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franchise.co.nz – PUTTING PEOPLE IN BUSINESS
he new owners of Black & White Coffee Cartel in Timaru only
picked up the reins in late September this year, but with their
formidable combination of skills they are confident they’ve made a solid
investment. “We took on a big responsibility, not only with the business
but inheriting 16 staff,” explains co-owner Amanjodh Singh. “While it’s
hard to evaluate the data so early on, we know numbers are up because
all our friends have started coming!”
If location has anything to do with success in the café world, the Timaru
Black & White Coffee Cartel outlet has it in spades. “One of the big
attractions was the location,” says Amanjodh. “Bang alongside the
newly developed Bunnings, it has a Woolworths on the other side,
oodles of parking, and the showgrounds opposite. From that perspective
alone, it is a winner.”
Friends and co-owners of the new enterprise along with their respective
wives, Amanjodh and Jaspreet Singh have skills and experience in retail,
hospitality and accounting. “Jaspreet and I had often talked about a
business together,” says Amanjodh, “but, like a lot of things, it took
longer than we imagined.”
Decisions, decisions
“We decided, early on, that we would start off with a franchise because
so much has been established, such as connections in the market,
suppliers and all the stuff they already know, that you don’t! Starting
from scratch would have been much harder,” he says. “We knew we
had a good team because Jasmeet, my wife, had been working as head
chef at a big local café, and Jaspreet’s wife, Ravinder, has a wealth of
experience in catering too. The question was, what should we go for?”
Outstanding among the potential brands for the Timaru quartet was
Black & White Coffee Cartel. Established in 2014, the vision was to
build a series of coffee shops for a city being rebuilt, with its future in
mind. Reuben Thorne, Canterbury’s son of rugby, was one of the trio
that opened the first outlet in Christchurch’s Victoria Street, in February
2015. It was an immediate success, being rapidly taken to heart by a
population keen to establish a new café culture in the city. Since the
franchise model was launched in 2017, Black & White Coffee Cartel has
opened 18 cafés across the country.
Ahead of the coffee curve
Establishing a new brand is one thing but giving it a unique selling point
to make it stand out is another. “This is what really attracted us to the
brand,” says Amanjodh. “The store is very hands-on, in that every café
has an onsite coffee roaster. This means the coffee brewed in each store
is roasted right there in that store, in full view of the customers.
“Small batch roasting has many benefits; in particular, it cuts out the
middleman, and what fills each cup is of a much higher, fresher quality.
Our coffee goes from raw to roasted to drunk, all under one roof!”
In Europe, this in-house roasting has been traditional since the first
Viennese coffee houses opened, but it is new to New Zealand. As Black &
White Coffee has found, it is proving a great success among the growing
hordes of coffee aficionados in the nation.
As well as the freshest blends of coffee carefully selected from Brazil’s
Cerrado and Honduras’s La Flor regions, the Black & White Coffee Cartel
offers a wide selection of food, seasonal to local supply. “This is where
Jasmeet and Ravinder really shine,” says Amanjodh, “they both have the
experience to ensure we are meeting the high standards the franchise
has set in its baking and cooking.”
Facing the fears
Amanjodh admits that despite the long-held wish to start a business, all
four of them were very nervous about paying the bills, the mortgage and
the debt. They feel their decision to buy an established franchised brand
has been entirely vindicated. “We had excellent support throughout the
training and early periods, and we consider the fees to be reasonable,”
he says.
“Jaspreet and I were very worried about making coffee, but we’ve
learned quickly. For anyone going into this business, firstly having
an outstanding brand such as Black & White Coffee Cartel is a
must. Secondly, having a good business sense and knowing how to
manage people is an asset. No-one has left, so we must be doing OK,”
he smiles.
Passion is the ruling desire for success with the Black & White Coffee
Cartel franchise, as Chief Operations Officer Tony Yin points out. “People
are passionate about coffee, and there is no doubt that roasting on site
produces a superior product. With a passion for success and a superb
brand, potential franchisees are on to a winner.”
Get started
A turnkey Black & White Coffee Cartel café will start at around $350,000.
“As a franchise system with so many successful stores behind us, we
have favourable relationships with banks,” says Tony.
“The Timaru store has amply
demonstrated the potential
of a co-operative group to
spread the investment.
Regardless of where you live
in New Zealand, if you have
the right attitude and, most
importantly, a passion for
coffee, we’d love to help you
into a thriving business.”
COMBINING
SKILLS, AHEAD
OF THE CURVE
Opportunity: Food and Beverage
Black & White Coffee Cartel provides
grounds for passionate partnerships.
Black and White Coffee Cartel
www.blackandwhitecoffee.co.nz
Contact
Tony Yin
022 630 6622
tony.yin@blackandwhitecoffee.co.nz
Advertiser Info
Food gurus Jasmeet and Ravinder Singh