Today’s guest has carved out a unique lane in the food industry offering all the benefits of a typical cold juice bar but with the added micro-cafe toast concept. This puts the brand in a whole different category that reaches a much broader audience and certainly gives them a unique edge in the market.
We’re talking about Toastique, with founder and CEO Brianna Keefe. She created the first Toastique storefront just five years ago at the age of 24 with nothing to lose. And the success was immediate. Now with franchising available, the brand is expanding quickly and Brianna’s attention to detail has these new locations ready to give customers an amazing experience.
The brand is healthy, fast casual food which is a rare combination in today’s restaurant industry and it was created around no extreme cooking equipment. This makes overhead, build out, and insurance less costly. Listen to this interview with Brianna Keefe to learn how she has launched a successful and thriving business and developed an unforgettable brand and business model.
Key Takeaways:
[2:36] – Brianna shares her background and why she decided to head into the franchise world.
[3:54] – The inspiration for Toastique was her love for healthy food and lifestyle as well as the push to do something on her own.
[5:31] – There are a lot of decisions to make when opening up your first storefront.
[7:12] – Brianna is her target market which makes things a bit easier because she thinks like her ideal customer.
[8:14] – The first location of Toastique was extremely profitable and ideal for the business.
[9:50] – Brianna describes the beginning experiences in developing a menu.
[11:14] – Although following a system, you have to take into account what is happening in each location. Allow for creativity and flexibility.
[12:50] – The details are important to Brianna and seeking franchisees that are like minded is what they are looking for.
[14:28] – Corporate locations are great for testing new products and techniques.
[15:55] – Ideally, franchisees for Toastique are multi-unit operators.
[17:03] – Brianna shares the impressive numbers of franchises signed to open this year.
[18:40] – As a brand, Toastique is very transparent, but at the end of the day, franchisees are running their own business. Brianna describes the ideal person.
[20:46] – There are always challenges in franchising. What have been the challenges for Toastique?
[22:40] – For 2022, Brianna was elected as a Forbes 30 Under 30!
