Mobile coffee franchise targets OFW capitalists

Providing the dollar-earning community or the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) a wider choice of investment instruments, aside from putting their hard earned money in the banks, Coffee Dream Company Inc., developed a business model that offers higher yield for a P700 thousand investment.

The introduction of Coffee Dream’s mobile coffee express called “Espresso”, a small-pocket coffee shop in a stall, will allow OFW entrepreneurs to own  a profitable coffee business at a lower capitalization cost.

“This model is really developed primarily for the OFWs who are constantly looking for good business opportunity with affordable capitalization requirement. I noticed that most OFWs have allot about P700 thousand to P1 million for investment purposes,” said Glenn Anthony O. Soco, president of Coffee Dream Company Inc.

Financial analysts observed that most OFWs now, or the dollar earning Filipinos are looking for higher yield investments rather than those instruments offered by the banks which provides thinner interest rates return.

He said coffee is not a “faddish” business. It has a sustainable and even growing market.

According to Soco, because the Espresso brand, with a franchise costs pegged at only P700 thousand, which is turn-key package, investors are expected to get their return of investments (ROI) in just less than a year, depending on the daily consumer traffic.

Because it is a cart, Espresso operator need not locate the pocket coffee express in a permanent location, it can even be present in big events like school intramurals, family day, among others.

For an average sales of 200 cups a day, an Espresso operator can earn at least P200,000 a month. This could hasten the ROI timetable to about four to five months.

“This is another investment alternative for those who are looking for business. The demand now is from OFWs is to enter into the profitable coffee business, but a stand-alone coffee shop franchise is too expensive for the OFWs,” he said.

“Coffee is a viable investment concept. It has a sustainable and even growing market. Coffee drinking has now become a lifestyle not only for a sophisticated consumer to the mainstream segment already,” Soco said who is one of the pioneers in the Coffee shop business in Cebu.

Although the growing OFW remittances have also contribute to the boost of other industries like banking, insurance, real estate, retail, among others, most of them (OFWs) are also looking for good business opportunity that provides fast investment return, with higher yield for their money, Soco said.

OFWs with families in the countryside areas, or the provincial areas, will be able to take advantage of the high-yielding coffee business, with less daily operational expenses, as it would only need one personnel.

According to Soco, he is going to partner with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in this venture, to make Espresso as part of the rooster of investment opportunity concept being supported by the agency.

Because of lack of other choices for high yielding investment instruments, most OFWs are victimized by the pyramiding businesses, which usually disguised as networking business. – Ehda M. Dagooc