In searching for a business opportunity, there is a great deal of research to do. That research should begin with answering two key questions: what kind of business interests you and how would that business meet consumer demands?
Many prospective franchisees answer those questions by landing on the breakfast industry.
That’s because Americans have places to be. Whether it’s positive or negative for the country in general, our lives have clearly grown busier in the last few decades, making our time even more valuable. The consistent growth of the breakfast franchise industry is largely due to food and coffee brands meeting that demand.
Though the foodservice industry largely took a hit in the era of COVID-19, many openings for success still exist. Let’s breakdown the reasons why a breakfast franchise can continue to grow throughout the current uncertainty, and what to look for in a franchise opportunity.
While cliché states that breakfast serves as the “most important meal of the day,” the same has become true for the foodservice industry. In the past decade, breakfast has become the largest opportunity for growth for restaurants, both dine-in and fast-casual.
By 2017, data had shown a clear pattern in consumer behaviors — breakfast can earn a restaurant the industry’s most loyal customers. While gaining new customers is always one goal of growing a business, loyalty and repeat business is the strongest indicator of sustaining success.
Beyond capitalizing on American’s ever-growing breakfast habit, entering the industry with a breakfast franchise offers other advantages over lunch or dinner options. Particularly as described in Eater’s review of the strengths of the breakfast business, those advantages include lower ingredient costs — and therefore higher profit margins — compared to other meals.
Then, those strengths become magnified by business models, including drive-thru options.
Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in America, the drive-thru model had consistently proven to be a marker for success in the foodservice industry.
Since the 1970s, Americans have grown increasingly reliant on drive-thru options, accounting for about 70 percent of the business for most fast-food companies by 2018. That trend carried over from food into other services such as dry cleaning, prescription pickups, and many others.
In 2020, however, the utility of drive-thru service became as important as ever.
As the health concerns of the COVID-19 crisis forced the country into a world of social distancing and limited contact, the drive-thru has been one aspect of the foodservice industry that has not only sustained its success but actually increased it.
Drive-thru options have become so vital during the pandemic that even the vast majority of early coronavirus testing sites were based around drive-thru setup. Despite customers experiencing some longer wait times, the increase in drive-thru demand continued, initiating even more innovation in an already efficient model.
Before, during, or following the pandemic, it is clear American consumers will utilize a drive-thru with confidence regarding health, timing, and simplicity.
The health and economic crisis thrust upon us in 2020 could certainly make the most courageous franchisees think twice. But the data surrounding the breakfast franchise remains one of the most confidence-inducing
That means finding a business opportunity that combines the consumer loyalty of breakfast options with the consumer demand for drive-thru service can perfectly position a franchise for the moment and the post-pandemic era.
Health crisis or not, the economic landscape that has resulted from pandemic has also put an even higher premium on the usual signs of a successful business venture.
Potential franchisees need to know the financials behind each opportunity, such as franchise fees or required overhead, as well as the impact location may have on their prospects.
Scooter’s Coffee®, the Midwest-based coffee franchise built upon a drive-thru model, meets both of those needs along with several of the other hallmarks a prospective business owner should hope to find in a franchise opportunity.
Rated as one of QSR’s Ten Best Franchise Deals for the second consecutive year in 2020 — described as a “sustainable business model perfectly positioned to dominate during and after COVID… ” Scooter’s Coffee has ridden its drive-thru kiosk model, along with low overhead, to continued growth.
Considering the challenges facing entrepreneurs and potential franchisees, both in 2020 and entering 2021, a drive-thru breakfast outlet may not only be the safest opening in a return to successful business but also the most exciting.
