Creams Café whips up global expansion drive
Dessert chain Creams Café has set out plans to double its UK locations in the next three to four years, as part of an ambitious drive to grow its bricks-and-mortar presence in the UK and overseas.
The Barking-headquartered operator, which operates around 100 branches across the UK, is seeking franchise partners for expansion. Its latest launch is a 2,325 sq ft site at Manchester Arndale, opening this week.
In the UK, the chain aims to open around 30 to 40 new sites per year across different formats. Othman Shoukat, who will be managing director of Creams until the end of the year but will remain a board member thereafter, told EG the business is mindful that the market has changed with the amplification of the cost-of-living crisis, so it has to be “the right locations at the right rents”.
Dessert chain Creams Café has set out plans to double its UK locations in the next three to four years, as part of an ambitious drive to grow its bricks-and-mortar presence in the UK and overseas.
The Barking-headquartered operator, which operates around 100 branches across the UK, is seeking franchise partners for expansion. Its latest launch is a 2,325 sq ft site at Manchester Arndale, opening this week.
In the UK, the chain aims to open around 30 to 40 new sites per year across different formats. Othman Shoukat, who will be managing director of Creams until the end of the year but will remain a board member thereafter, told EG the business is mindful that the market has changed with the amplification of the cost-of-living crisis, so it has to be “the right locations at the right rents”.
Target locations include Leeds, where it seeks to establish a city centre flagship as well as smaller suburban restaurants and dark kitchen spaces.
Outside the UK, the chain is looking to expand its bricks-and-mortar footprint to markets including the Gulf Cooperation Council, Europe and the US. In three to five years, the franchise is aiming for a presence in seven to 10 markets, with a pipeline of more than 300 locations. This would involve either deals with master franchisors or forming regional partnerships, depending on the country.
“It is really important for us to find the right partners to scale up sustainably,” Shoukat said. “We are being very selective about the formats and opportunities.”
Spaces measuring around 1,500 sq ft are sought, providing capacity for 40-50 covers for its standard restaurant format. Julian Reilly, property and franchise development director at Creams, said this could go down to 1,000 sq ft, or lower for kiosk-style operations.
Reilly added that the chain is in talks with partners on grab-and-go formats within convenience stores. The business is set to trial a concept with Tesco in Streatham, south London, for six months, slated to launch in the coming weeks.
Before the pandemic, delivery accounted for around 5-10% of the business. This has since changed to 60% eat-in, 40% delivery.
The brand’s UK advisers are Etch, Barker Proudlove and EYCO.
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