Looking to get into the coffee business? This episode of Eye on Franchising is a must-listen! Michelle Waits, Chief Marketing Officer for Biggby Coffee, discusses her experience in the industry and offers advice for those considering franchising. She explains how franchises can be a great way to grow a business, but stresses the importance of finding the right fit for you. Biggby Coffee is a great franchise opportunity with 340 stores and a proven history. With a commitment to helping in their communities. Be ready to discover;- The speaker's experience in the coffee industry- How franchises can be a great way to grow a business- The importance of finding the right franchise for you- Some advice for those considering franchising- Biggby's Coffee's expansion plans KEY POINTS Approximately mentioned @ 00:06:50 Michelle Waits began her career in the coffee industry with Starbucks. She quickly realized that marketing was her passion within the industry. She now serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Biggby Coffee. Approximately mentioned @ 00:06:50 The new Chief marketing officer for Biggby Coffee, Michelle, discusses the great franchise opportunity that Biggby Coffee is and how it has a proven history. Approximately mentioned @ 00:10:55 My goal is to help Biggby Coffee expand its reach and become one of the most popular coffee brands in the country. I want to continue to grow the franchise and help franchisees achieve success. Approximately mentioned @ 00:19:52 The Secret Sauce to Biggby's success as a franchise brand is its purpose-driven culture, strong ethical values, and robust business model. Additionally, the company has a large untapped market potential, which gives it a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Approximately mentioned @ 00:24:26 The Biggby Coffee franchise is rapidly expanding across the country and is looking for new franchisees to help grow the brand. With a commitment to supporting franchisees in building a life they love, Bigby is an opportunity not to be missed. Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA --- Lance Graulich Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising Eye On Franchising
Looking to get into the coffee business? This episode of Eye on Franchising is a must-listen! Michelle Waits, Chief Marketing Officer for Biggby Coffee, discusses her experience in the industry and offers advice for those considering franchising. She explains how franchises can be a great way to grow a business, but stresses the importance of finding the right fit for you. Biggby Coffee is a great franchise opportunity with 340 stores and a proven history. With a commitment to helping in their communities.
Be ready to discover;
- The speaker's experience in the coffee industry
- How franchises can be a great way to grow a business
- The importance of finding the right franchise for you
- Some advice for those considering franchising
- Biggby's Coffee's expansion plans
KEY POINTS
Approximately mentioned @ 00:06:50
Michelle Waits began her career in the coffee industry with Starbucks. She quickly realized that marketing was her passion within the industry. She now serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Biggby Coffee.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:06:50
The new Chief marketing officer for Biggby Coffee, Michelle, discusses the great franchise opportunity that Biggby Coffee is and how it has a proven history.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:10:55
My goal is to help Biggby Coffee expand its reach and become one of the most popular coffee brands in the country. I want to continue to grow the franchise and help franchisees achieve success.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:19:52
The Secret Sauce to Biggby's success as a franchise brand is its purpose-driven culture, strong ethical values, and robust business model. Additionally, the company has a large untapped market potential, which gives it a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:24:26
The Biggby Coffee franchise is rapidly expanding across the country and is looking for new franchisees to help grow the brand. With a commitment to supporting franchisees in building a life they love, Bigby is an opportunity not to be missed.
Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA
---
Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising
Lance Graulich 00:00:02 Welcome to Eye on Franchising. Are you looking for business opportunities? Well, you are in the right place. We represent over 650 franchises and business opportunities. We will help you find your perfect franchise for free. We even have a free assessment on our website that will help us determine what the best businesses is for you based on your investment level mindset, skill set, and life experiences. This is ion Franchising, where we share our vision for your franchise future. I'm your host, lance growler. Each week we will speak to fascinating folks from the world of franchising, franchisors and founders, franchise funders and franchisees. Are you looking to find your perfect franchise? Or perhaps you are an independent business owner looking to grow and scale your business by setting up a franchise. Either way, our team can help you Eye on Franchising, where you will learn the A to z's of franchising.
Lance Graulich 00:01:07 Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another fabulous episode of ion Franchising. As you know, I'm your host, Lance Graulich. So today we're going to get into that black, gold coffee, the coffee business. So, the young lady that I have today is an industry professional in coffee, has spent decades in the coffee business. So I'll let her tell you how many years that is exactly from ely Cafe to, she was a vp at starbucks, and now she is the chief marketing officer at a brand I'm about to tell you about. So we're going to find out what's percolating at Big B coffee. Welcome to the show, Ms. Michele waits. Hello, Michele.
Michele
00:01:52 Hi, Lance. Thank you so much for having me on your show.
Lance Graulich 00:01:55 I am, so excited to talk coffee with you and coffee franchising and about your coffee experience. So thank you so much for being here, you went to University of Michigan. uh, before we got on, I had to sing the song that I know so well because my brother and cousins went there. Love going to Michigan games. So, where are you now, by the way? What city?
Michele
00:02:17 my home office is in New canaan, Connecticut.
Lance Graulich 00:02:22 Very nice. Far away from Michigan at this point.
Michele
00:02:26 But we still have season tickets.
Lance Graulich 00:02:28 I love it. I love it. Fantastic. So let's talk about you and your experience. Let's talk, uh, let's go way back. You went to college for what in the first place?
Michele
00:02:39 So I went to college for economics, and then I tacked on a, uh, second degree in Japanese. My mom is Japanese, but I never spoke it growing up. And so I had the opportunity to learn it in college and I took it.
Lance Graulich 00:02:53 Ohio. Gozaimasa.
Michele
00:02:56 Yes, Ohio. Guzamas to you, too.
Lance Graulich 00:02:59 Thank you, so economics and what was your intent? What was your plan going getting out of college?
Michele
00:03:07 I have to be honest, I did not have a very good plan. I think I was using college as a way to kind of explore a bit. I think i, um, found a, uh, comfortable home in economics, and Japanese. And right after college, I ended up working in Japan. I was teaching English, and so that was a departure from the economics, but it was an opportunity for me to live in the country and to learn the language.
Lance Graulich 00:03:32 Love it. That's fantastic. So what got you into the coffee business?
Michele
00:03:37 I think as I progressed in my career, I realized that marketing was a really interesting function, for me to be in. I went to business school to help kind of expose me, to a bunch of different career paths. I found marketing, which I thought was inherently about people and understanding people and serving them. And coffee is a great extension of all of that, because while it's a super interesting product, really, it's about the experiences that people have when they're drinking coffee, whether it's in their home or they go to a coffee shop. So there's lots of different layers to coffee, which is probably what has kept me in the, uh, in the industry for the last 15 years.
Lance Graulich 00:04:20 I love it. Coffee is definitely a big part of my morning and sometime afternoon, depending on how much work I have to do.
Michele
00:04:28 How the day goes.
Lance Graulich 00:04:29 Yes, exactly. It's my friend., give me your first big coffee job. What was that and how did that come about?
Michele
00:04:40 my first coffee job was at starbucks I have primarily a cpg background. I've done cpg as an industry for almost consumer products.
Lance Graulich 00:04:52 As a consumer?
Michele
00:04:53 Yes. Consumer package goods. Sorry, too many acronyms. Consumer packaged, goods. So mostly sold through the grocery channel. And starbucks had a grocery business. um, and so because of my background, that's where I joined and had a great experience growing that business. And then I found starbucks to be such an interesting company because so much of the brand was built outside of grocery in the retail cafes. So it was my opportunity then to move from that channel into what we called retail first that was on Tea, and then I moved to Coffee and had an opportunity to move to Hong Kong to manage, the brand product development, digital marketing loyalty in 14, Asia Pacific markets.
Lance Graulich 00:05:42 Pretty darn. Impressive, Michele.
Michele
00:05:45 It was very interesting, and I've been just lucky to have opportunities,within the house of starbucks, let's say.
Lance Graulich 00:05:53 Love it. So what happened after starbucks?
Michele
00:05:56 So after starbucks, we moved our family from Hong Kong back to the Us. We moved to the East Coast, which is where I am right now, in Connecticut. And I was lucky enough to find ely Cafe, which is based here in the New York area. And what ely was, what I found really fascinating about ely is it's very, very big in Italy. It is, still small and growing here in the Us. But a brand that is packed with so many interesting elements to it. Fantastic quality coffee. Such a commitment to sustainability, and really beautiful coffee experiences. And so,, that was my discovery at ah, ely.
Lance Graulich 00:06:41 I love it. Well, I wanted to take a little trip down memory lane, as we both have our coffee in our hands, to, uh, discuss your history. And now we talk about the exciting reason that you're here now, the new Chief marketing officer for Biggb Coffee. So tell us all about Big B, how this whole thing came about. Biggby is, a great franchise opportunity. 300 plus stores, 340 or so right now.
Michele
00:07:12 That's right.
Lance Graulich 00:07:13 Awesome. So tell us about Bigby Coffee.
Michele
00:07:16 I think, is quite well known, within its, what I'll call home market, certainly of Michigan and some of the surrounding areas. In fact, if I walk through the Detroit airport wearing my big, big gear, I'm always either stopped by someone or someone will say to me, oh, my gosh, I love that brand. And I think that's what, as a marketer, I find really fascinating is when people have such a strong reaction or feel an affinity for a brand. And I think that's really the magic of Biggby is because people have a great experience in the store and they start making it a part of their daily ritual. I think that's really where brands are born and brands are built. What we aspire to do at Biggby is to obviously expand that beyond, where we are currently.
Lance Graulich 00:08:05 Yeah, I tell people all the time myself, being a franchise broker, there are a lot of people that ask me, what big brand that's really well established do you have for me? And I said, well, when brands are too well established, it's kind of difficult to get a franchise. I was an earlier franchisee of wingstop, and by the time I got into wingstop, when nobody knew what it was, by the time I opened my first store in Las Vegas, everybody was calling corporate asking for a franchise in Vegas. But I bought the whole county. So I always tell people, you got to get in early. But Biggby is certainly, an incredibly strong regional player in certain areas and will soon enough be a national player, and you got plenty of opportunity. That's what's exciting about Biggb. You guys have a proven history, and it's super, super exciting. So where are you most established right now? I didn't cheat and look at a map before this call.
Michele
00:09:09 This is a fantastic job of actually telling, the Biggby story and the opportunity. Definitely Michigan. So we are quite well penetrated within Michigan. Of course, there's still opportunities to grow there, but what we aspire to do is to expand beyond, uh, that market and exactly to your point. I think we consider Biggby to be, on one hand, established. It has a business model that's successful, and you can rinse and repeat that over 300 times.
Lance Graulich 00:09:39 You have proof of concept. I talk about proof of concept all day. You obviously have that.
Michele
00:09:46 Yes. And yet we still have opportunities to grow geographically, but also just in really sharpening up and articulating our points of difference. There's a lot of heavy lifting that's done in the stores, creating the experience, happy customers. But what we also want to do from a marketing standpoint is provide some of that air cover and make sure that we're supporting those businesses with some more traditional marketing.
Lance Graulich 00:10:11 Wonderful. Wonderful. So when you talk about and you compare, let's say, bigby to other franchise brands, or even like starbucks, that is not a franchise organization. They do some licensing, as you certainly know. But what is the Secret Sauce, if you will? I use that universally. Not even just talking about food concepts, but any business for that matter, in franchising. What is the Secret sauce to Big B compared to others you might want to compare to?
Michele
00:10:43 I think, number one, it really knows who it is as a brand. I think this is a purpose driven organization, and the purpose is to support you in building a life you love. uh, and that extends first and foremost to our franchise community, and then, of course, to the corporate office and anyone who comes in our stores. That's part of it. And I think the second one is being really ethical and uh, supporting farmers in the coffee business, having a name, a face, and a place to every pound of coffee that we buy. I think that's sort of the essence of the brand, and I think the clarity of that is helpful. I think the second part of the Secret Sauce is a uh, successful business model, uh, to what you already eloquently said lance. And then I think the third one is just that we have so much greenfield in front of us. We are a fairly established company in some ways, and yet we still have an entrepreneurial spirit. And we have an aspiration to really spread the word, if you will, uh, to new markets.
Lance Graulich 00:11:48 Love it. Fantastic. And it's always wonderful because I'm sure you have people that own just one location, and then you have quite a few multi unit operators that are building their empires, so to speak.
Michele
00:12:02 Yes, we have a handful of multi unit operators, to your point. And so, uh, right now we have, I would say, a diverse community of franchise, uh, owners, and I think great support. Regardless of how big or small you are, there is a support system in place for you.
Lance Graulich 00:12:18 Yeah. And, I'm sure the training is rather intense, but, uh, let's talk about we could talk about training, but I definitely want to dive into marketing because a lot of people ask me, why do I need a franchise? Why should I look at franchise opportunities? And I say, well, do you want to do it all on your own? Do you want to create your own team? There's already a team in place. The question isn't, is a franchise right for you? The question is which franchise is right for you? So when it comes to marketing, that is certainly your big area of expertise. What can a new franchisee count on? From call it the pre grand opening, grand opening, post opening, how do things change? And I'm sure you're still working on some of these, uh, plans because you're newer to the brand, but you certainly know all this, so I'm dying to hear this.
Michele
00:13:16 I think one of the headlines I would give is flexibility within a Framework. So certainly, uh, we provide grand opening toolkits and plans and a little bit of a suite of options just based on the experience that we have. And so we will consult and we will share what we think is right for your situation. But you have some flexibility within the framework, because what's beautiful about having franchisees, nobody knows their market, nobody knows the consumers better than the franchisee. So I think that sort of flexibility within a framework is really important. The air cover, if you will, I'm just kind of using that analogy, is we do have a brand with very solid awareness in the markets that we've been in, plus a commitment to helping you build your market with some investment on both of our parts. And we already have a social media footprint, uh, of about 150 followers on Facebook. We're starting Instagram with about 30,000. We have over a million people who visit our website every month.
Lance Graulich 00:14:25 I think you said 150,000 yes, followers on Facebook.
Michele
00:14:31 about 30,000 on Instagram. uh, and that's growing certainly in importance and, uh, in our followers. And then we have about 600,000 active members, um, is what we call it, rewards database of active members and over a million people who come to our website. Now, we are aspiring to make that much bigger, of course, and much stronger. But you already start with that footprint.
Lance Graulich 00:14:58 Love it. Yeah. Social media. I tell people all the time, I can't believe the reach of social media, especially when it comes to food related brands. There's something about food, coffee, anything, uh, with an aroma or an experience that pops on social media, especially on Instagram and TikTok these days as well.
Michele
00:15:25 If I may? Yes. I wanted to pounce on the TikTok thing for a second. Recent data from intel had shown that our generation got most of its coffee information from coffee houses. Like, we learned a lot by going to some of the coffee houses and seeing what was there. Now almost half of Gen Z coffee consumers, coffee lovers, are getting their information from TikTok. So as a manufacturer or a franchise, or we're not necessarily the ones who are setting the trends. We are looking at what's happening in TikTok. Exactly. And M not trying to keep up to a certain extent. So it's important, can't be underestimated.
Lance Graulich 00:16:07 Yeah, innovation is everything. And, uh, I love that Big B is obviously doing everything that they can. Hiring someone like you as, uh, the big shot behind marketing, uh, it's pretty amazing. So, Michelle, uh, regarding the typical investment well, being that Big B is in my portfolio, in the Francis portfolio, I happen to see here that looks, uh, like 2022 data that will be updated shortly for 2023, a low of 320,000 to a high of about 517. That's including the franchise fee, as well as, uh, some level of working capital. So, that is a pretty pretty fair investment for a coffee brand, because this isn't a freestanding fast food giant, so to speak. That is millions of dollars, usually, especially when it comes to land acquisition. So who are your franchisees normally? All walks of life, I presume.
Michele
00:17:11 Yes, all walks of life, for sure. I think where we see a lot of success is in folks who are deciding that they want to change a career at some point, and they want to leave maybe an industry career, healthcare career, education career, maybe leaving the military and looking, uh, to set out on their own. And to your point, I feel like, um, the investment is significant. Right. It's significant for an individual. So this is something they're taking really seriously, but it's also not at the higher echelons. And it's a place where if you are making a career shift, it is doable.
Lance Graulich 00:17:48 Yeah. uh, you know what, Michelle, what is fabulous about franchising is when you're on the sba registry and you can get an sba loan, you could put down 2020 5% and you're in business. So even at $500,000, you just need about 100 grand, plus a little working capital. Getting the, uh, Big B coffee business, assuming you're approved and worthy, uh, franchising, I always tell people, is a two way street, for sure. But assuming Big B likes you and you like them. So, let's talk more about, um, your awards. Now, I have a whole list here. uh, Entrepreneur Magazine franchise business review. So when you were going through the interview process, where you're like because, look, you've been with ely, you've been with starbucks, and neither one are franchise organizations per se. Bigby is certainly more of a pure play, what I call a pure play franchise system that gives anyone the opportunity to get into the coffee business. So, uh, when you saw these awards, you were probably like, wow, this is a serious, uh, contender for an amazing national brand. Right?
Michele
00:19:00 Absolutely. And I think, um, what you've hit on is my journey, my sort of educational journey into franchising. When I was doing my research, my impression was, well, you probably have less control if you are in a franchise situation. And what I've come to totally flip that to, what an opportunity to learn so much from people who are on the ground with such diverse backgrounds, but they are so committed to running their own business. And I am so proud to work for a brand that supports local and small business owners in bringing Big B coffee to life, um, across the country. So I couldn't be more proud to be in the franchise business for those reasons. And, yeah, it did seem to me, when I was looking at Big B, that they already had something that they had figured out.
Lance Graulich 00:19:52 Yeah. As much as franchise brands, uh, legally have every right to control everything from uniforms to product, to mode of operation, all these good things, it's certainly beneficial to the brand to make sure you stay, as you can appreciate, on the marketing side, within those guardrails, so to speak. uh, but collaboration is one of the biggest pieces when it comes to joining a franchise system. I tell people all the time, McDonald's didn't invent the filet of Fish, uh, and the Big Mac, the franchisees of McDonald's because of collaboration, ended up doing that.
Michele
00:20:34 It does not surprise me at all. That's a great example of, I think, being open and listening. And who better than the franchisee on the ground, boots on the ground every day to really understand the consumer.
Lance Graulich 00:20:47 Yeah, exactly. So, what are some of your targets now that you're new with the brand? What are some of your goals for 2023 and beyond?
Michele
00:20:58 We are looking to grow our store footprint. uh, and so some of our targets are to, again, you know, try to bring in new franchisees into the fold. But we're also looking to grow our transactions and our core business within the footprint that we have. So, certainly making sure that more people really know the Bigg story and picking the right media, making, uh, the right investments to tell that story, is certainly a target. Continuing to invest in digital properties that help us to personalize our marketing and get closer to our customers. As the second and the third one is to create the right pace and to innovate, new product innovation in the right areas.
Lance Graulich 00:21:44 Love it. One thing I didn't ask you as of yet is, as far as the big beast stores, how many different models are there? Is there an airport model versus a drive through model versus how do you guys do it?
Michele
00:22:00 Yeah, at this point, we're looking at certainly there's the lobby only model. There's the come and sit, full service cafe, uh, model. There's the drive through, there's the hybrid of the lobby and the drive through. And then we've also got something called B cubed, which is a really innovative, interesting, sort of modular system that allows very quick construction of a big B on a small footprint.
Lance Graulich 00:22:27 Is it like, what do they call it? Like, a shipping container type thing?
Michele
00:22:33 It's sort of, I don't know that.
Lance Graulich 00:22:34 It'S made of it's a modular deal.
Michele
00:22:36 Yes, exactly. It's called bq. And it's a modular system, yes.
Lance Graulich 00:22:42 Love it. I have to take a look at that. That sounds exciting.
Michele
00:22:46 Yeah.
Lance Graulich 00:22:47 So what are your target markets as of now? I know we mentioned Michigan, uh, is hot, and you're expanding. And typically, the way any amazing brand expands is you have the reach of your neighboring states until you're across the country. So what are some of your hot target markets these days?
Michele
00:23:09 Well, we, are proud to be in Florida. uh, we've started our expansion into Florida and into Georgia, into Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia. And we are also expanding into, uh, Cook County, Illinois. So we are excited about those. uh, I think that's what I'm at, uh, liberty to share at this point.
Lance Graulich 00:23:33 But yes, we don't want you to give away secrets.
Michele
00:23:35 A lot of people hear this. I can't give away the company secrets, but I think we are very strategic try, to be very strategic about the markets that we're entering and really commit once we're in.
Lance Graulich 00:23:47 Got you. Well, perfect. Any final thoughts and words of wisdom about franchising in general? I mean, look, you're, in the franchise world now. What are some of your observations and thoughts? How do you know who's right for Big Beat? What are your thoughts on all those,, fun things?
Michele
00:24:06 I think I'm proud of the brand and what we stand for, and I think some people really resonate with that. For some people, it may not be, um, as important. And so I do think finding a fit, not every brand is right for everyone. And so if you really resonate with the things that Big B stands for, then that you're half the way there. I would also say that I think franchising is such a fantastic opportunity to be your own boss, to be an entrepreneur, and to really build something that contributes to a community. And what I would say is that Big B is here to support you. And again, this is the vision of the company, is we exist to support you in building a life you love. And so what better way, I would say, to, uh, bring someone into the franchise business than with that type of introduction?
Lance Graulich 00:24:58 I love it. Well, Michelle, I appreciate you sharing your coffee wisdom, your marketing wisdom. And for those listening, uh, Bigby is obviously an amazing opportunity. I get asked practically daily, I want to get into the coffee business. What is the best franchise for me to do coffee? Well, Biggby is certainly an amazing opportunity that is hot right now and might not be around as a franchise option as the country starts to sell out pretty quickly. 340 locations strong. Thanks for listening today. And Michelle, thanks for being here.
Lance Graulich 00:25:31 Thank you very much for listening today. Please like, follow and subscribe. This is Lance Graulich.
Lance Graulich 00:25:38 Until next time.