Open a self-service coffee shop in Cologne

Coffee to go in Cologne: who buys on the move

Cologne lies on both banks of the Rhine, and many people cross the river every day on their way to work. Add to that commuters from the surrounding area who arrive by S-Bahn or regional train and change to the Stadtbahn. They buy their coffee on the way: on the platform, at the stop, in the passage from the train to the Stadtbahn. A self-service coffee shop lives on exactly these people: they are not looking for a table, but for a cup to take away.

Most of these customers change at large hubs: Köln Hauptbahnhof with the Breslauer Platz exit, Köln Messe/Deutz on the right bank of the Rhine, Köln Süd, Köln West, Köln-Ehrenfeld and Köln-Mülheim. In the city centre they change lines at the Neumarkt, Heumarkt, Friesenplatz and Barbarossaplatz stops, and on the right bank at Kalk Post and Mülheim Wiener Platz.

The second group works in offices. In Deutz stand the Lanxess Tower and the Messehochhaus, by Köln West station stands ONE Cologne, the KölnTurm rises at the Mediapark, and at Rheinauhafen companies are based in KAP am Südkai and Im Zollhafen. Office workers grab a coffee on the way in the morning and another one after lunch.

The third group studies. Around the Universität and Zülpicher Platz stops lots of students are about every day. TH Köln has a campus in Deutz, right by the Deutz Technische Hochschule stop, and there are also the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and the Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln. Between two seminars, students buy coffee quickly and take it with them. During the semester break it is quieter, and that belongs in the sales plan for a location in a university building.

Which coffee shop formats we install in Cologne

Our partners usually choose the indoor coffee shop, turnkey from €6 425. It stands in a shopping mall such as Köln Arcaden, in an office building, at a university, in a hospital or in the checkout area of a supermarket. Rain and cold do 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. In Cologne it works well at a petrol station, at a stop on the Ringe boulevards or in front of a shop in your neighbourhood (Veedel). You sort out the spot with the owner of the space, for example the shop the kiosk will stand in front of.

For the summer there is cold-drink: iced coffee, shakes and cold drinks. This format pays off where lots of people are outdoors in summer, along the Innerer Grüngürtel, on the meadows by the Rhine or at Blücherpark. We quote the price on request.

We decide on the format only once we know the address and how people move there. Would you like to sell something other than coffee? Then we will build a different vending machine turnkey, for example for ice cream, candyfloss, pizza or ready meals.

Where to put a coffee shop in Cologne

On the map above you can see places in Cologne that lots of people pass every day: bus and Stadtbahn stops, stations, supermarkets, office buildings, hospitals and universities. Tap your neighbourhood to see what is nearby. Below you will find the places where we start the search in Cologne.

Do you already have your eye on a free space in a shopping mall or a spot at a stop in Cologne? 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 present several options to you. 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 Cologne 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 Cologne

Cologne has days when far more people are out than usual: big trade fairs in Deutz, Carnival, concerts and matches at the stadium. These peaks do not count in the calculation for a location. We base the calculation on an ordinary working day without a trade fair: the income has to work out even then, and the busy days are a bonus.

The second question is the position. On the Ringe, at the Hauptbahnhof or in a shopping mall in the city centre, rent is usually higher than by a supermarket in Chorweiler, Porz or Kalk, but more people pass by. A location in a residential neighbourhood lives on regular customers, one at an interchange station on commuters. That is why we calculate each address separately, taking into account the footfall, the drink price, the equipment and the rent of that exact site.

The Cologne map shows more than 1 200 cafés. A self-service coffee shop does not compete with them for guests who want to sit down, but for the minute on the way: early in the morning, before many cafés open, late in the evening and at stops with no café.

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 Cologne, 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 Cologne separately and free of charge.

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

FAQ: a self-service coffee shop in Cologne