Coffee Factory aims for 5 countries in 5 years, why trade franchising for central control?

Franchising lets you open branches fast with someone else’s capital. The price is scattered control. When every store has a different owner, the milk brand, the wait time and the smile at the till can change from branch to branch. The name on the sign stays the same, but the experience does not.

When the brand opens its own stores, rent, staff and stock all land on its own balance sheet. In return, every branch can run the same recipe, the same training and the same presentation. If a branch gets it wrong, the mistake belongs to head office.

According to the report, Coffee Factory processes its coffee beans in Istanbul and buys milk, food and packaging from domestic suppliers. Central operation makes more sense once supply sits in one pair of hands. If the beans and the cups both come from the same centre, there is less room for the recipe to drift at branch level.

It means a sizeable domestic network on top of today’s 45-plus stores, a bet that home demand keeps growing. IPSOS data cited by Ekonomist shows household coffee consumption in Türkiye has risen fourfold over the past decade, to roughly 1.5 kg per person a year.

The report says trademark registration and business development talks are under way in Europe and the Middle East. Which five countries will be chosen, and how many years “medium term” covers, are not disclosed. Right now you have region names, not a country list.

The chain reports a 113 percent increase in its store count over the recent period. The period itself is not given. You need that before comparing it with any other chain.

More stores mean more volume from the same supplier. In a central model, orders come from one desk and one counterpart, which usually means a longer, steadier contract.

When a brand opens its new stores itself, the door for outside investors gets narrower. Someone looking for a coffee franchise has to weigh their options again. The choice is not new in the sector either: Kahve Dünyası runs more than 300 stores without franchising them.

As chain standards rise, customer expectations rise with them. The neighbourhood café wins on familiarity and flexibility. But if the cup tastes different every day, the customer turns around at the door and walks to the chain next door.

Usually in training, not in the machine. If a new barista learns the recipe by hearing it from the last barista, every branch ends up making its own coffee. Closing exactly that gap is the reason Coffee Factory gives for going central.

If your current branches serve products and service that look alike, and the till is busy in every one of them, growing makes sense. If one branch clearly stands apart from the rest, a new branch will copy that gap. Fixing the gap first and opening the door second costs less.

Do not open a branch before the standard is written. That is not stopping growth; it is putting the steps in order.

A customer searching for “café near me” looks at the map listing and the branch details. If hours or menus differ by branch, that customer sets off with wrong information. Central management makes it possible to keep every business profile up to date from one place.

It does, as long as the data is put to work. Knowing your returning customers means seeing which product sells at which hour. Even a paper stamp card is a useful start if you record it regularly.

Put grams, milk, temperature and preparation time on one page. Pin it behind the counter, and let every new hire start with it.

Ask “what happens if this item does not arrive tomorrow?” Mark every item that depends on a single supplier. Coffee Factory’s focus on domestic sourcing can be read as one answer to that question.

An outside view that weighs format, location and brand identity together helps. We do this work as part of our brand consultancy. If you are thinking about going abroad, HuQQabaz’s branch network across 9 countries is a good read for a checklist. If you want a smaller format, Kahve Dünyası’s Algötür format offers ideas on layout and location.

According to the report, the chain is moving from a franchise model to a central operating model. The status of existing franchise stores has not been disclosed, so check the latest position directly with the company.

No country list has been announced. According to the report, trademark registration and business development talks are under way in Europe and the Middle East.

The same principle applies to one branch: if your recipes, service and supply are written down, a second branch can open at the same quality. Setting that standard before you plan growth is the safest place to start.