Really Awesome Coffee
Financial Plan
Liquid capital
Lowest initial contribution, including the van deposit and start-up pack
Total investment
Franchise fee, including £5,000 of stock and equipment (£19,950)
Average annual revenue
Turnover per van, as stated by the franchisor
The Concept
- Year of creation
- 2010
The UK's largest mobile coffee van franchise, taking a gourmet coffee round to workplaces rather than the high street.
A Really Awesome Coffee franchise is a mobile café rather than a coffee shop, and the company describes itself as the UK’s largest mobile coffee van franchise with over 100 vans operating in assigned territories nationwide.
The business was founded in 2010 in Coventry by Kevin Haswell, who noticed that people were still queuing outside cafés for their daily coffee despite the recession. He raised finance, remortgaged his house, and launched with the office in his back garden and the first van parked on his driveway. The company is now in its fifteenth year of trading.
Franchisees serve gourmet coffee, hot drinks, frappés and smoothies alongside hot and chilled food, confectionery and snacks, working Monday to Friday on rounds serving local businesses, with the option of weekend events and corporate or private bookings. Each van is a Mercedes Vito conversion, designed with the barista and driver in mind and converted by the company at its own head office workshop.
Why Choose the Franchise Really Awesome Coffee?
Territory is assigned but not restrictive. The company states that it does not limit where a franchisee may trade, on the basis that it is the franchisee’s own business, while protecting each partner’s regular customer list so that franchisees cannot poach one another’s customers.
Two pieces of proprietary technology support the round. The Really Awesome App alerts customers when a van is on its way and lets them pre-order to avoid the queue. RAPoS, the company’s own electronic point-of-sale system, links to the customer app, syncs with online coffee route maps and generates coffee-stop specific reports used to guide business development. The software is designed for mobile catering rather than adapted from a café or bar system, and is available to franchisees only.
No prior business or hospitality experience is required. Training runs to two weeks, with the first spent in the field alongside a dedicated Franchise Development Manager, and covers professional barista skills, bookkeeping, sales, customer service, general business management and hands-on work with the company’s technology. The launch pack includes a Premium Start-up Pack valued at over £5,000, and the company works with established finance partners including Mercedes-Benz and HSBC’s Franchise Unit.
Multi-van ownership is common across the network, with individual franchisees having built fleets of three, four and five vans in territories from Milton Keynes to Lanarkshire and Ballymoney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you open a Really Awesome Coffee franchise in the UK?
Yes, and no prior business or hospitality experience is needed. The company states that training and ongoing support provide the necessary skills. Each franchisee is assigned an exclusive territory, though the company does not restrict where they may trade, while protecting each partner’s regular customer list.
How much does it cost to open a Really Awesome Coffee franchise?
The lowest initial contribution is just under £10,000, which includes the deposit on the Mercedes van, the Fast-Track Training and Launch Programme, a Premium Start-up Pack valued at over £5,000 and some initial working capital. The van is usually bought on hire purchase over five years, and contributing more up front reduces the monthly repayments.
How much does a Really Awesome Coffee van turn over?
The company cites turnovers exceeding £100,000 a year per van. Ongoing costs are a Management Services Fee, which the franchisor describes as roughly equivalent to the ex-VAT sale price of three cappuccinos a day.
What technology does Really Awesome Coffee provide?
Two systems built for the mobile round rather than adapted from a café. The Really Awesome App alerts customers when a van is on its way and allows pre-ordering to skip the queue. RAPoS is the company’s own point-of-sale system, which links to the app, syncs with online route maps and produces reports for each individual coffee stop.
What training is provided?
Two weeks, the first spent in the field alongside a dedicated Franchise Development Manager, covering professional barista skills, bookkeeping, sales, customer service, general business management and hands-on work with the company’s technology.
How big is the network?
Over 100 vans operating in assigned territories nationwide, with the company describing itself as the UK’s largest mobile coffee van franchise.
Can you buy a coffee van without joining the franchise?
Yes. Really Awesome Coffee offers a standalone van conversion service separate from its franchise network, without the additional equipment, business systems training, set-up services or ongoing support, and with no ongoing fees.
Who founded Really Awesome Coffee?
Kevin Haswell, in 2010 in Coventry, after noticing that people were still queuing outside cafés for their daily coffee despite the recession. He raised finance, remortgaged his house, and launched with the office in his back garden and the first van on his driveway.
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