The networking event of the year: Coffee-Bike Franchise Partner Day 2024

To kick off the year, the Osnabrück-based franchise company was delighted to host this year's gathering of all Coffee-Bike operators at the Franchise Partner Day on 20 and 21 February 2024. For the eighth time, more than 80 participants from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands came together in Osnabrück - the city where the company was founded - to take stock, discuss current challenges and successes and look to the future. In addition to the workshop programme with topics such as "The basics of acquisition" or "The Latte Art 1x1", the agenda was peppered with news from the Coffee-Bike system headquarters, externally presented news from the system supplier and also the presentation of the franchise partner awards for outstanding achievements in 2023. The system-wide exchange is the focus of the two days of the event. This was never neglected during a colourful evening programme and numerous discussion rounds. 

 

Successful locations, Coffee-Bike Academy and charity - news from the system headquarters

On the first day of the event, the franchise partners were welcomed by employees from the Coffee-Bike headquarters at the Haus der Jugend. After a brief get-together, Mark Rüter, Managing Director of Coffee-Bike GmbH, welcomed the participants to Franchise Partner Day 2024. "We are delighted that franchise partners from Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland have come to further develop the successful concept together with new ideas and suggestions. It's great to welcome new coffee bikers every year, but also to talk to long-standing franchise partners - whether multi or single bikers," said Mark Rüter, opening the event. The team then presented topics and innovations from the respective departments. For example, successfully acquired permanent sales locations were presented, an outlook on the renewal of the online event planner for catering customers was given and the development of the Coffee Bike Academy - the barista and technical training for new starters - was presented. Not only the Summer Specials 2024 earned special applause, but also the handover of the cheque for the annual donation to terre des hommes - Hilfe für Kinder in Not during the event. For every Caferino espresso pack sold, Coffee-Bike donates 0.10 euros to the aid organisation.

Together for the franchise system - workshops and partner prizes

At every Coffee-Bike Franchise Partner Day, dialogue is the top priority. That's why, after a joint lunch, five different workshops were held in two rounds each, in which the participants could actively work on the further development of the franchise system. Whether multi-biker or single-biker, with a fixed sales location or as a coffee caterer for events - the opinions, ideas, suggestions and experiences of all franchise partners were in demand here. The "Latte Art 1x1" workshop focussed on the basics of creative milk foam art, which were practised on bikes. Participants in the "Coffee Bike Technology" workshop were given tips on how to solve technical challenges independently in the future. The third workshop, "On the road to success", dealt with best practice examples from customer and location acquisition and thus encouraged participants to optimise their own skills. Another workshop entitled "Goods, prices, profits" provided practical insights into the basic principles of calculating goods and prices. At the "New Starter Workshop", the new franchise partners talked about their first experiences as coffee bikers and jointly defined visions and goals. In the second workshop round, the new starter workshop was replaced by an exchange round with multi-bikers in order to enter into dialogue with existing partners, talk about day-to-day business and gather ideas. Between the workshop rounds, the participants were able to fortify themselves with delicious coffee specialities prepared by professional baristas on the coffee bike. 

After dinner, the Coffee Bike Awards 2023 were presented. First place for the "most successful newcomer" went to Austria this year. The prizes for the "most successful multi-entrepreneur" and the most coffee specialities sold went to a Coffee-Bike couple from Dreieich. The Social Media Award for a convincing presence on social networks went to a long-standing partner from Wilhelmshaven. Afterwards, the evening ended with a sociable Coffee-Bike Edition quiz and good conversation.

 

How it all began - development of the coffee bike

On the second day, the franchise partners had the opportunity to address open issues with employees and ask questions during a joint breakfast. Afterwards, the development of the Coffee Bike from 2010 to 2024 was shown in a vivid presentation, which amazed the franchise partners. The converted cargo bike has not only evolved visually, but also technically and is now at an extremely high level. In a short presentation, external employees from Edeka Foodservice shared new communication channels in order to be quicker and easier to reach for the franchise partners' concerns. After the workshop leaders had summarised their results from the previous day, Mark Rüter bid farewell to the franchise partners and thanked them for their participation, the good discussions and the open exchange. Franchise Partner Day 2024 concluded with a group photo in front of the Haus der Jugend.

"We look back on two successful days. Every year, the Franchise Partner Day thrives on diverse discussions and the goal of growing together as entrepreneurs. We are delighted that this vision is also shared across national borders and that we can welcome all coffee bikers back to Osnabrück next year," summarised Mark Rüter in a positive mood.