Start a Scooter's Coffee Franchise in 2024

2024 Franchise 500 Rank: #65 Ranked #59 last year

Initial investment: $895K - $1.4M

Units as of 2023: 651 133.3% over 3 years

Scooter's Coffee started as a dream of Don and Linda Eckles, who believed that people need quality coffee served from convenient locations. With a vision of combining high-quality drinks and speedy service, Scooter's Coffee opened in 1998, with franchising beginning in 2001.

The Scooter’s Coffee brand promise, often recited to franchisees, customers, and employees, is: “Amazing People, Amazing Drinks… Amazingly Fast!” Customers can stop at a Scooter's Coffee drive-thru and pick up quality coffee as they begin their day with a smile. Since Scooter's Coffee hit the market, the brand has maintained a solid reputation among customers who depend on its commitments to quality.

There are hundreds of Scooter’s Coffee franchises throughout the United States. The company is seeking to expand its reach even further, potentially making it an intriguing option for entrepreneurs.

Why You May Want to Start a Scooter's Coffee Franchise

As the name suggests, Scooter's Coffee is where coffee connoisseurs can "scoot in and scoot out" as they enjoy its premium coffee products. In the competitive coffee shop market, Scooter's Coffee may be a brand with a formidable reputation that continues to solidify itself year after year.

Scooter's Coffee may offer a starting point and a brand built on outstanding performance. Opening a Scooter's Coffee franchise could be a strategic move if owning a well-regarded beverage franchise is your dream.

Scooter's Coffee has been ranked in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 multiple times in recent years. This ranking is based on an evaluation of more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.

What Might Make a Scooter's Coffee Franchise a Good Choice?

To be part of the Scooter's Coffee team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

Scooter’s Coffee has partnered with third-party financial lenders that may help qualified franchisees cover the costs of the franchise fee, startup cost, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll.

How To Open a Scooter's Coffee Franchise

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement, you must perform your due diligence and establish if this is the right opportunity for you. As part of your due diligence, you may want to speak to existing franchisees and ask the Scooter's Coffee franchising team questions.

Setting up a Scooter's Coffee franchise begins when the franchisor and franchisee enter into a legal agreement that allows you to operate a store and use the brand's image and products. A typical franchise agreement runs for ten years. Franchisees may be entitled to renew their agreement if they meet the Scooter's Coffee brand requirements.

For new Scooter's Coffee locations, the brand may offer pre-approved franchise locations tested for viability and demographics. Scooter’s Coffee also may offer exclusive territories, potentially setting up franchisees for success by weighing all factors. Before opening a Scooter's Coffee franchise, a designated manager and at least one principal franchisee must attend training.

Company Overview

About Scooter's Coffee

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Coffee, Breakfast/Brunch Restaurants, Beverages
Founded	1998
Parent Company	Boundless Enterprises
Leadership	Joe Thornton, CEO
Corporate Address	11808 Miracle Hills Dr., #400 Omaha, NE 68154
Social	Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2001 (23 years)
# of employees at HQ	311
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	651 (as of 2023)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Scooter's Coffee franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$40,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$894,500 - $1,393,000
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$500,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$250,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	$20,000 credit toward first-year product
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	2%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Scooter's Coffee has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	104 hours
Classroom Training	56 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Grand Opening Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection
Marketing Support	Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	6
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes