an introduction to franchising our...

An introduction to franchising

our restaurants

CAFE ROUGÉBELLA ITALIAWHO ARE WE LAS IGUANAS SUPPORT

“ We are pleased to have the opportunity to invite like-minded partners, who share our values, and the passion for what we do, to become part of the Casual Dining Group (CDG).” Steve Richards CEO

Partnering with Casual Dining Group


• Estate approaching 300 restaurants across our portfolio of brands

• Ambitious schedule of openings and refurbishments each year

• Operating across three continents, with a strong pipeline of new business opportunities underway

• Opened franchised sites in Delhi March 2016 and London January 2017

• A dedicated franchisee support team

• State-of-the-art development kitchen in our Euston office, putting food at the heart of the business

• Large, well-capitalised group with supportive new ownership

• Award winning employer, with awards from Heathrow for our training and mentoring programmes in 2015 and 2016

• Award winning menus, achieving the coveted Mumsnet innovation award in 2015 for our work on children’s menus

Highlights from our current business portfolio


Mark NelsonManaging Director, Concessions, Franchising and Belgo

A former MD of one of the UK’s largest catering concession businesses; Mark has a proven track record of business development, both in the concession and franchise market, in the UK and overseas.

Lisa JohnsonDirector of Marketing, Concessions, Franchising and Belgo

Working formerly as Sales and Marketing Director of brands as diverse as Wagamama, Hilton and Legoland, Lisa heads up our concessions and franchising marketing team - she is adept at linking in with our concessions partners focusing firmly on improving the customer experience and delivering brands to the highest standards.

Richard DownsDirector of Franchising and Business Development

Richard’s years of operational experience means he knows exactly how to open and run great restaurants. This solid foundation and strong commercial acumen help him to develop successful franchise partnerships. Negotiating and setting up Café Rouge Dubai, Bella Italia Delhi and Belgo Kings Cross, London, Richard will see the project through from initial conversation to site opening, supporting the franchise partner every step of the way.

Introducing the franchise team


Lizi HillsFinance Director, Concessions, Franchising and Belgo

Before joining CDG, Lizi worked in Corporate Finance specialising in the Leisure sector, building up a wealth of sector knowledge. Notably, she worked on the sale of Strada, and advised CDG on the acquisition of Las Iguanas. She previously worked at both Apple and Pizza Hut in their in house financial strategy teams. Lizi is a Chartered Accountant.

Claire ClarkeHR Director, Concessions, Franchising and Belgo

Bringing a wealth of HR and CDG experience to the team, Claire has worked for the company for 20 years. Claire brings a real people focus to our franchising partners, providing learning and development support.

Mary-Kate Shannon-LittleFranchise Brand Manager

Working formerly for a large UK hotel chain, Mary-Kate brings with her a wealth of knowledge in marketing a multi-site organisation. Her passion for both branding and marketing strengthens her position as Franchise Brand Manager, managing the day-to-day marketing needs for franchise partners.

Introducing the franchise team


James SpraggManaging Director, Bella Italia

20 years sector experience.

James has a strong track record of leading high profile leisure businesses including TGI Fridays and Pizza Express. He has also previously held senior director roles at Whitbread and Scottish and Newcastle.

Mos ShamelManaging Director, Las Iguanas

Mos has significant experience in rolling out new sites as CEO and previously Operations Director, helping grow Las Iguanas from six to over 50 sites.

Simon WilkinsonManaging Director, Café Rouge

18 years sector experience.

Simon was formerly Chief Executive of LTR Grupo de Restaurantes, Chief Operating Officer at Kuwaiti-owned Kout Food Group, and Managing Director at Paramount Restaurants. Spending the first 10 years of his career operating 5-star hotels in London and the Caribbean, he now oversees the development & growth of Café Rouge.

Introducing brands management team

BRANDS

THE BRAND


BELLA ITALIA HAS A HISTORY SPANNING OVER 40 YEARS, YET DURING 2017 WE GAVE THE BRAND A COMPLETE REFRESH, AND THE GREAT NEWS IS; OUR CUSTOMERS LOVE IT!

Whether in the UK or overseas, Bella Italia recognises the importance of having the customer at the heart of the operation.

Our contemporary design, all day Italian menu, and warm & welcoming personality combine to prove a winning formula for an ever-growing army of loyal customers.

With over 100 restaurants, and more opening all the time, we’re familiar and loved – with each visit ending with a full belly and a massive smile!

The brand name has been trademarked as Bellatalia for the International market


THE FOODWE’RE PROUD OF OUR ITALIAN HERITAGE AND THE QUALITY OF OUR INGREDIENTS SOURCED. THIS ENABLES US TO OFFER OUR GUESTS THE BEST IN ITALIAN-INSPIRED DISHES.

We know that people don’t expect this level of care and craft from a restaurant chain. Part of our excitement is allowing our guests to discover and experience an authentic taste of Italy every time they visit us.

We’re passionate about bringing a truly authentic Italian experience to all our guests, which is why we import De Cecco pasta direct from Italy. Made using only the best grains and produced in Italy since 1886, it makes for a truly delicious pasta.

Classic hand-stretched pizza, a piping hot bowl of fresh pasta or a succulent grill, or a kid’s meal deal, everybody can enjoy the taste of Italy. Food is served with a side order of fun at Bella for kids and a visit to the Gelato cart, every visit if full of Italian memories.


INTERIOR DESIGNTO ENSURE THE LOOK AND FEEL OF EACH BELLA ITALIA IS JUST RIGHT FOR THE LOCAL CUSTOMER PROFILE, WE HAVE SEGMENTED ALL OF OUR RESTAURANTS INTO ONE OF THREE CATEGORIES. THE LOOK AND FEEL OF EACH CATEGORY IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, TO PLAY UP THOSE ELEMENTS AND FINISHING TOUCHES THAT WE BELIEVE THE LOCAL CUSTOMER WILL ENJOY AND APPRECIATE.

Bella Italia Leisure sites are much more colourful and playful, really turning the dials up with the Italian style and culture references. They have very bold, large scale features such as sit-on Vespa motor bikes for customers to take photos and huge hand-painted murals.

The Metro schemes have a warm industrial look to them with unfinished mild steel and reclaimed timber features throughout. The addition of sheet metal to the bar counter fronts and more interesting contemporary light fittings adds to the distinctive look that allows these sites to compete successfully in busy city centre locations.

The Trattorria style lends itself well to smaller sites where space is at a premium and every inch of the footprint has to be utilised with due care and attention. Kitchens are smaller so have to work more efficiently to produce the standard menu and wine is a significant feature.


PROPERTYBELLA ITALIA IS SUITED TO A WIDE RANGE OF LOCATIONS WITH THE CORE OFFERING SIMPLE TO MODIFY, TO MATCH TERRITORY REQUIREMENTS.

• 275 – 400 m2

• Potential for smaller or larger premises

• Prime mixed use retail and leisure schemes

• Mall sites

• Concessions environment

• High footfall areas in major world cities

Café Rouge was launched in London back in 1989. Today, Café Rouge is the only established Nationwide French casual dining brand in the UK.

Now with over 90 restaurants in the UK, the brand serves six million meals each year.

Unique in covering all day parts, Café Rouge combines the very best examples of classic bistro cuisine, wine and coffee in beautifully designed restaurants.

• The original all day bistro driving every day part occasion

• Wide menu from lighter lunch dishes to more formal evening meals

• Market leader in breakfast and brunch offerings

• Most sites with sit at bars for eating and drinking

• Dedicated team in the UK driving food, brand and design development

• Bi-annual menu refreshes, ensuring seasonality in the offer

• Authentic French look and feel to the bistros with individual design features

THE BRAND


THE FOODA large part of the appeal of Café Rouge is its broad reaching menu, taking in French bistro classics, break-fast and lighter dishes for lunch. The menu is changed with the seasons allowing us to introduce fresh new dishes, as well keeping the classic bistro dishes which are at the heart of what we do.

Our confit de canard, from our Normandy farmer is cooked slow and served with our creamy dauphinoise potatoes and a rich red wine sauce.

A whole sea bass is filleted, and then steamed simply in parchment with a red pepper Piperade, leeks and a lobster and dill butter.

Our famous baguettes and croques are perfect for lighter meals at lunchtime and have been on the menu for 26 years in one guise or another.



We take great care over the design of our new and refurbished restaurants. Each one is a bit different and will always have a personal touch inspired by its location.

• Heritage shopfront and traditional canopies

• Rich colour tones with quality dark timber finishes to floors, tables and bar

• Classic Café Rouge banquette seating finished in Rouge red

• Flexible low level bistro tables

• Large Parisian style wall mirrors

• Wine and champagne back bar and open cellarage displays

• Vintage amber lighting features

• Bespoke black and white photography

INTERIOR DESIGN


Café Rouge is suited to a range of locations. Our recommended locations have wide frontages, terrace seating and are suitable for a bar area. In the UK, we operate restaurants across the high street, in malls, leisure parks and within concessions environments. Areas that can attract an all day trade are preferable, as they are perfectly suited for the multi day part business we operate.

PROPERTY

• 275 – 400 m2

• Potential for smaller format sites

• Prime mixed use retail and leisure schemes

• Mall sites

• Concessions environment

• High footfall areas in major world cities

Home to the flavours of Mexico, Brazil and beyond; Las Iguanas is famous for its authentic and fresh South American dishes and range of premium cocktails. The vibrant brand started in the UK back in 1991, and has grown to over 55 sites; all with an ever loyal army of amigos.

The design draws on the colour palette of the tropics, with vintage imagery spanning Latin culture from film and music to beach life. The team retain close ties with friends and suppliers across South America, and make regular visits to ensure the brand is always kept fresh and authentic.

• The exciting flavours of South America

• Contemporary and authentic restaurant designs

• The perfect place for friends or families to meet, celebrate and enjoy a taste of Latin life

The

Brand


Latin-Soul

Modern South American food draws on a rich history, fusing South American Indian ingredients with those arriving from Africa and Europe over the centuries. The resulting cuisine is rich in flavour, bursting with spices and textures.

Mexican, Brazilian, Peruvian, Chilean... the continent inspires the new and the different; the fresh and flavoursome.

Our development kitchen trials new dishes throughout the year ready to make an appearance on our seasonal.

The bar is renowned for high quality classic Latin cocktails and mocktails, along with a carefully chosen range of South American wines and beers.

The

Food FreshLatin

food


Interior

DesignWorking with top UK architects and designers we have created a range of interior styles. All capture the spirit of Las Iguanas but can be customised to suit individual locations.


Property


The team at Las Iguanas have a wealth of experience in successful site finding, acquisition and development and can advise on everything from layout to local demographics.

• 300 – 500 m2

• With flagship restaurants in prime locations in the UK including London’s iconic South Bank and overlooking the Olympic Stadium, Las Iguanas have an impressive track record, whilst also successfully identifying and operating units on the high street and in smaller leisure clusters.


“ Our franchise team, with experts in UK and international marketing and operations, are committed to supporting you and your business and assisting with establishing and developing our brands. Our franchise support package consists of state-of-the-art systems, and our CDG Way operating system.”

Our franchise support commitments

MARKETING


Once a new market is signed, we will conduct a series of brand research projects to assist you with launching and positioning the brand effectively for your market.

Pre-launch, qualitative brand researchIn depth focus groups testing brand appeal and all key elements of the brand. This will help us to adapt areas of the brand to better suit your target customer – such as interior design or layout, menu format or food range, brand positioning and best approach to marketing.

Competitor price benchmarkingWe will help you to conduct a thorough price review of all your key competitors, providing guidance on pricing range and price tolerance, with suggested pricing suitable for your market.

Post launch, testing and refiningTwo or three months post launch we will run a series of activities to test how well the brand is being received in your market. This will enable us to provide strategic guidance to you on any alterations that may be needed, either in brand experience, operational execution or branding and marketing.

Annual brand tracking programmeAn annual brand track survey will be conducted every spring, applicable for any market with five or more established restaurants open at the time of research – please note this programme will be subsidised by CDG but there will be a small fee for each participating market.

Marketing

Brand research


We are partnered with global translation agency 'Creative Translation' to assist with ‘transcreating’ our brands into new markets and languages, ensuring they are represented in an accurate, understandable and compelling way.

We will provide the following services ahead of launch:• Initial translation of core brand positioning and

straplines, as well as setting tone of voice in target language – for testing in focus group with follow up refinement

• Assistance with font and logo adaption in target language

• Assistance with translations of all menu copy and any launch communications

• Creation of translation brand guidelines tailored to your market

And post-launch you can choose how you work going forwards:• Continue to work with our agency at centrally

agreed fees, benefiting from economies of scale and consistency of translation

• Or, manage your own translation services, in which case a bi-annual audit will be carried out by our agency to ensure tone of voice and accurate and consistent translation is being implemented

Marketing

Translation & transcreation services


You will be provided with templated CMS based brand websites upon signing with us, which will ensure our digital brand presence is consistently executed whilst giving you the tools to effectively market your business.

Website CMS template• A branded template for you to customise with your

own content

• Can be dual-language if needed

• Content guides will be provided

• Websites will be optimised for web and search and we will work with you to ensure the SEO is set up in the right way, enabling you to track and monitor your web traffic

• Apart from a small fee for hosting and ongoing service maintenance of your website, you won’t need to incur any additional costs for building or running it

However, if we have multiple franchisees of the same brand in one market, the website will operate slightly differently• In this case the home page will be controlled

centrally, which will direct to regional pages, of which each franchisee will have control

Marketing

Websites & digital presence


Our central marketing team will gladly assist you with creating on-brand, compelling social media and PR strategies in your market.

Social media: we can provide guidelines and support with:• Content planning• Fan acquisition• Fan engagement• Campaign activation

PR: to protect our brand reputation, we will need to sign off any press releases in advance• Sample press releases will be provided with each

menu launch and campaign launch

• Franchisees can adapt or alter content, or write their own press releases as long as they are signed off by our marketing team

Review process: we will conduct an impartial annual review of PR & social marketing activities in each market, looking at:• Share of voice• Coverage achieved• Social engagement• ROI• And a detailed report will be

shared back with you for review and improvements

Marketing

Social media & PR

JANFEB

APRMAY

Menu analysis

Menu change brief signed off

Recipes submitted for review/approval

Procurement and food development

Spring cook-offs and product/recipe sign off

Menu templates saved to Ops Portal

Final sign off

Launch

Example spring menu change process


Our marketing team will support you with your menu strategy, category and range planning, pricing and analysis. Our dedicated food development chef will assist you with product development, recipe matching, sourcing and training.

Marketing

Food development & menu launch process

SET UP & OPERATIONS


We provide a comprehensive set of systems to ensure all aspects of your property are dealt with correctly.

• Comprehensive design guidelines to ensure the correct design is used for each restaurant opened

• Detailed design document covering standard front and back of house layouts

• A considered approach to store design suited to the local market

• Access to our in-house resources to assist in project planning and management to ensure cost efficient openings

• Access to our own competitive rates for internationally recognised design teams, with offices in the UK, Middle East, America and Asia

• Standardised store design across each of our brands for simple and efficient brand roll outs

SET UP & OPERATIONS

Property


We will provide an online, mobile optimised operations portal, with instant access to the brand and comprehensive guidance on how you set up and run all aspects of operations.

Functionality• All brand documents stored in a simple to

navigate online portal, with a clear layout structured around the CDG values

• Updated remotely, ensuring all documents are kept current

• Ability to download, email and print from the portal

• Country specific content, controlled by partner and country specific login

Illustrative contents• Standard operating procedures for all aspects

of the business, from food and health and safety, to brand standards documents covering set up, display, checklists and success routines

• Interview forms, job descriptions, training manuals and plans

• Guides on operations, managers and team meetings; team and management reviews.

• Interactive training videos and guides bringing the brand to life

• Access to E Learning modules, specific to the brand

SET UP & OPERATIONS

Operations portal


We will give you access to our tried and tested methods of working – used with CDG’s entire estate of 300 restaurants.

• Food and health and safety audits from independent auditors at the same competitive rates we get from an internationally recognised food safety standards agency

• All restaurants supported with a Good To Go audit ensuring the right food and health and safety standards are in place for the local market

• Our complete Employee Relations policy to act as guidance and as a template for your own policies

• A complete and comprehensive set of food safety procedures with food safety form templates which can be modified for the local market

• A simple to use Work Safe Health and Safety system to act as a template for safer working within the restaurants

• Robust financial policies which can protect the business and its revenue, to act as a template for local market modification

SET UP & OPERATIONS

Safeguards


You will have a dedicated people team with extensive international and brand experience to support all stages of the people management process. Passionate people who will provide exceptional recruitment support and tailored learning and development tools to suit and support your teams, enabling them to deliver fantastic food and service quality, direct to the local market.

• Assistance in planning people structures to support the restaurant manpower plans

• Comprehensive Management induction and training in our UK restaurants for your senior operations teams

• Recruitment materials and structured interview processes to support the brand and market in which you operate

• Support and guidance on planning and running training sessions for pre and post-opening

• Supporting pre-opening training direct within the local area, with a full operational training team sent for both front and back of house operations

• The dedicated people team will assist in localising training materials to ensure that they are matched to the market

SET UP & OPERATIONS

Training


• A rounded suite of innovative and engaging training materials covering induction, on the job training, group training sessions – including full menu cook-offs, individual training plans and detailed training manuals for all members of the restaurant team

• A comprehensive suite of online materials translated to local language and bespoke to culture and local menu offering

• Ongoing support from the UK people team with quarterly training reviews to support the ongoing development of the restaurant teams, and to continually engage with our partners

SET UP & OPERATIONS

People


We will conduct quarterly business reviews, in the local market, ensuring the brand is a success.

• Business reviews conducted quarterly based on the core vales of the business: local great brands, exceptional people, superb service, well loved restaurants and driving sales and growing profits

• Full reviews of customer feedback on food and service quality

• Clear objectives set and reviewed after each business review

SET UP & OPERATIONS

Business reviews

SUMMARY


• Become part of the fastest growing restaurant group in the UK• Choose from three fantastic, proven and established brands with a wealth of

knowledge and support behind them• Benefit from the group’s expertise in running restaurant brands with an experienced

management team at the helm• Your own dedicated Franchise team with a wealth of knowledge

of international business• State-of-the-art online systems to enhance the franchise user experience

SUMMARY

Why franchise with the Casual Dining Group?

CDG Franchise Summary 42


The ideal franchise partner should be a well funded player with a good local network, long term ambitions and a strong track record in F&B.

SUMMARY

What we look for in a partner

1 2 3 4 5SCALE

You should be a large well-capitalised

business with the willingness and capital to invest

for periods of 3-5 years.

F&B CASUAL DINING EXPERIENCERelevant casual dining experience preferred,

ideally with experience of successfully

expanding similar Western brands.

BRAND FOCUSPassionate senior

teams, with the ability to deliver a

consistent customer experience.

REGIONAL EXPANSION CAPABILITY

The ability to develop and to penetrate adjacent regions.

NETWORKLink to secure prime real estate locations and ability to set up secure supply chain.

PLEASE CONTACTRICHARD DOWNSDirector of Franchising & Business Development

CASUAL DINING GROUP LTD163 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1BU, United Kingdom

T +44 (0)20 7121 3200 M +44 (0)7920 586 036 E [email protected] W cdgfranchising.com

www.bellaital ia.co.ukwww.caferouge.comwww.iguanas.co.uk

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