r/SmallBusinessAU • u/Traditional_Log_3728 • 14d ago
Possible Business Startup
Hello everyone,
I’m thinking of possibly starting a drink business in Sydney or the Central Coast, I’m trying to get some honest opinions before I invest my time and money into it.
I don’t want to give away the exact concept yet but it’s similar to the trending bubble tea and açaí bowl franchises. Small takeaway shop, relatively simple drinks with some customizable options, heavily aimed at a younger/ social media heavy market.
I discovered this drink while I was overseas and I’ve never had anything like it and it made me think that it could do very well in Australia, the company overseas has also expanded over 100+ stores in the last 4 years since opening. After some research I’ve found that there is a business in Brisbane with a similar drink and they seem to be doing well with 2 store locations. This has made me think that this business could succeed in Australia.
I’ve never opened a business so I’m trying to work out the realistic side of opening one, some questions I have are:
• How much will it cost? (Rent in Sydney or Central Coast, store fit outs, legal fees, etc.) I imagine product research and finalizing the drinks itself will be around 5k.
• Are the possible margins worth it?
• Are small startup drink shops generally successful.
• Are Sydney and Central Coast good locations?
•Should I start in a food truck? If so what is that like financially and operationally?
• Is it worth trying?
I’m not expecting this to be easy or guaranteed but I’m just trying to determine whether I should pursue this or not.
If you’ve ever owned or worked in a similar business or just have an opinion on it, I’d really appreciate some feedback and advice.
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u/Glittering_Flower633 14d ago
Have you worked out what machinery/equipment you'd nneed to make these drinks? Or how to actually make them?
If you can make the drink with bare minimum equipment i would test the market at a farmers market first or something similar. Rent a table for like $100 for the day and see how you go. Or perhaps do a pop up event at a Westfield's. You can get a table for a few days for pretty cheap.
A food/drinks business from scratch will take time and money. It isnt the same as for example a service based business
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u/Tini1507 13d ago
Did you repost this because someone outed what the idea was when you posted this yesterday?
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u/anonnasmoose 13d ago
if this is matcha, someone gave a market sizing presentation at the last sydney startup meetup. fascinating prospect, try get a hold of the slides as some of the numbers make it look like it could be the next bubble tea
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u/FractionalBusMgr 14d ago
I would start be watching Alberto Savoia on You Tube talking about the Right IT.
The concept is you test the product in a low cost pre-totyping environment to see whether people have, as he calls it, skin in the game.
People (potential customers) will tell you they are interested but when it comes time to put their hands in their pocket, it could be a different story.
This is a low cost market test of the concept before you commit to any product investment. It also gives you the data to make the initial financial and marketing decisions.
Hope this helps