10 Best Coffee Shop Franchises in Australia
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If you have considered owning a coffee-shop franchise in Australia, you have landed on the right page.
Do you want to know about the top franchise in the Australian coffee-shop market to find the one that best suits your business goals?
Look no further.
In our ongoing series covering various franchise businesses in Australia, where we have gone from writing about the Best Hair Salon Franchises to Courier Franchises to Australian Gym Franchises.
We now move to the coffee land.
This blog will provide you with all the information about the best coffee-shop franchise in Australia.
Let’s first start with an overview of the coffee business in Australia.
While not one of the top coffee-consuming nations, Australians are fast catching up to the global trend of growing coffee culture.
As per one estimate, the Australian coffee industry is USD 5.8 billion. (Source: CoffeeAffection)
In the last five years, the number of businesses in cafes and coffee shops has grown by 4.5% per year on average in the previous five years between 2017-2022.
As per the latest figures, Australia has approximately 25,000 cafes and coffee shops as of 2022. (Source: IBISWorld)
The coffee shop business is labour-intensive, and almost 25% of the costs are related to wages.
So, by being a coffee-shop owner, you’d also generate employment opportunities for the locals.
In terms of area-wise density of coffee shops, New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland are the leading states in the country.
As for the target market for coffee shops, 88% of Australians have said they like coffee to some extent. (Source: CoffeeAffection)
Now that you have gained valuable information about the coffee-business outlook in the country let’s jump right into our list of the best franchises in the business.
Number of Franchises | 189+ |
Headquarters | New South Wales, Australia |
Founded in | 1989 |
Franchise Cost | $250,000 – $500,000 (Source: Home Loan Experts) |
Muffin Break is a bakery cafe known for its sweet and savoury bakery products.
Muffin Break originated in Canada in the 1970s and was later acquired by the Foodco Group in the 1980s.
The first Muffin Break cafe was launched in Australia in 1989 in Coolangatta, Queensland.
The cafe now boasts more than 189 Bakery franchises in Australia and around 300 stores globally, claiming to be one of the leaders in the category of bakery-cafes.
The cafe chooses to locate itself in shopping centres, airports, train stations, and predominantly in children’s play centres.
It has a licensed partnership with Crocs Playcentres. (Source: Cafe’s Official Website)
Despite being a bakery cafe, Muffin Break also serves its customers gluten-free, dairy-free, low-fat, and Wright Watchers ® endorsed products.
Number of Franchises | 300 |
Headquarters | Queensland, Australia |
Founded in | 1989 |
Franchise Cost | $450,000 and upward |
The Coffee Club is an Australian multinational coffeehouse-style cafe chain with an expanded restaurant-style menu and full table service.
The cafe was founded in 1989 with the aim to provide “an excellent coffee”.
Having been disappointed in finding a late-night coffee place in Brisbane, two friends opened the cafe. The pair (Emmanuel Kokoris and Emmanuel Drivas) decided to launch their own coffeehouse that rested on the Greek concept of ‘philoxenia’, meaning hospitality to strangers. (Source: Queensland Business Leaders)
In 1994, five years after the launch of their first cafe, the franchise operation was launched. Internationally, the business has grown to more than 300 franchising units.
Number of Franchises | 90 |
Headquarters | Port Melbourne |
Founded in | 1998 |
Franchise Cost | $300,000 – $500,000 |
Hudson’s Coffee is a friendship project started in 1998 by Ros Hudson and Mark Hawthorne.
Both were long-term friends who hailed from England and started their first coffee outlet in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.
Within a few weeks, long queues formed outside their doors.
Hudson’s sold their brand as a family-oriented coffee shop and gave generous discounts to its friends and family.
Their coffee shop was the first one to offer take-away coffee cups. (Source: Official Website)
The chain took the next leap by opening its franchise at Melbourne Airport. The offer to open the store came from the airport authorities.
Since then, Hudson has become the leading coffee shop brand at major airports in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
The brand roasts its own coffee at the location in two distinct blends.
Hudson’s Coffee has at least one store in every Australian state and territory. To own one of their franchises, you’d need an investment of $300,000 to $500,000.
(Sources: Hudson’s, Wikipedia)
Number of Franchises | 460 (1400+ globally) |
Headquarters | Castle Hill, NSW |
Founded in | 1979 |
Franchise Cost | $$244,830 – $541,600 |
One of the most well-known brands in coffee shops, Gloria Jean’s Coffees was founded in the suburbs of Chicago.
The brand is named after its founder Gloria Jean Kvetko who lived in Long Grove, a small town, just outside Chicago.
The coffee shop was a small establishment that was a combination of coffee and a gift shop.
The brand set foot in Australia in 1995.
A pair of former marketing directors of an ad agency, Nabi Saleh and Peter Irvine, established Gloria Jean’s Coffees Australia. The franchising, however, started operation a
a year later by opening two outlets back to back in Sydney.
By 2003, the Gloria Jean’s had spread to every state and territory in Australia. This landmark achievement came with the opening of the company’s store in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Gloria Jean’s success can be judged by its presence in 40 countries with over 1400 franchises.
(Sources: Gloria Jean’s, Wikipedia)
Number of Franchises | 200 (Australia and globally) |
Headquarters | North Curl, New South Wales |
Founded in | 2003 |
Franchise Cost | US$84,500 – US$107,000 (Source: Official Website) |
Not a coffee shop per se but they are a coffee business, and they do have their franchise operation.
Xpresso Delight is a producer and seller of premium coffee and coffee machines targeting the corporate world.
It seems like Xpresso Delight is on a mission to change the coffee culture in the offices.
Their marketing aggressively challenges the normal practice in the offices to leave your work
to get a good cup of coffee, only because the coffee machines do not provide fresh coffee like the one made by a barista.
Sighting research shows how leaving offices for coffee is affecting productivity and business – billions of dollars apparently – the Xpresso Delight promises not just barista-standard coffee, but regular (weekly) sales and service as well. (Source: XpressoDelight)
Their service delivery is fast and promises a same-day replacement guarantee if your coffee machine ever stops working.
With easy-to-use machines, Xpress Delight is winning-over offices through its top-quality services.
The company’s website offers valuable information with a complete breakdown of the franchise-owning process.
(Sources: VendingMarketWatch, Official Website)
Number of Franchises | 250+ |
Headquarters | Gold Coast, Queensland |
Founded in | 1981 |
Franchise Cost | $295,000. $340,000 |
A multinational brand of Australian Origin, Donut King is a doughnut company and quick service restaurant.
Despite being a doughnut-first brand, Donut King serves premium coffee to its customers.
They serve barista-made DK Coffee Blend. Cinnamon doughnuts served with coffee are one of their most popular items.
Founded in 1981 in Sydney, the coffee shop franchise is owned by Retail Food Group Limited.
Retail Food Group is a Gold-Coast-based business that also manages other coffee shops including Gloria Jean’s Coffee and Michel’s Patisserie among others.
The company openly welcomes new franchisees by offering them $10,000 in free coffee support.
The company has stores across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, China, and the UK.
(Sources: Official Website, Wikipedia)
Number of Franchises | 100 |
Headquarters | Southport, Queensland |
Founded in | 2000 |
Franchise Cost | $125,000 plus GST |
The next brand on the list is a mobile coffee shop franchise which serves high-quality espresso coffee and food items at non-traditional locations.
The concept first originated on the beaches of Sydney, Australia, in 2000.
However, the first proof of concept was launched in Leeds, UK. The coffee shop returned to
its home in 2005 by launching 12 franchises.
Not to be taken lightly for being a coffee on the wheels cafe, Cafe2U has been named “Australia’s Best Value Franchise System” by the Financial Review Smart Magazine in 2009.
Subsequently, in 2010, the brand’s exclusive coffee blend won a medal in the prestigious Golden Bean Awards. (Source: Official Website)
Currently, the company is a 100% Australian-owned company.
Cafe2U presents a lucrative business opportunity that demands no prior business experience for its franchise owners and offers a low-cost setup.
(Sources: Cafe2U)
Number of Franchises | 100+ |
Headquarters | Sydney |
Founded in | 2008 |
Franchise Cost | $300,000 to $400,000 (Source: Official Website) |
The idea of Soul Origin was conceived by two brothers and their best mate in 2008.
During the global financial crisis, when businesses were shutting down, Soul Origin’s concept first saw the light of day.
The business thrived even during those hard financial times.
The idea to launch a coffee shop was born out of the sheer frustration of one of the co-founders, Hao.
He decided to launch his own coffee shop when he was disappointed by the quality of coffee in the food courts.
The strength behind the brand lies in the commitment of its founder. Their unwavering commitment to serving only the highest quality coffee made their business more resilient than most others.
The company’s website offers a wealth of information for investors looking to own one of its franchises.
(Source: Official Website)
Number of Franchises | 101 |
Headquarters | New South Wales, Australia |
Founded in | 1992 |
Franchise Cost | $200,000 – $265,000 |
Founded in 1964, Jamaica Blues is an Australian and New Zealand coffee shop chain owned by the Foodco Group. It is a sister company of Muffin Break, owned by the same brand.
The restaurant is named after the Jamaica Blue Mountains, regarded as the home of the best coffee in the world. (Source: Restaurant’s Official Website)
The cafe was launched in 1992 in Miranda, Australia, and is mostly located in residential areas, malls, airports, and hospitals.
With coffee being its signature item, the restaurant also serves a wide variety of drinks, sandwiches, breakfast items, and full meals.
The restaurant claims to serve only fresh and locally sourced ingredients while carefully perfecting the procurement process, roasting, and preparing the best coffee possible.
The cafe promises world-class training for its franchisees at the launch and throughout their business operation.
Number of Franchises | 28 |
Headquarters | Victoria, Australia |
Founded in | 2000 |
Franchise Cost | $110,000 – $250,000 |
Cibo Espresso is an Italian-style cafe and coffee shop franchise that was founded in 2000 in Adelaide, South Australia.
The cafe delivers traditional Italian food made with local ingredients in an Italian environment.
The restaurant’s website narrates a compelling story of its four co-founders, each having different culinary expertise.
The four founders included an Italian chef, an artisan pasticciere, a restaurant manager, and a “handsome barista”.
The cafe promises the ambiance of a truly authentic Italian experience in their cafes.
The cafe has more than 28 franchises in South Australia only. But it has recently shown plans to further expand in other states too. (Source: Wikipedia)
Cafe’s official website provides comprehensive information to investors looking for a ready-to-run franchise opportunity.
With this, one of the sumptuous lists on our blog comes to an end.
Do check out our other blogs on other top franchises in Australia.
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