Joining Forces

Stan and Joselyn Ang (both fourth from left) with their co-owners

Want to get into the café business but lack the time or the cash? Black & White Coffee Cartel franchisees found a way

Waiata Shores is one of the most recent residential developments in South Auckland. It’s also home to one of the best cafés in the North Island – Black & White Coffee Cartel. With micro-roasting on site creating the unbeatable aroma and taste that goes with fresh-roast, fresh-ground coffee, the café on the former Manukau Golf Course is in full swing, with a profit score card well ahead of target.

It’s all thanks to a creative approach from Stan and Joselyn Ang. The coffee-loving couple wanted to find a café franchise to boost their income while continuing their full-time careers. Stan is a production line manager, Joselyn works in retail IT. With three teenagers living at home as well, it wasn’t going to be easy.

‘It might be a bit unusual, but being only in our early 40s we didn’t think it would be a problem,’ explains Stan. ‘So we started looking at café franchises. None appealed, they were all a bit the same, until we came across Black & White Coffee Cartel – the country’s first micro-roasting coffee café franchise. They were already well-established in the South Island, and the brand name sounded intriguing and different.’

Joselyn recalls, ‘Stan emailed me to say he’d found a local coffee franchisee that featured a micro-roaster working in full view of the customers. I replied, “Go for it”, and about five minutes later Stan was talking to Black & White’s Raphael Garcia. The call quickly progressed, with Raphael inviting us to go to head office in Christchurch and visit some franchisees to experience the vibrant atmosphere and the microroasting process for ourselves. We discovered that the aroma is amazing – coffee made from freshly roasted beans just smells and tastes better and fresher.’

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Black & White Coffee Cartel was launched in 2014 by brothers Bink and Luke Bowler together with former All Blacks captain, Reuben Thorne. A year later, the business was restructured as New Zealand’s first microroasting coffee café franchise by Raphael and his business partner Alan Win, and today there are 13 funky and atmospheric Black & White cafés around the country, with 5 more already confirmed.

As Stan and Joselyn learned more, their enthusiasm increased – but there was a snag. Although Black & White’s successful track record meant the bank would lend more than 50 percent of the necessary funding, the couple’s original plan was unworkable. But they weren’t going to give up, so they looked for an alternative way into business.

The Ang family had arrived from the Philippines in 2008, settling in Flat Bush where they developed a close-knit group of friends. ‘It got us thinking that with so many shared interests, including loving good coffee, there may be couples keen to join us as hands-on investors in Black & White Coffee Cartel,’ says Stan. ‘We had no idea if we could create a business entity to buy a franchise, or whether Raphael and the Chief Operating Officer, Tony Yin, would be open to the idea. Well, they were, and so were our friends. We had three discussion meetings before putting together a formal proposal and shareholder agreement.’

Making it work

‘What we have now is a team of eight couples, all with full-time jobs, who love being part-owners of a successful business, especially with the micro-roaster being such a popular and profitable point of difference.

‘One of our shareholders, who has more than 10 years’ hospitality experience, is café manager, and each shareholder is assigned to a team to handle social media, marketing & promotion, IT, operations, etc. This enables them to share their ideas and experience for the benefit of the whole business. We all trust each other and respect each other’s opinions. It means we all work hard but we can have a good work-life balance as well.

‘Black & White did all the organisation of the fit-out, trained us in operations (including the all-important coffee roasting), and even handled the initial staff recruitment – they know what they are doing and really did make it easy. Our café has seating for 48 inside and the same number outdoors, and we have a full kitchen which is kept busy – on Father’s Day, we prepared and served 200 meals! That shows how popular this franchise is.’

Affordable? Achievable!

The Black & White franchise model is not just popular – it’s highly profitable, too. ‘Micro-roasting on-site adds around $25,000 per year to a franchisee’s bottom line,’ says Raphael Garcia. That’s just one reason our combination of good coffee, good vibes and good profitability is worth investigating.

‘Another reason is the choice of locations. We have great sites available in both city and regional centres all over the North Island. The investment starts from $350,000 and we’re always happy to discuss creative options to get you into business, as Stan and Joselyn have proved.’

‘Black & White Coffee Cartel has unique appeal and a straightforward business model,’ Joselyn sums up. ‘Whether you go it alone or partner with friends, it can be achievable, fun and rewarding. Contact Tony to find out more.’

Advertiser Info

Black & White Coffee Cartel

www.blackandwhitecoffee.co.nz

Contact Tony Yin

M 022 630 6622

tony.yin@blackandwhitecoffee.co.nz