“The secret? It’s simple, I love food.” — Jussi Laurila, owner of Arnolds.
Talking to Jussi, is talking to a passionate man. He goes out of his way to share his great love of good food through the network of Arnolds coffee bars.
“I’m fanatical when it comes to flavours, ingredients and quality. You can call us fast food if you want, or even junk food, because you can also make that kind of food better.
For example, we use real Belgian chocolate, everything is freshly prepared, and our head chef worked for Michelin-starred restaurants before joining the Arnolds team. I don’t think many ‘junk food’ places can say that?”
The first shop opened in 1991 and since then Arnolds has grown into a much-loved chain with branches across Finland.
Jussi speaks highly of his franchisees: “We have very strong business partners. It’s almost like a family. Some have been with us for more than 20 years.”
Franchising a food service concept is difficult. Many have tried, and most have failed. When I asked Jussi how to keep such a steady group of partners, he told me four things:
– Take good care of your franchisees
– Be prepared. “When we find a new franchisee, we are ready to go.”
– Be strict when it comes to following guidelines
– Invest in solid relationships
“I encourage everyone on our head office team to go and meet our franchisees.
The head chef, the operations managers and even the marketing manager, we are always travelling around the country.”
At Arnolds, it’s all about good food and good business partners.
They more than deserve their spot in our article:
’47 Scaling Restaurants In Scandinavia To Keep An Eye On (Because They Are Awesome)’
