Starbucks Franchises And Other Coffee Franchise Opportunities

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Jon Clem

Starbucks: in only thirty-eight years, this name has become almost synonymous with coffee. With over 15,000 stores and 172,000 employees bringing in over $9 billion around the world each year, it doesn’t take a business analyst to figure out why.

Started in Seattle, WA, at the world-famous Pike Place Market, the operation started with nothing more than a storefront, some coffee beans, and a commitment to a few simple business practices: treating guests as people, treating employees as people, treating bean farmers as people, and serving a darn good cup of coffee. That was 1971, and in 2009, not a whole lot has changed. Obviously size has changed, and because of their profound growth, the company has seen some times of lapse from their original mission, but many of these seasonal trends pass with time. For the most part, they are still faithful to the people they employ, the people they buy from, and the people they serve. There is little doubt as to why they remain the industry leader.

Despite their efforts to hold true to serving their customers well, however, the people Starbucks serve do not always return the favor. In fact, from personal experience, I would venture to say that many a once faithful Starbucks customer has turned away from the corporation since they have become the far dominant force in the coffee industry, a status that we Americans like to call being "the man." Particularly since the company offers no franchising, everything about each independent location is anything but independent. Not only is Starbucks that market giant that the rebellious American spirit loves to hate, but they’ve automated and regulated everything about their coffee-making that once was such an art. Though it makes business far more convenient for both the company and the average guest, coffee connoisseurs are not amused.

But what in cappuccino’s name does any of that mean to an aspiring franchiser? There is no Starbucks franchising, so you can’t snatch a piece of their gigantic pie, but working in the shadow of a giant means that the crumbs that fall off that pie and into your hands are equally mammoth. What Starbucks loses, the smaller coffee franchise gains. With coffee-lovers and brand-name-hating freedom-fighters turning against the powerful, yet artless coffee establishment, the market is ripe for creative, alternative coffee shops to step in and meet the addiction, I mean, need.

With that said, there are a host of coffee and espresso franchises already making it in the market that you can get in on. Some are essentially like everybody else: a good business, but nothing out of the ordinary. Others, however, have earned the right to pick up Starbucks’ losses by their ingenious designs, menus, and business models.

High Point Coffee is one such franchise. What sets this company apart is their dedication to individuality. Connecting franchisees to all kinds of third-party resources, this franchisor hands off everything necessary to start and sustain a great business opportunity without requiring the use of their name, which is perfect for the customer who despises "the man."

Quickly expanding across the US, Sertinos Cafe seems at first to be an ordinary coffee shop like any other. But upon closer inspection, you find it has something that everyone else, including Starbucks, wishes they had: ambiance. Just one look inside a Sertinos Cafe location makes you want to set up shop in one of their massive, cushy chairs and stay for hours, like it was your own living room.

Thanks to Starbucks, everyone has become accustomed to African and South American coffees, but isn’t coffee made anywhere else in the world? In fact it is, and Maui Wowi Mawaiian Coffees & Smoothies proves it with coffee straight from the fiftieth state of the union. And if that’s not original enough for you, a smoothie with your coffee has to be. Either way you go, novelty is the name of the game with this one. And if novelty is the game you like to play when you start a new café franchise, no one comes close to the gleeful oddity that is Muddy Paw Wash & Coffee Bar. If you’re thinking that that sounds like a dog wash, you’re right. I guarantee that there is no other franchise you could own that combines dog-washing and coffee-drinking, so this is the option for anyone who likes coffee, dogs, and doing things a little differently.

There are really a host of franchise opportunities in the coffee business. They may never compete with Starbucks, but they never really intended to. Their intent is to be profitable for franchisee and franchisor, get new people into business for themselves, and serve the people who are tired of the same old Starbucks experience. If you are interested in all that, then a coffee franchise may be perfect for you.