Urban Baristas is eyeing the country’s underserved market towns as it launches into franchising and is still on track to reach 30 sites in the next 3 years, according to CEO Huw Wardrope.

Founded in 2016 with the aim to bring the Aussie-style coffee experience to London, Urban Baristas now operates 12 sites across the capital alongside its own roastery in Bethnal Green.

“We thought now is the right time to try and expand our reach through franchising, to share the Urban experience both in and outside of London”, Wardrope tells MCA.

“There’s still a big gap in the market for coffee franchising”.

Urban Baristas currently operates a number of formats including kiosks, coffee shops and brunch cafes.

“With the franchising model, we’re going down the simpler model with less of the food offering.

“We have the kiosk model which works well, but the small to medium format up to 1500 square feet is the sweet spot”, says Wardrope.

On track to reach 30 sites over the next three years, he sees a predominant focus on the franchise route, with only 2 corporate stores planned for next year.

Wardrope says the business is in “advanced” talks for leads in Maidenhead and Glasgow as well as agreements for New Cross Gate and White City in the capital.

“I think there’s a lot of market towns around the UK that are still really with traditional coffee shops - people are crying out for a bit of a different experience.”

“Places like Maidenhead, I think the market’s wide open.

Urban Baristas has ambitions to become “that local neighbourhood café”, in part due to a change in consumer habits after the Covid years.

“We’re finding that work from home is still out there. It’s gradually getting back to where it was pre-Covid, but Fridays are still a disaster in our city locations.”

Reflecting on the wider market, Wardrope feels there has been a historical lack of scalable, speciality coffee businesses.

“I feel that once people try our coffee, they realise the quality is better than some of the other brands out there.”

“We’re really doubling down on coffee”, says the chief executive, adding “we also do great food, but our USP is our coffee, where it’s from and training our roasters.”

One of the brand’s latest stores in London Dock, is home to the brand’s first “Coffee Lab”, a dedicated training base for employees and offering a series of coffee courses.

Despite current pressures in the market, Urban Baristas saw year-on-year growth last year and Wardrope says he hasn’t seen a decrease in sales during the cost-of-living crisis.

“The good thing about coffee is that it is an everyday little treat.

“During tough economic times, people still want that little bit of feel good in the morning.

“I think coffee is relatively recession-proof - which is why I like it.”