Cars stuck in high traffic areas on the Woodlands Way or Sandown Road in Parklands, Cape Town or anywhere at all in South Africa can now drive through any nearby Mugg & Bean ‘Move Thru’ store to order one shot of the hottest espresso (coffee), or flat white cappuccino, including the recently launched winter menu items, vegan-friendly hot and cold drinks, loaf cakes and fillers.

Innovation Is Key

With the newly launched ‘move thru’ store, Mugg & Bean is aiming at customers who are on the move. The customers can drive through the shops, and order the best of what they want, pay quickly and drive off without having to come down from their cars.

“More than ten years ago, we partnered with Total and set up our ‘shop in shop’ retail concept with our On The Move stores across the country,” said Chad Manuel, Mug & Bean’s product manager.

“We are not oblivious to the fact that these locations don’t necessarily serve high traffic areas in the Gauteng and Western Cape metropoles, so we have launched the first Move Thru store as a time-sensitive detour that meets the commuter’s on the move coffee and snack demand.”

The shop is a two-way strategy: customers can drive in and drive off. Those who are not in a hurry to go can find a sit-down element inside where they can catch up on emails at an ‘office away from the office’ with free Wi-Fi.

Mugg & Bean

Came to existence in 1996 through Ben Filmalter. Ben after visiting one of the coffee shops in Chicago. That was in early 1990s. He got the inspiration to open such a business in South Africa.

In 2009, Famous Brands bought Mugg and Bean franchise. By 2015, they had already got 184 coffee shops within South Africa and other parts of Africa, including overseas like in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The total income for the food and beverages industry in 2012 in South Africa was R44 262 million (about $3 million). The largest contributor to the total income was ‘restaurants and coffee shops’ (R21 797 million or 49%), followed by ‘takeaway and fast-food outlets’ (R13 751 million or 31%). 

The profit margin for the food and beverages industry was 1.9% in 2012. ‘Restaurants and coffee shops’ had the highest profit margin at 2.3%. ‘Takeaway and fast-food outlets’ and ‘caterers and other catering services’ both had a profit margin of 1.5%.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.