Café Jubilee is about to embark on a one-year franchising trial in Warsaw, Poland with a view to setting up six outlets in that country in the next three years.
If that is successful, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary could be next.
"In Malta there is a considerable amount of incoming franchising but we wanted to buck the trend," Café Jubilee director Alex Scicluna said.
"The first outlet will be very expensive and time-consuming to franchise but once all the preparations are done, then 80 per cent of the work will be ready for each subsequent outlet.
"Brand recognition also gets easier with each new venture as you need market penetration. It will not happen overnight."
Eastern Europe was the obvious choice, he explained.
"The Western world is already saturated with franchises, so we wanted to find places like Eastern Europe and the aspiring EU member states, which have similar legislation to ours and which are very franchise-friendly as it is useless to try and fight a system.
"They have few existing franchises, a good labour market and low start-up costs. And the cosy ambiance of a Café Jubilee is ideal for colder climates," he said.
Mr Scicluna recalls the start of Café Jubilee - whose first outlet was opened in Victoria in 1998, followed by Valletta in 2000 and Gzira in 2005.
"My brothers Mario and Anthony and I knew from day one that we did not want to have just one café but a chain. But we knew that you have to take one step at a time.
"Valletta was the first proof that we could actually replicate the Victoria experience for our patrons, which comes not only from the food and drink but from the ambiance, the service and the expectations," he said. "The client base in Victoria was mostly Maltese, so we knew that we also had a client base in Malta."
All three outlets are handled from a central office in Gozo, something which also encouraged the brothers and their partner in the international venture, Joe Xuereb, to contemplate international expansion.
The first step was to recruit a franchising consultant and they opted for Howarth UK, which has experience in 40 countries in a variety of sectors. The amount of preparatory work is daunting. The franchising package has to encompass all that Café Jubilee stands for, including non-tangible aspects such as the decor, as well as a legal dossier showing responsibilities on both sides, a brand manual which will ensure consistency across all outlets, an operations manual and even a staff training manual.
"We will not aim to recreate the local menu completely as there are certain foods like pastizzi that are simply not well known overseas. Around 60 per cent will be the same, another 20 per cent will be the same items but with a local twist, and 20 per cent will be completely local," he said.
It took a year to get it all down.
"There are a number of things that you just know from experience, like stock levels and maintenance schedules. It is quite different to have to put them down into an itemised timetable," he said.
It was also very expensive.
"If you asked me three or four years ago, I would have said it would never happen. For a Gozitan company, the numbers are so prohibitive and most consultants will not even consider something that wants just a few outlets. The scale of franchising was beyond our imagination but we have started the ball rolling.
"Franchising means that you can expand without using your own capital. You sacrifice some revenue but you get faster growth. The franchisee, on the other hand, gets a tried and tested formula that has withstood the test of time. Franchises have a much better chance of survival than start-ups. Well, we have a nine-year history."
Café Jubilee's success is not accidental. There is far more science involved than you would think. For example, none of the outlets have windows, which means they can be located in areas that many other outlets would shun. It also means the outlet relies on artificial lighting which is an important part of the cosy feel.
"This is a real advantage as the view tends to be reflected in the price of an outlet!" he said.
Mr Scicluna said that there are no plans to add any further outlets in Malta in the near future, although there is certainly scope for another outlet in the south.
"I read a lot of biographies and when you look at franchising, the expansion always seems to be from one to three outlets, and then on to 10, 25 and 100. Funnily enough, there never seem to be numbers in between. Well, with the seven outlets in Poland, we would have 10... And then, well, we'll see."
If that is successful, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary could be next.
"In Malta there is a considerable amount of incoming franchising but we wanted to buck the trend," Café Jubilee director Alex Scicluna said.
"The first outlet will be very expensive and time-consuming to franchise but once all the preparations are done, then 80 per cent of the work will be ready for each subsequent outlet.
"Brand recognition also gets easier with each new venture as you need market penetration. It will not happen overnight."
Eastern Europe was the obvious choice, he explained.
"The Western world is already saturated with franchises, so we wanted to find places like Eastern Europe and the aspiring EU member states, which have similar legislation to ours and which are very franchise-friendly as it is useless to try and fight a system.
"They have few existing franchises, a good labour market and low start-up costs. And the cosy ambiance of a Café Jubilee is ideal for colder climates," he said.
Mr Scicluna recalls the start of Café Jubilee - whose first outlet was opened in Victoria in 1998, followed by Valletta in 2000 and Gzira in 2005.
"My brothers Mario and Anthony and I knew from day one that we did not want to have just one café but a chain. But we knew that you have to take one step at a time.
"Valletta was the first proof that we could actually replicate the Victoria experience for our patrons, which comes not only from the food and drink but from the ambiance, the service and the expectations," he said. "The client base in Victoria was mostly Maltese, so we knew that we also had a client base in Malta."
All three outlets are handled from a central office in Gozo, something which also encouraged the brothers and their partner in the international venture, Joe Xuereb, to contemplate international expansion.
The first step was to recruit a franchising consultant and they opted for Howarth UK, which has experience in 40 countries in a variety of sectors. The amount of preparatory work is daunting. The franchising package has to encompass all that Café Jubilee stands for, including non-tangible aspects such as the decor, as well as a legal dossier showing responsibilities on both sides, a brand manual which will ensure consistency across all outlets, an operations manual and even a staff training manual.
"We will not aim to recreate the local menu completely as there are certain foods like pastizzi that are simply not well known overseas. Around 60 per cent will be the same, another 20 per cent will be the same items but with a local twist, and 20 per cent will be completely local," he said.
It took a year to get it all down.
"There are a number of things that you just know from experience, like stock levels and maintenance schedules. It is quite different to have to put them down into an itemised timetable," he said.
It was also very expensive.
"If you asked me three or four years ago, I would have said it would never happen. For a Gozitan company, the numbers are so prohibitive and most consultants will not even consider something that wants just a few outlets. The scale of franchising was beyond our imagination but we have started the ball rolling.
"Franchising means that you can expand without using your own capital. You sacrifice some revenue but you get faster growth. The franchisee, on the other hand, gets a tried and tested formula that has withstood the test of time. Franchises have a much better chance of survival than start-ups. Well, we have a nine-year history."
Café Jubilee's success is not accidental. There is far more science involved than you would think. For example, none of the outlets have windows, which means they can be located in areas that many other outlets would shun. It also means the outlet relies on artificial lighting which is an important part of the cosy feel.
"This is a real advantage as the view tends to be reflected in the price of an outlet!" he said.
Mr Scicluna said that there are no plans to add any further outlets in Malta in the near future, although there is certainly scope for another outlet in the south.
"I read a lot of biographies and when you look at franchising, the expansion always seems to be from one to three outlets, and then on to 10, 25 and 100. Funnily enough, there never seem to be numbers in between. Well, with the seven outlets in Poland, we would have 10... And then, well, we'll see."