Crêpeaffaire

About Crêpeaffaire

Crêpeaffaire provides an all-day offering, serving sweet and savoury crêpes made speedily on the premises. Waffles, mini-pancakes, coffee and smoothies are also on offer for the customer, whether they are in a hurry or have time to sit and relax.

Crêpeaffaire also serves a delicious breakfast all day long, complementing its crêpes with fresh smoothies, frappés, shakes, hot and cold drinks, selected spirits and ice cream.

Starting from a single London site, Crêpeaffaire expanded into various locations and different forms, but sharing the same basic premise that its tasty savoury or sweet crêpes should be made with organic flour and natural ingredients.

Through a unique hot plate production system, which Crêpeaffaire has named the “crêpe theatre”, customers can watch their crêpes being baked — it takes only a minute — in a hygienic and odourless environment.

The crêpe is the ideal packet for customers who need to eat on the go, making it a perfect franchise for shopping centres, leisure venues and transport destinations with a varied clientele, both in the UK and internationally.

Who is behind the Crêpeaffaire franchise?

Crêpeaffaire opened the doors of its first shop in Hammersmith in 2004 by chief executive Daniel Spinath, who has described the company as a highly relevant and versatile brand, with delicious and wholesome snack options that attract an all-day client following.

The company has a growing number of take-out and delivery services and the combination of its sweet and savoury crêpe menu with coffee and juices gives the company a universally pleasing product selection that earns a steady, repeat clientele.

Crêpeaffaire offers wide flexibility of formats, resulting in lower overhead and better options for site selection. Because of London’s extremely high real estate costs, Crêpeaffaire learned the importance of utilising space with its earliest locations.

As the crêpes are prepared on hot plates, Crêpeaffaire avoids the costly expense and the space required by a full kitchen and complicated hood-ventilation systems.

The company’s locations range in format from traditional cafe locations to kiosks, and even food trucks. Crêpeaffaire’s products are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the booming home and office delivery markets, giving them a wide client reach at low incremental investment.

The company has recently opened a Crêpeaffaire Mini outlet, serving mini sweet pancakes, at KidZania, a London- based, kid-run pretend indoor city.

Daniel Spinath was formerly Food and Beverage Director for Regent International Hotels and Group Marketing Director at Showtime, among other consultancy and managerial posts.

Since the first Crêpeaffaire franchise opened in 2008, Spinath has continued to push the growth of the business, admitting that while it is tempting to hold onto a proven concept and thereby reap all the rewards and benefits, he realised that in order to see growth in his business, to allow the brand to grow and to give Crêpeaffaire a marketing presence in different parts of the country, franchising was the ideal way.

How has Crêpeaffaire expanded its business?

Andrew Guy joined the company as chairman in 2018 to support the group’s expansion plans. After a decade of steady growth, the company was keen to accelerate its growth and drive brand awareness, both in the UK and internationally.

In 2018, Crêpeaffaire secured investment from BGF — the Business Growth Fund — which has invested £2m to support and accelerate the company’s expansion plans.

Crêpeaffaire has recently entered into a partnership with TRG Concessions, which works with a number of operators to bring formats to transport hubs. The first result of the deal was the opening of a Crêpeaffaire outlet at Luton Airport.

Crêpeaffaire has also been franchising in the Middle East and Europe, with locations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and one location in the Netherlands.

How much does a Crêpeaffaire franchise branch cost?

Crêpeaffaire markets itself as a unique, independent food brand, serving freshly baked, quality sweet and savoury crêpes made with organic flour and natural ingredients. The brand believes crêpes are an indulgent yet healthy, low-calorie, low-carb option compared to the traditional fast food alternatives available in the quick-casual food sector.

Crêpeaffaire’s efficient and simplified operation means that it can be carried out without requiring highly skilled restaurant staff.

A Crêpeaffaire franchise costs £20,000 + VAT for the franchise fee and the total investment required is around £200,000 + VAT, which covers the cost of locating and setting up the restaurant and equipping it with everything that a Crêpeaffaire location requires to launch a successful business.

A monthly royalty fee of 7 per cent of net sales (+ VAT) is charged and an additional advertising fee of 1 per cent of net sales (+ VAT).

Did you know?

Crêpeaffaire is eligible for funding support!

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Is funding available for a Crêpeaffaire franchise?

Yes, successful franchisees will be offered access to contacts with qualified banks for funding supply, although this applies only to the UK.

What is Crêpeaffaire looking for in its franchisees?

To join Crêpeaffaire, the company believes you need to be inspired by the brand concept, confident in your business skills and share the same high values of the company.

Crêpeaffaire is looking for franchisees who can potentially develop a cluster of franchises in an area rather than a single franchise. Key to this franchising method is area development, with Crêpeaffaire looking wherever possible to sign deals that require a set number of stores to be opened within a fixed contract term.

What training will a Crêpeaffaire franchisee receive?

Crêpeaffaire is a proven franchise concept and franchisees will be using the same tried-and-tested systems that Crêpeaffaire’s corporate stores use, from the same supply chains to the same products.

They have developed effective systems to make sure that each of their outlets achieves the same high-quality standards for hygiene, product quality and customer service.

Crêpeaffaire offers each successful candidate the training and management support to learn their formula for success. They offer a structured training programme and a comprehensive support package.

A Crêpeaffaire franchisee will receive extensive pre- and post-opening training, beginning with assistance in identifying an ideal site for a new business, and with its design.

Crêpeaffaire will also guide franchisees towards nominated suppliers and to the best options in the local supply chain.

Crêpeaffaire supplies its new partners with a full set of operations manuals to help them identify potential new customers, and will provide them with a full range of marketing support, tools and collateral.

They conduct regular visits and audits of stores, the aim of which is to help franchisees succeed and grow their business.

Where can Crêpeaffaire franchises be found?

Crêpeaffaire has outlets at Birmingham Grand Central, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff St, David’s, Chester, Chiswick, Kidzania (White City, London), Leeds Trinity, London Islington, London Spitalfields, Luton Airport, Newcastle Eldon Square, Stratford and Wimbledon.

It also has branches in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands.

It was announced in 2018 that founder Daniel Spinath has been making plans to take on the USA, where the market has no branded chains on a national level that focus on crêpes, with the first Crêpeaffaire planned to open in the first half of 2019.

What advantages does the Crêpeaffaire franchise model offer?

Crêpeaffaire has a unique and strong brand with no direct competition in its sector of the quick-casual market. The company has grown steadily and currently has some considerable backing for a strong expansion both in the UK and abroad.

Thanks to the production process, which requires no kitchen extraction, and because the business is highly scalable in format, a Crêpeaffaire franchise can fit a wide range of locations and has the flexibility to offer both eat-in and takeaway options.

By keeping the menu relatively simple, there is little seasonality in the products on offer, but they can be customised to match local market habits.

Are there any Crêpeaffaire franchises for sale?

Some franchisees may prefer to take over an already established business rather than begin a new business, thus avoiding the problem of finding a location and the costs associated with setting up.

To find a Crêpeaffaire franchise for resale in your area, you can contact Crêpeaffaire’s franchise team for up-to-the-minute details.

How in-demand are food suppliers like Crêpeaffaire?

Appealing to a wide range of people, Crêpeaffaire holds a unique Continental and French flavour with a contemporary modern twist. The number of fast food outlets has increased 34 per cent between 2010 and 2018, rising from 47 to 61 per 100,000 people and recent figures show that consumers on the go purchased £18.2bn worth of fast food and spent £9.8bn on takeaways.

While a Crêpeaffaire franchisee’s crêpes are fast they offer an alternative to the big brand fast food chains on the high street. Perhaps the most popular of all French food items to reach the UK, crêpes are the perfect snack, satisfying the three main demands of modern eating: the need for a fast, on-the-go meal; the trend toward healthier eating; and the desire for freshly prepared, authentic food.

How can I own my own Crêpeaffaire franchise?

A Crêpeaffaire franchisee will need to identify an ideal site for their new business. To find out more, or to request further information on franchising with Crêpeaffaire, click on the ‘Send Enquiry’ button now.