Second Cup Coffee Company expands it's franchise network in the UK

A new franchise in the UK, Second Cup café in Birmingham opened last November. We interviewed the franchise owner, Jags Manhota, on what it means to open such a franchise and how the first half year went.

The third franchise of Second Cup Coffee Company in the UK, this Birmingham café opened after existing franchise territories in London and Manchester. Additional franchise territories will open in Putney, Harrow, Cardiff and another one in London.

Jags talks about the expansion plans:

"Second Cup franchise have a very ambitious vision to have 500 cafes in the UK within 10 years. I’m pleased to say that it’s likely that by the end of the year there will be 10 in the UK."

Talking about what this brand has to offer and why he chose it, the Birmingham franchisee says:

"We bring something different that our competitors can’t bring, which is a huge variety of coffees. We are not constrained to the single bean, but lots of different coffees, like Cuzco from Peru, Columbian, Indonesian, Brazilian, Ethiopian as well."

Location, location, location

Let us say that a local entrepreneur has got a fair amount of money which they can invest in opening a franchise. Jags says he invested over a quarter of a million pound to open Second Cup café franchise in Birmingham New Street. The next step is finding a suitable location for your franchise territory.

For Jags, finding the right franchise territory proved difficult. He had to convince the new brand was worth it. The entrepreneur explains:

"The hardest part was convincing local landlords that we were a great brand that they should have. And that process took almost 2 years."

Why would you open a franchise?

I asked Jags why he chose to open a franchise rather than his own, local business. For one, it is experience: he worked with McDonald’s for more than two decades. Then he decided to open this Second Cup café franchise.

Talking about what franchising is about and why he chose this coffee franchise, Jags says:

"Franchising is a collaboration between a local entrepreneur and a system that works. And Second Cup franchise International works. It’s all over the Middle East, it’s coming into Europe, Switzerland, France, the UK. The products come from Second Cup, and the hospitality is delivered locally by our staff."

Jags names a few advantages of running a franchise:

• the support the big Franchise head office gives you;
• the franchise training they bring;
• the ideas which have been done and tested and proved successful;
• the franchisee offers the local knowledge to the big brand.

Anybody interested to do the same and run their own franchise as he did should just contact the director of the European franchising department, by submitting a request form.

How long does it take to train a barista?

None of the 14 staff members currently working in Jags café franchise had any previous coffee experience. One of the 6 baristas, Joss Nichols, won the International Second Cup World Championship!

But how does a barista get trained with Second Cup?

According to Jags, it takes at least a week of online training, going through 21 modules. These cover Second Cup history, origins of the coffee and teas sold, knowledge on costumer interaction and hospitality.

Jags adds:

"To be a good barista I’d say you’re always learning."

Please submit a request form for further information on this Coffee Franchise