Ribs & Burgers will offer select franchise opportunities in strategic locations within Australia and internationally through franchisor Blue Coral Concepts.
Founded in 2011 by an experienced group of restaurant operators with more than 30 years of industry knowledge behind them, Ribs & Burgers has grown to 21 stores worldwide, with 18 stores in Australia, two in South Africa and one in the UK.
In response to demand, Ribs & Burgers is now expanding its local and international footprint through franchise opportunities. Careful consideration has led the operators to believe franchising will allow the brand to increase its geographical reach without comprising its core values of honest food and genuine hospitality.
The move has been on the cards for a while now, with Blue Coral Concepts working with Ribs & Burgers to fine-tune the concept and ensure franchisees can take full advantage of proven operating procedures, online training manuals, equipment lists and supply chains.
“It’s broadening not speeding up the expansion,” says David Ovens, Blue Coral Concepts executive general manager.
“We have certain geographies we are interested in, but there are some locations we would not want to open company-owned stores.”
While the brand will continue to open company-owned stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, there are other regions further afield where it makes more sense for franchisees to operate. And this doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for operators interested in opening up stores in regions where Ribs & Burgers already exist.
“We’ll take all inquiries and judge them case by case based on where existing stores are,” says Ovens. “We obviously want to avoid cannibalisation, which is a case of trade zone management. But we have no defined agenda about where company-owned and franchised stores should exist other than that we want everyone making money.”
While Ovens will look after the domestic market, Blue Coral Concepts business development director for international, Ernesto Ferreira, will manage international franchising opportunities. For the foreseeable future, the domestic market will remain a mix of company-owned and franchise stores, with master franchise opportunities available in the right international markets.
No matter the location, there’ll be a strong focus on finding the right people.
“We’d rather get one or two or three partners a year than say we’re going to bang out 20 stores a year,” Ovens told Hospitality. “Our view is that we need to recruit franchise partners who have similar experiences and mindsets. For example, if they’ve had restaurants their entire life, they’re a franchise of a different concept and are looking to add a brand to their group or they’ve been working in hospitality for a decade and now want to run their own business.
“We’ll be patient, find the right partners and get people who are interested in and understand how hospitality works.”
As the franchisor, Blue Coral Concepts is committed to recognising, developing and managing bespoke restaurant and fast casual F&B concepts. Combined with the steady growth, strong operational leadership and solid business acumen at the heart of Ribs & Burgers’ offering, these attributes make for a compelling opportunity for franchisees to join the family and help foster growth.
“The onus is always on the franchisor to improve the business and innovate,” says Ovens. “It’s our responsibility to continue trying to develop the brand in relation to restaurant design, innovation, equipment, service platforms and food innovation along with digital marketing, social media, Google search and our bespoke new app.
“In turn, franchisees need to continue to execute the brand the way it’s designed to be executed. We need to show franchisees that we can do what we’re asking them to do and in response they can’t drop the ball. In a marketplace where you have some company-owned and some franchise, the business is completely blind to ownership.”
Given franchising is a two-way street, Blue Coral Concepts are eager to work with franchisees who are excited to be true partners and have a focus on operating performance.
To become one of those partners, click here.