Cafe2U Conference 2023

Our favourite event of the year took place last weekend - the annual Cafe2U conference!

Held in the wonderful surroundings of Wyboston Lakes in Bedford, the theme of this year's conference was 'The Seven Habits Of A Successful Franchisee' and saw members of the Cafe2U management team delivering presentations and workshops to the 60+ franchisees in attendance to help ensure they have another successful year in 2023.

The seven aforementioned habits are:

• Be proactive

• Begin with the end in mind (have long-term vision)

• Put first things first

• Think win-win (mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers)

• Seek first to understand, then to be understood (inc social media)

• Synergise (creative cooperation)

• Sharpen the saw (practise, practise, practise)

Kicking off with an introductory speech from Franchise Development Manager Nick Sara and an overview of the UK coffee market from CEO Martyn Ward, Head of Coffee Standards Callum Ellis then gave a presentation about coffee quality and its importance to franchisees and customers.

A series of workshops were held in the afternoon and covered topics including the importance of forging strong relationships with suppliers, getting the most out of social media and how to improve your coffee making skills. Representing an invaluable opportunity for our franchisees to expand upon their already impressive knowledge, the workshops went down a storm, with every session getting a great turnout.

Concluding the day's work was a Q&A session with CEO Martyn and the Franchise Development Management team which gave the franchisees the opportunity to ask any questions that came to mind, and for the presenters to answer questions that had been submitted earlier in the day via a question box located on site.

As evening fell, it was time for dinner and an awards ceremony, as attention switched firmly from work to play. With amazing food to enjoy, awards up for grabs - including the coveted Franchise Partner of The Year award, which was picked up by Amanda and Steve Lawrence, who operate in Braintree - and four-piece rock band Twist of Rock providing the tunes, our franchisees had a great time celebrating and dancing the night away.

CEO Martyn Ward said: "As ever, the annual Cafe2U conference was a great success. As well as celebrating both the franchisees' and the business' achievements in 2022 - which was our best year ever for both sales and sales growth - the conference was also a great opportunity for the senior management team to share some knowledge and advice with the franchisees to help them succeed again in 2023.

"And, of course, it was also an excellent excuse to get together for a bit of fun and a few drinks, with many franchisees finally getting the chance to meet face-to-face for the first time ever! Needless to say, we're already counting the days until next year's event!"

Cafe2U: Through it, Stronger with Amanda Lawrence

Despite the challenges faced during the last year, Cafe2U and our franchisees have come through it stronger. Here, we take a look at some of the individual Cafe2U success stories from recent times, starting with Amanda Lawrence.

About:

Amanda Lawrence has been a franchise owner in Braintree, Essex, since November 2020.

Why did you choose to become a Cafe2U franchisee?

I was working full time as a bank manager. I have two boys and a husband who is also a bank manager. Looking for a change of scenery, I was thinking about opening a coffee shop and decided that a mobile one was a great idea as it has fewer overheads. I also liked the prospect of working on my own with no staff to manage and, theoretically, less stress!

How did you get set up?

I set up the business using my savings. 

What training and support did you have?

Cafe2U's Franchise Development Manager, Mustafa, has been incredibly supportive and has even re-built the coffee round to suit me. He has kept in touch with regular Zoom calls and has helped me liaise with the Good Till Company, the company that supplies our tills, to ensure everything in my van is running smoothly. He has also been available to offer me advice whenever I've needed it and to help me figure out exactly what I want to get out of the business.

What’s your day-to-day like?

Nice! After sitting at a desk for ten years, it's hard work but very rewarding. I love the freedom of being self-employed and the support I receive from Karen (Cafe2U's Operations Support Manager) and Mustafa has been invaluable.

What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

The main challenges for me are the aches and pains after a long day! I know they'll be worth it in the long run though, and that helps keep me going.

How to become a Cafe2U franchisee.

If you’re thinking about becoming a Cafe2U franchisee and want to discover similar experiences to Amanda, you can find out more about the process and costs here.

Amanda Lawrence set her heart on a high street coffee shop when she accepted voluntary redundancy from NatWest Bank in 2020. However, when she and her husband, Steve, considered the level of competition and the risk of dropping footfall, they decided it was better to go mobile. In November 2020 Amanda invested in a Cafe2U mobile coffee van and café franchise, serving the Braintree area.

“The resale franchise included an eight-year-old diesel van equipped with a diesel generator to drive the café equipment,” says Steve, who left his bank career to join Amanda in June 2021, “but in September 2021 we invested in a new all-electric van.”

He says: “We love it, and so do our customers. One battery drives the van and the other powers the coffee machine, refrigerator and freezer, the heated oven and the lights. There’s no noisy diesel generator and no fumes, and one overnight charge delivers more than enough power to get the van through our 45-mile round, delivering coffee and food to 25-30 local workplaces.”

The couple, from Coggeshall, Essex, have also found the electric van saves money as well as the environment.

“It saves us about £350 a month in fuel costs compared to the old diesel van,” says Steve. “Even at current electricity prices, charging both batteries nightly costs about £180 a month. There’s also no road tax to pay, so that saves about £240 a year, and because the electric engine has no clutch, gearbox or exhaust, there’s a lot less to go wrong, so it saves us hundreds of pounds on repairs and replacements.”

The van livery highlights the fact that it’s all-electric, which customers like, and Steve adds: “The cost savings mean we have not had to put up our prices to cover the increase in fuel costs.”

Cafe2U Conference 2022: Our Roundup

On Saturday, January 15th, we outlined our plans for 2022 at Cafe2U’s annual conference at The Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare.

The conference was attended by more than 60 of our 90 franchisees, as well as business partners and suppliers, including food products specialist Devonvale and van fit-out masters Dack Motor Group. It began with a speech by our CEO, Martyn Ward, in which he laid out the business' aims for the coming months.

“We are focussing on reconnecting, re-energising and having fun!”

He said: "Since we last met at our conference in February 2020, a lot has happened. When I stood in front of you in London that day, none of us knew what was about to come in the days and months ahead. But here we are, in what for many is still a very challenging time. 

“Firstly, looking around the room, the biggest thing that strikes me is the sheer number of winners we have here, those who have faced adversity and challenges of their own and worked hard to ensure that their business remains ready to serve as we start 2022. And that’s why there won’t be a single powerpoint presentation in sight today. We are focussing on reconnecting, re-energising and having fun! So speak to your suppliers, talk to other members of the team and, of course, network with fellow franchise partners, but most of all enjoy yourself!"

In the afternoon, attendees had the opportunity to experience one of our new all-electric, totally emissions-free coffee vans. The electric vans are the first of their kind anywhere in the world and are a testament to Cafe2U’s sustainable approach to business, which we intend to expand upon in 2022 and beyond.

There were also a number of sessions available for franchisees to attend with the Cafe2U head office team, ranging from accounting to barista skills and marketing. Franchisees also had the opportunity to speak to the company's suppliers about new vans, new products, new revenue streams and financial services.

“We firmly believe we have everything in place to ensure that  2022 is our best year ever!”

However, the main focus was on ensuring our franchise partners had fun, with many of them heading to the Pier’s arcade armed with bags of 2ps that were provided in their welcome packs. There was even a Fastest Barista competition with a twist, with attendees going head to head in a virtual F1 simulator battle!

The conference climaxed with an awards ceremony, which saw prizes handed out to the companies rising stars, best baristas, best new franchisees and most improved performers, before concluding with the Franchise Partner of the Year award, which was claimed by Eric Draper, a franchisee based in Manchester South West. Draper was commended for the record breaking sales he had consistently achieved.

Summing up the day, Ward concluded: "Our 2022 conference has given our franchisees and partners the opportunity to understand our ambitious plans and we're delighted to have their support going into the new year. We firmly believe we have everything in place to ensure that  2022 is our best year ever and continue to make ourselves one of the most popular choices for people looking for franchise investment opportunities this year and beyond."

Our Red Vans Are Going Green!

That's right - the nation's favourite mobile coffee company has become the first anywhere in the world to introduce an all-electric, totally emissions-free coffee van to its fleet of vehicles! Our new van launched earlier this week and can already be found serving customers.

Historically, our vans have been petrol powered with diesel generators powering the equipment. However, in 2019, we switched all the generators to emission-free lithium-ion batteries and are now in a position to begin moving away from petrol in favour of electric too. 

On the road to being the first carbon neutral coffee company

Our goal is to become the UK's first carbon neutral coffee company and to have an entire fleet of electric vans in the next few years - well ahead of the Government's ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, which doesn't come into effect until 2030. By changing the fleet to electric power, we estimate we'll save a whopping 12,672g of CO2 per year.

And that's not all. As well as boasting zero emissions, our new vehicle also features fewer moving parts and more effective brakes, meaning fewer replacement parts need manufacturing which reduces our greenhouse gas emissions further still.

To coincide with the unveiling of our first electric van, we've also launched a compostable paper cup to minimise our paper usage and our head office is currently in the process of digitising all its files ahead of a 2022 deadline to be completely paper-free. We've also switched from print to digital advertising and launched a new app to replace the old loyalty card system.

Our other existing sustainable practices

But doing everything possible to become more environmentally-friendly is nothing new for us - we've introduced several other sustainability initiatives in recent years, including the launch of a waste coffee grounds recycling scheme and replacing our plastic straws with paper alternatives.

Our Chief Executive, Martyn Ward, said: "Reducing our carbon footprint is absolutely vital to us and our customers so we're always on the lookout for new ways to become even more sustainable. We are delighted to be leading the way in the mobile coffee market with our new zero emissions coffee vans which are a world first.

"As well as being better for the environment, electric vehicles will enable our franchisees to access indoor events and emission-free zones, amplifying our pro-sustainability message even further. To be the world’s first is testament to the progressive nature of our brand and the hard work both our head office and franchisees put in each and every day."

Our Franchisees Serve up Record Sales, Despite the Pandemic

We’re delighted to say that we’ve seen both a boost in recruitment with 14 new franchise partners joining the business in the last year and now record sales for our franchisees, all despite the challenges faced during the pandemic.

When the first lockdown hit in March 2020 sales initially plummeted, however, our savvy entrepreneurs all over the country were able to keep their business ticking over by pivoting their business model to unlock new channels of trade.

Seeing their regular customers at office blocks disappear overnight, our mobile coffee van owners began servicing key workers through lockdown. This saw high demand from NHS sites, police, building sites and garages. Many of our franchisees also started branching out into supplying the demand for those having to work at home.

The success seen by our franchisees has also been due in part to a number of emerging trends with coffee and mobile catering across the pandemic:

• With at home workers now becoming ‘at home baristas’ consumers are demanding higher quality in all areas, from the grade of coffee beans to the craftsmanship of the overall drink.
  

• Home delivery has been a good business model, with customers valuing not just the coffee but the social interaction with their baristas.
  

• 2020 saw a surge of independent coffee roasters now offering retail coffee subscriptions through the post catering to the more demanding consumer.
  

• Sustainability remains a key focus, with consumers highlighting the importance of purchasing from responsible suppliers. Many have also become very conscious of supporting their local businesses and giving back to their local communities through the pandemic.

In addition to this, convenience has still proven to be a growing factor in coffee drinkers’ habits - a trend we had previously identified pre-pandemic.

As such, online ordering has been very popular and our franchisees have been able to smartly capitalise on this with the launch of the Cafe2U app. Launching this app was once something that some saw as risky in the initial lockdown uncertainty, but one which has ultimately paid off for us.

Our CEO, Martyn Ward, had this to say:

“The lasting legacy of the impact the coronavirus has had on the coffee-to-go industry will be positive for consumers and small coffee companies alike with superior quality and growing demand for convenience.”

This year we will continue to push our franchise recruitment and will aim to grow on the success of 2020 and make 2021 even better. Hopefully this will also set a positive example for others that businesses can still survive and flourish in these unprecedented times.

Cafe2U’s Christmas 2020 Launch

Christmas is just around the corner, and here at Cafe2U we are certainly getting into the festive spirit - we’ve got loads of treats and surprises for all our Cafe2U customers in the upcoming weeks! 

First things first, our Christmas cups are back with a brand new design - the Cafe2U logo has been turned into a snowflake, alongside some cute Christmas messaging. Make sure you take a picture of you and your Cafe2U cup and send it in on our social media channels, we’d love to see them.

We also have our Christmas jumper day on the 11th December, so make sure you visit our baristas who will be sporting a fabulously festive Cafe2U jumper, whilst serving up your winter warmers and Christmas classics.

And now, the main event… we’re delighted to have launched our Christmas classics menu, which sees the return of some of your favourite drinks from previous years, and brand new winter warmers. You can see a selection in the image below:

Our Gingerbread Latte returns which sees your favourite Cafe2U latte blended with a classic Christmas gingerbread flavoured syrup. We will also be introducing some brand new winter warmers, including:

• The Salted Caramel Mocha

• The Irish Cream Mocha

• The Festive Spiced Biscuit Cappuccino

• The Cinnamon Bun Cappuccino

The new winter hot chocolate range will also be returning with a few favourites and some exciting new flavours. The hot chocolate selection includes:

• Black Forest & Cream

• Hazelnut & Toasted Marshmallow

• Hazelnut Praline

• White Salted Caramel

• Millionaires Hot Chocolate

Lastly, Christmas is the season of giving so we are offering you the chance to do just that with our prepaid Christmas cards - treat a loved one with the gift of coffee this Christmas. You can pay for five coffees and receive 6, or alternatively pay for 10 and receive 12, just take your Christmas card to your local barista to redeem your gift.

To get involved in all the festivities, find your nearest Cafe2U van here.

The Brewtiful Game: The First Cafe2U Coffee Cup

With national sport on hold for the time being and the coming weekend’s FA Cup Final postponed indefinitely, we’ve decided to create our own competition celebrating the ‘brewtiful game’ with some of our most popular coffees and hot drinks!

This Friday and Saturday will see some of the world’s best cafe beverages battling it out to be crowned champions of the inaugural Cafe2U Coffee Cup.

We will be pitting the qualifying hot drinks against one another on our Instagram and on our Facebook page, giving you the opportunity to vote for the drink you believe should progress from the quarters to the semis and ultimately the much-coveted Cafe2U Coffee Cup final.

In other words, which Cafe2U hot drink favourite truly is the world’s best? Will it be a grande final for your favourite, or will it be a tough result to swallow for others? You decide!

The Fixtures

After much deliberation from the Cafe2U pundits, we’ve created the perfect blend of head to heads that should stir up a great deal of excitement!

Here’s the tasty fixture list:

Friday 22nd May - Quarter Finals

Flat White vs. Chai Latte
KO: 9:15 am
Managers: STEAve Bruce, Rafael Bean-itez

Tea vs. Hot Chocolate
KO: 9:30 am
Managers: Nuno Espressito Santo, O-latte Gunnar Solskjaer

Mocha vs. Cappuccino
KO: 9:45 am
Managers: Marcocoa Silva, Carlo Ancelatte

Latte vs. Americano
KO: 10:00 am
Managers: Nigel Tea-rson, Jose Mour-tea-nho

Semi-finals

TBC vs. TBC
KO: 4:00 pm

TBC vs. TBC
KO: 4:15 pm

Saturday 23rd - Final

TBC vs. TBC
KO: 3:00 pm