Q&A: Does Shake Shack Franchise in the UK?

Shake Shack is a fast-casual restaurant chain that serves hot dogs, burgers, frozen desserts and alcoholic drinks. It was introduced in the US, but it has a huge fanbase here in the UK too. Today, there are eight S.hake Shack locations in London, as well as one in Essex and one in Cardiff. Londoners can now find Shake Shacks in Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road, Westfield Stratford, Leicester Square, Victoria Nova, Canary Wharf, Soho and Mansion House. But does Shake Shack franchise? Let’s find out, after a quick look at the restaurant’s history.

History of Shake Shack

Shake Shack was launched in the US in 2001 as a hot dog cart based in Madison Square Park in Manhattan. Occupying such a busy location, it’s no surprise that it gained a large group of fans that would line up by the cart every day. After three years, Shake Shack became a permanent fixture in Madison Square Park.

Shake Shack has been selling its delicious offering in the UK since 2013. Its first UK branch was situated in Covent Garden, where it benefitted from exposure to a high volume of potential customers.

The business has also expanded its customer base by joining the increasing number of restaurants that offer food delivery through Deliveroo. Now, consumers in London and Cardiff can enjoy Shake Shack’s comfort food from the comfort of their own home.

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What food does Shake Shack serve?

Shake Shack has developed a delicious menu that keeps customers coming back for more. It includes a range of hot dogs, beef burgers, fried chicken burgers and crinkle-cut fries. However, Shake Shack is famous for its unusual dessert offering made up of frozen custard dishes. Having created these unusual meal options, the business benefits from a collection of loyal customers that can’t get enough of the cool, creamy custard.

The burger restaurant is proud of its many partnerships with local artisan suppliers. Through these, Shake Shack can ensure that its food dishes are made with the finest ingredients from trustworthy sources. In addition to this, it uses high-quality ingredients to make its standard menu items, including 100 percent Aberdeen Angus beef from cows that are grass-fed on UK pastures.

What’s more, you might be interested to know that the restaurant business has even developed its own lines of wine and beer. ShackMeister Ale and Lager is brewed at Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire, while Shack White and Shack Red – from Domain Lafage in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of the south of France is sold exclusively at Shake Shack locations.

Does Shake Shack franchise?

Shake Shack is clearly a fantastic business to get involved in and, as a result, many entrepreneurs are keen to find out whether it offers franchising opportunities. Unfortunately, it does not operate a franchising system.

How to get involved with Shake Shack

Shake Shack does state that a limited number of its locations are operated through licence agreements. That means that it has cultivated a relationship with partners that share its vision in order to expand to international markets. Territories that are currently available under licensing agreements include Bahrain, Egypt, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the UK.

The burger restaurant has high expectations of its partners, and to become one you must have the right experience behind you. You’ll need a proven track record in the retail or hospitality industry, or ideally, in the fine dining, casual dining or quick service sector. As well as this, you must have strong core values that are in keeping with Shake Shack’s ethos and enough capital to realise a development agreement in a specified country. Finally, you must have existing company infrastructure and, of course, a strong basis of knowledge of your local territory.

If becoming a licensee isn’t quite right for you, you could become a Shake Shack supplier. If you think the business could benefit from the use of your products, you should get in touch and make your case. Remember, knowing the origins of their food is a priority for Shake Shack, so they’ll only consider suppliers if they have the ability to offer quality ingredients that are responsibly sourced.

The food market in the UK

It’s a great time to get into the food service industry, as it’s on the up in the UK. As a nation, we spent £84 billion in restaurants and cafes in 2018 – a weekly average of £18.60 per person.

As a nation, we spent £84 billion in restaurants and cafes in 2018 – a weekly average of £18.60 per person.

In fact, 43 percent of us eat out at least once a week, which demonstrates just how lucrative running a restaurant can be. And we all know just how popular burgers, chicken, fries and frozen desserts are. Just take a look at McDonald’s, the UK’s most popular fast food quick service restaurant. Its focus on burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, milkshakes and ice cream has led it to become the industry leader it is today. Shake Shack has cultivated a similar menu to appeal to the same, widespread target market that McDonald’s does.

But Shake Shack goes one step further than McDonald’s. It understands that consumers are increasingly interested in the sustainability of their favourite brands and whether they pay attention to animal welfare. That’s why Shake Shack sells “all-natural” chicken, recycles all its plastic packaging, reuses its cooking oil to generate clean energy and composts leftover food whenever possible. Danny Meyer, co-founder of Shake Shack, said:

“I trust that McDonald's can find a way to sell all-natural chicken without raising their prices; we did that at Shake Shack. It is more expensive, and we took a slight margin hit, but we did it. And if we can do it, I know that much bigger companies can.”

Shake Shack even works hard to make sure its sites fit their local area. The business uses a custom architectural design at each location and adds eco-friendly elements to reduce its impact on the environment. The burger restaurant is listening to the concerns of the British public, which should help it survive and thrive in the coming years.

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Similar franchise opportunities

Even though Shake Shack franchise opportunities aren’t available, there are plenty of things you can take away from the success of its concept and feed into your next venture. Its menu options and focus on sustainability and animal welfare are just a couple of areas you could think about. Here, we’ll look at a few restaurant franchise opportunities that take a similar approach to Shake Shack.

The fast-casual restaurant sector is a hugely profitable one, so we’ll provide an in-depth look into the options open to you.

1. Loaded Burgers

Loaded Burgers is a food franchise that provides burgers packed with the highest quality meat and freshest toppings on the market. It’s dedicated to offering tasty burgers at a reasonable price to keep customers coming back for more.

• Becoming a Loaded Burgers franchisee: Ideal Loaded Burgers franchisees are individuals who are business-focused and passionate about food. You should also demonstrate strong management skills and be a keen learner. Having experience in the industry is advantageous but not essential. If you’re keen to make your mark on the dynamic and evolving industry, why not try your luck at becoming a Loaded Burgers franchisee?
• How much you need to invest: You need to make a minimum investment of £25,000 and a total investment of £150,000.
• What you get for your investment: When franchisees join this exciting gourmet burger brand, they will take part in an initial training programme which gets them to grips with the proven business model. Loaded Burgers also provides all the necessary equipment needed to get your business up and running, along with support in marketing and sales. Loaded Burgers is keen to help its franchisees every step of the way, as it is serious about the success and growth of the brand.

2. Wimpy

This iconic brand has already introduced itself to the UK and many other hungry customers across the globe. Wimpy strives for excellent service, exceptional food and great value for money. This has helped it create such a large and loyal customer base over its years in operation.

Wimpy was founded in 1934 and the first UK restaurant opened in Lyon’s Corner house in London in 1954. The brand has since expanded to over 1,000 branches in 23 countries.

Although Wimpy is probably most famous for its burgers, it also has an extensive offering including jacket potatoes, all-day breakfasts, cod and chips, chicken plates, cheese toasties, toasted tea cakes, mozzarella sticks, chips, onion rings and much more.

• Becoming a Wimpy franchisee: Wimpy encourages individuals who are eager to provide high-quality, affordable meals and have previous managerial experience and great communication skills to apply.
• How much you need to invest: It will cost you £220,000 to launch your own 60-seat Wimpy restaurant and £80,000 for an express unit. Both options include the £10,000 franchise fee.
• What you get for your investment: Before you open up shop, you will take part in a two-week skills programme at the Academy Training Store and receive ongoing support in areas such as marketing, advertisement, sales and customer relations. To ensure that you never feel on your own or without necessary support, franchisees will be visited regularly by an assigned district manager.

3. Rocket’s

This burger franchise operates in the fast-casual sector and is one of Ireland’s leading restaurant chains. Only the finest quality ingredients are used, and this includes all-natural Irish meat that is never frozen and always fresh.

• Becoming a Rocket's franchisee: The ideal franchisee is someone who is a good decision maker and business-focused, as well as being passionate about the success of the brand. It is also beneficial to have restaurant experience and the ability to demonstrate your dedication to Rocket’s and its national growth.
• How much you need to invest: Interested applicants need to be able to make a minimum investment of £170,000 and a total investment of £200,000.
• What you get for your investment: The chain will provide franchisees with the necessary support, including help with sourcing a location.

Franchising in the fast-casual food industry

Although Shake Shack doesn’t currently offer franchising opportunities, there’s plenty of scope to start up a profitable restaurant with another business. The food service industry is undoubtedly booming at the moment, with consumers choosing to eat out more often than ever. To browse our full list of restaurant franchise openings, click here.