The coffee beans are smelling even sweeter these days for Xpresso Delight co-founders Stephen Spitz and Paul Crabtree, just listed at number 50 in the top 100 2009 Fast Starters by BRW.
Xpresso Delight has just seen a year of strong performance which, despite the economic downturn, posted 70 percent growth for the 2008/09 financial year after recording 71 percent growth for 07/08.
The franchised concept of placing fully-automated, commercial grade, gourmet espresso coffee machines into workplaces at no cost, with the coffee charged at just $1 per cup, has experienced consistent growth since it began in 2003, culminating this month with the company signing its 100th franchisee.
Stephen Spitz said the ability of the business to provide impressive return on investment to franchisees was critical to its ongoing success.
“We have a solid business model which allows franchisees to leverage their valuable time to the fullest and earn a minimum return on investment of 40 percent or better each year,” he said.
“Our franchisees’ sales growth has been very consistent. They start with five coffee machines and grow to an average of nine machines each, increasing their turnover by an average of 80 percent.
“We also guarantee our franchisees will make a minimum 40 percent revenue return on capital investment within the first six months or their franchise fee is refunded which reduces some of the risk of going into business.”
Spitz and Crabtree are now planning an aggressive expansion campaign for 09/10 to continue to build on their already impressive brand.
“Our expectation for domestic growth for Australia and New Zealand is to reach the 150 franchisee mark by the end of 30 June 2010. We will be backing this up with a strong advertising campaign for prospective franchisees across all mediums with a focus on television, we have also identified a new country which we will be expanding into very soon,” Crabtree said.
Xpresso Delight was ranked the 11th Fastest-Growing Franchise by outlet in BRW’s Fast Franchises 2009 and for the past two years has been ranked in the top five Fastest-Growing Franchises by revenue. The company also won the 2008 Australian Business Award for Enterprise in the Cafes and Restaurants category.