Really Awesome Coffee wins innovation award

Alice Tuffery, writer

Published at 21/02/2021, Updated on 18/02/2021 , Reading time: 1 min

Really Awesome Coffee wins innovation award — Photo © 6854.jpg

Really Awesome Coffee won the Best Technology and Innovation Silver prize at the Virtual Franchising Awards 2021.

In the face of potentially catastrophic challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the coffee van franchise has been able to make positive changes. When lockdown began and people were furloughed or told to work from home, the mobile catering sector lost 90 percent of its daily customers overnight.

In response to this change, some Really Awesome Coffee franchisees switched strategies and started supporting NHS and other key worker sites. The franchise’s Norwich branch, run by Andy Baxter, even won an NHS award.

Really Awesome Coffee also set up group Zoom sessions, as well as a “Coronavirus Trading Forum”, where franchisees could share experiences and ideas. Within a few weeks, the franchise was able to roll out a new home delivery service, taking the refreshments it would usually offer at workplaces to people’s homes.

To generate demand for the new system, the van-based franchise used its existing marketing database to promote it and created templates for app notifications telling customers when it would launch. The business’s in-house digital marketing specialist also developed targeted social media adverts across the UK, which helped produce a 700 percent increase in reach and engagement.

Then, Really Awesome Coffee launched a new home delivery website, delivery.reallyawesomecoffee.co.uk, which included pages for each franchisee offering the service, as well as enquiries and booking forms.

The franchise is keen to recognise the group of franchisees who helped develop the new trading practices in those first few weeks. Thanks to their hard work, the new delivery system took off. In fact, a large portion of investors made more profit during the first lockdown than they were generating before.

As a result of Really Awesome Coffee’s quick-thinking approach and willingness to adapt, the business has been able to maintain a positive cash flow during the Covid-19 pandemic.