Open a self-service coffee shop in Hamburg

Coffee to go in Hamburg: who buys on the move

Every morning lots of people in Hamburg travel to work: from the surrounding area by S-Bahn and regional train, from Harburg and Wilhelmsburg across the Elbe, from Wandsbek and Barmbek into the city centre by U-Bahn. They buy their coffee on the way: on the platform, at the U-Bahn exit, when changing from the bus to the train. These are exactly the people a self-service coffee shop earns from: they pick up the cup in a minute and walk on.

Most of these customers are where people change. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is one of the busiest stations in Germany, and at Dammtor, Altona and Harburg long-distance trains, regional trains and the S-Bahn also meet. At Jungfernstieg and Berliner Tor the U-Bahn and S-Bahn cross, and in Barmbek and at Wandsbek Markt many people change from the bus to the train.

The second group works in offices: in City Nord, in Hammerbrook, in HafenCity and in the Kontorhausviertel around the Chilehaus. People who work there grab a coffee on the way in the morning and another one after lunch. In the port, in logistics and at Airbus in Finkenwerder there is shift work too, and the first coffee before the early shift is often bought on the way.

The third group studies. Universität Hamburg with its main campus near Dammtor station, Technische Universität Hamburg in Harburg, HAW Hamburg at Berliner Tor, HafenCity Universität Hamburg: between lectures, students buy coffee quickly and take it with them. 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 Hamburg

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. In a city where rain is part of everyday life, that is an advantage: the customers are already inside and come even when the weather is foul.

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 on warm days, for example around the Alster or by the Stadtpark. 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 Hamburg

The map above shows places in Hamburg 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 Hamburg.

Have you already found a free space in a shopping mall or a spot at an S-Bahn 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 Hamburg 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 Hamburg

Hamburg is spread out, and rents vary a lot from district to district: in the city centre, in HafenCity or at the Hauptbahnhof they are usually higher than by a supermarket in Billstedt, Rahlstedt or Harburg. 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.

The Hamburg weather favours locations under a roof: in a station, in a shopping mall, in the lobby of an office building. Cold-drink by the Alster is more of a summer extra than a location for the whole year.

Around the Landungsbrücken and the Elbphilharmonie there are lots of visitors, more at weekends and in summer than on a Tuesday in November. A location in a residential area, on the other hand, lives on regular customers who come at the same time every working day. Both can work. 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 Hamburg, 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 Hamburg separately and free of charge.

Kavil franchise in Hamburg: 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 Hamburg at once? Ask about our wholesale offer: from 2 to 10 locations.

FAQ: a self-service coffee shop in Hamburg