Open a self-service coffee shop in Berlin

Coffee to go in Berlin: who buys on the move

Berlin is big, and many people travel to work from another district, often with a change of trains. They buy their coffee on the way: on the platform, at the U-Bahn exit, in the passage between the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn. These are exactly the people a self-service coffee shop earns from. They do not sit down at a table: they pick up the cup in a minute and walk on.

Most of these customers are where people change trains. Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin Friedrichstraße, Alexanderplatz, Berlin Ostkreuz, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Gesundbrunnen: several lines meet at each of these stations. The Ringbahn circles the city centre, and people change lines at its stations too. In Neukölln and Kreuzberg the U-Bahn stations Hermannplatz and Kottbusser Tor are busy.

The second group works in offices. At Potsdamer Platz and along Friedrichstraße office buildings stand close together, and in Adlershof research institutes and technology companies work side by side. Office workers grab a coffee on the way in the morning and another one after lunch.

The third group studies. Freie Universität Berlin in Dahlem, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berliner Hochschule für Technik, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin: between lectures, students buy coffee quickly and take it into the next lecture. During the semester break there are fewer students, and that belongs in the sales plan for a location in a university building.

Which coffee shop formats we install in Berlin

The most common choice is the indoor coffee shop, turnkey from €6 425. It stands in a shopping mall, an office building, a university, a hospital or the checkout area of a supermarket. Winter does not hurt this location, because its customers are already inside.

The outdoor coffee shop (from €10 709) works round the clock in any weather, has a vandal-resistant body and needs no premises. It stands at petrol stations, at stops or in front of a shop in a residential area. You agree the spot with the owner of the space, for example the shop the kiosk will stand next to.

Then there is cold-drink: iced coffee, shakes and cold drinks for the summer. This format pays off where lots of people are outdoors in summer, by a park or a lake. We quote the price on request.

We do not fix the format in advance. First we look at the address and how people move there, then we decide what goes there. If you would like to sell something other than coffee, we will build a different vending machine turnkey: for ice cream, candyfloss, pizza or ready meals.

Where to put a coffee shop in Berlin

The map above shows places in Berlin that lots of people pass every day: stops, S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations, supermarkets, office buildings, hospitals and universities. Tap your district and see what is nearby. Below are the places where we start the search in Berlin.

Have you already found a free corner in a shopping mall or a spot at a station? Send us the address, and we will calculate the income for that exact site free of charge. If you do not have an address yet, we will do the search: we check the footfall, negotiate with the landlord and show you several options. You pay for the search only after you sign the lease with the landlord, and only if you like the site.

How much a self-service coffee shop in Berlin costs

A turnkey indoor coffee shop costs from €6 425 incl. VAT. Outdoor coffee shop: from €10 709. Cold-drink: price on request. Installation anywhere in Germany is charged separately from the price of the coffee shop.

The basic set includes a Kavil-branded kiosk with LED lighting, a Saeco or Jetinno coffee machine, a terminal for card and smartphone payments, Kavil brand design and telemetry. The final price depends mainly on the coffee machine model, and also on the options and the installation. Banknote and coin acceptors and a custom design can be added separately.

You pay in two parts, and only after signing the contract, which sets out the coffee machine model, the equipment, the amount and the deadlines. You make the prepayment after signing and pay the rest at installation. After that, each month you pay rent, taxes and the bank fee for card payments, and you buy ingredients and cups. You do not hand us any percentage of your sales.

What matters in Berlin

Rents in Berlin vary a lot. At a station or in a shopping mall in Mitte they are usually higher than by a supermarket in a residential area of Marzahn or Spandau. That is why we calculate the income for each address separately, taking into account the footfall, the drink price, the equipment and the rent of that exact site.

A location by a supermarket or a stop in your own neighbourhood lives on regular customers, while a location at an interchange station lives on the sheer number of commuters. Both can work, but the figures differ: at a station, daily sales are usually higher, and so is the rent. The calculation for your address shows which option works out better for you.

What you need to launch

You need no business experience. We open turnkey coffee shops even for people who have never run a business: we train you from scratch, and from the day the contract is signed you have a personal manager. We help you with the bank account and the payment terminal step by step.

It all starts with a conversation. You leave your number, we call back, calculate the income for the site you have chosen in Berlin, put together the equipment package and show you the inside of the coffee shop on Zoom. This stage moves at your pace. You read the contract before you pay, and the countdown starts with the prepayment: it takes up to 30 days from then to the first cup. In that time we build the coffee shop in our own workshop, look for a site if you ask us to, and then deliver, install and set up the coffee shop.

Looking after the location itself takes about 15 minutes once every two or three days: topping up ingredients and collecting the takings. You can easily combine this with your main job. You see sales and stock levels on your smartphone, so you know when it is time to go to the location.

How much Kavil partners earn

Taras has a network of 3 locations in retail areas and busy walkways. After 5 months of operation it brought him more than €1 770 of net profit a month. Bohdan has 1 indoor location by an entrance: 80 drinks a day and more than €880 a month after 6 months. Vladyslav has 2 indoor locations with steady footfall: more than €1 480 of net profit a month after 5 months.

Kavil partners’ figures (December 2024), converted to euros. Results vary from location to location: these are examples, not a guarantee. Coffee prices, rents and costs depend on the site, so we do not carry these figures over directly. We calculate the income for your address in Berlin separately and free of charge.

Kavil franchise in Berlin: what you get

You buy the equipment, and the business is entirely yours: 0 royalties, so no monthly share of your sales goes to us. We roast our own coffee, and you buy our beans 25% cheaper than from competitors. We build the coffee shops in our own workshop, buy Saeco and Jetinno coffee machines directly, with no dealer markup, and you get beans, ingredients and cups from us with no middlemen. Thanks to telemetry, you see sales and stock levels on your smartphone every day.

The equipment comes with a warranty, and we write its term into the contract. If sales drop, we go through the figures together, and if the site turns out to be weak, we plan a move. If you change your mind or the location does not work out, we will buy back the equipment at 60% of its value; the buyback terms are in the contract. Would you like several coffee shops in Berlin at once? Ask about our wholesale offer: from 2 to 10 locations.

FAQ: a self-service coffee shop in Berlin