Italian coffee house and lounge seeks franchise owners worldwide

C House is one of the most innovative, fashionable and original coffee shop concepts in Italy. The company is now looking for franchise owners to recreate its Italian coffee house experience by offering its premium espresso 'Perfect Cup', authentic Italian and Mediterranean food products, original 'Aperitivo Time' and relaxing atmosphere in countries and territories worldwide.

The founders of C House have been involved in the Italian coffee roast industry since 1961. The business partners decided to develop a high-end coffee shop chain in 2006 and opened the first C House location in November 2007. The concept has proved to be very popular and there are currently 14 C House coffee shops operating across Italy and Greece, with a number of further outlets due to be launched soon. In addition to franchising in Greece, C House is set to expand into Lebanon and is due to open its first outlet in the country in March 2010.

C House's popularity is not only down to its high quality coffee but is also due to the company's focus on using fresh and good quality natural ingredients for its food products. C House's product range is similar to that of a deli with each location serving handmade sandwiches (including panini, focaccie and piadine), traditional pastas, crunchy salads and fresh Italian cake specialities. Cristiano Iezzi, Business Development Manager at C House, explains: "To maintain our food offering at a top level we have a dedicated in-house team who are working to ensure the freshest products all day long. Many of our food recipes are unique to C House and cannot be found elsewhere."

C House is looking for franchise owner candidates who have:

• Branded retail or food and beverage experience
• Key functional areas of experience (for example accounting, tax, legal, store design, operations, etc)
• Independent organisation with own warehouse and technical organisation
• Access to desirable real estate or shopping centres, knowledge of local property markets and prime locations
• Public relations experience and market contacts
• Detailed knowledge of local culture and consumers
• Knowledge of local business practices
• Financial resources

The investment cost of a C House franchise depends on the size of the shop, as a guideline a shop that is around 150 sq. m will start from €200.000. As part of the package C House actively supports, trains and guides franchise owners in every aspect of running their business including coffee making, food presentation, lease negotiations, store designs, pre-opening and ongoing training. Full operations and systems manuals are provided.

Cristiano adds: "C House appeals to people across the world because it's not only a way to sip a Cappuccino but it's also a meeting point and a place to relax for a while. Meeting friend's at C House in the late afternoon during the 'Aperitivo Time' can become a ritual, as many of our current customers have already discovered."