WHAT MAKES A DESSERT FRANCHISE EASIER TO RUN THAN A FULL-SERVICE CAFE?

Running a café has long been seen as the dream for many aspiring business owners. The thought of serving flat whites, breakfast plates, and sandwiches in a bustling neighbourhood sounds appealing  until you step behind the counter. The reality is that full-service cafés come with significant complexity, from large menus and labour-heavy operations to long opening hours and rising food costs.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of Drizzl’d!

This is where dessert franchises offer a compelling alternative. Compared to the traditional café model, dessert businesses are leaner, more efficient, and often easier to manage without compromising profitability.

The first major difference lies in the menu size. Full-service cafés typically offer breakfast, lunch, snacks, and drinks, requiring large kitchens, higher food costs, and a broad staff skillset. A dessert franchise, on the other hand, thrives on a more focused menu. At Drizzl’d, our offering centres around indulgent treats like hot ball doughnuts, churros, and milkshakes. All of which are streamlined enough to reduce wastage while still offering variety. A smaller menu means simpler training, faster service, and fewer moving parts.

Then there’s the question of labour. Cafés often rely on chefs, baristas, wait staff, and kitchen hands to cover multiple services throughout the day. That creates staffing challenges, particularly in an industry grappling with high turnover. Dessert franchises are different. Because operations are built on systems and repeatable processes, the reliance on highly specialised staff is reduced. New team members can be trained faster, and shifts can run smoothly with smaller teams.

Another key factor is overheads. Full-service cafés usually operate long hours, from early morning breakfasts through to lunch and sometimes dinner. That means higher wage bills, more utilities, and more complex scheduling. Dessert franchises can focus on the late-night economy, opening during peak hours when demand for indulgent treats is highest. This not only aligns with modern customer habits, people searching for “desserts near me open late”, but also helps control costs while maximising revenue.

Perhaps the most underrated advantage of dessert franchises is marketing appeal. While cafés compete in a crowded market of breakfast spots and coffee culture, desserts stand out. They are visual, indulgent, and perfect for social media. A loaded churro tray or over-the-top hot ball doughnuts naturally attracts attention, creating organic word-of-mouth and free marketing. This ability to drive traffic without heavy reliance on promotions is a big plus for franchise owners.

At Drizzl’d, we’ve built our franchise model with all of these benefits in mind. Since opening in 2021, our systems have been intentionally designed to minimise complexity while maximising efficiency and customer experience. From clear training modules to streamlined supply chains, our framework ensures franchise partners can focus on growth instead of fighting daily fires.

Running a business is never “easy,” but some models are simply smarter. A dessert franchise offers the excitement of hospitality with fewer of the headaches that come with full-service cafés. It’s about working with a concept that is simple, scalable, and supported and that’s exactly what Drizzl’d was built to deliver.

So, if you’ve ever dreamt of owning a food business but want to avoid the pitfalls of running a café, maybe it’s time to think sweeter. We’ve got everything sorted. Enquire now for 2026!