or Master Franchisee understands all details of the operation and will assist with developing a strong infrastructure to open and expand quickly. Prior Management Experience in Retail and/or the Food Industry and understanding of the requirements of managing a retail food location is critical to being successful in both the short-term and long-term.

Where across the globe is Green Beans Coffee located?

Our cafés are spread across the United States, Middle East, West Asia, East Africa and Japan.

What training and support will be available to partners?

We will work closely with the team you assemble to develop a plan for café operation tailored to your specific needs, especially the initial opening and train-the-trainer protocols. Additionally, over the past two decades, we have had exceptional success with Café Managers from the Indian Sub­continent in long-term positions at many of our Middle Eastern and African locations, and can make their contact information available to you for leadership consideration. Further, Green Beans Coffee makes a large library of current marketing collateral available to all franchisees, including digital files for branding, product-focused photography and signage, new product introductions, seasonal offer­ings, grassroots and promotional print-ready artwork.

How long does it take to open a Green Beans Coffee Café?

It should take approximately 120 to 180 days to open a Green Beans Coffee café. Once the Area Developer or Master Franchise agreement is signed, site selection will start immediately and should be completed within 60 days; 30 days is needed for design and café layout plus up to 90 days for procurement of equipment and invento­ry, and completion of the build-out.

How much money can I make operating a Green Beans Coffee Café?

As a Green Beans Coffee Franchise Owner, you have the benefit of high consumer demand for super premium coffee products and gourmet fresh-baked products that are sweet and savory, to meet the demands of all day-parts for optimal sales opportunity. While we have 18+ years of success opening and operating cafés around the world, the financial return you realize as an owner-operator depends how well you implement the Green Beans Coffee system for products and services, and your own initiative; how aggressively you market yourself and your business. There are also external factors that will impact the level of success you have including local economics and costs, and competition, however we provide our Franchisees with best-in-class support every step of the way.

What are your expansion plans for India?

We are working with Franchise India to maximize our opportunities here. We are positive on signing a Master Franchise deal soon and are looking forward to opening a minimum of 2-3 outlets by late 2016, ideally in a large metropolitan city like Delhi or Mumbai. Our long-term target is to open 300 stores in the next 10 years pan-India.

Franchise facts

So, in case you have a keen interest in running your own Cafe franchise for the brand and many more brands in the same sector, don't miss to be a part of the grand event Franchise India 2015, 13th International Franchise and Retail Show 2015 on 18th and 19th October @ Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.