Famous Brands extends 'Theatre of Foods' portfolio

With effect from 1 May, the trademarks and franchise agreements of the House of Coffees and Juicy Lucy brands will be moved into Creative Coffees and merged with the business of Kairuz Holdings, a company that specialises in servicing the retail and food offerings in the private hospital industry.

Famous Brands will retain a 61% controlling shareholding in the new company and Creative Coffees will be managed by Kairuz founder, Brent Kairuz.

Darren Hele, chief operating officer of franchising for Famous Brands, noted that the establishment of Creative Coffees was part of the group's comprehensive strategy for the broader coffee category.

"In 2009, Famous Brands acquired Mugg & Bean, the leading brand in the casual dining coffee themed category. Given the size of that brand's franchise network and its strong consumer equity in the mainstream environment, a deliberate strategy was employed by the group to continue to grow the network, and where appropriate, convert certain House of Coffees' restaurants to Mugg & Bean franchises," he said.

Hele added that following this conversion programme, a total of 15 House of Coffees restaurants remained, which provided an opportunity to review the positioning of the brand and grow it within a new niche.

"Creative Coffees will continue to leverage the presence that House of Coffees has in place, but will be positioned in a separate niche to that of Mugg & Bean," he said.

In terms of Juicy Lucy, Hele said that the brand had pioneered a niche in the health-centred convenience food category, and while it had lost its way over time, the potential to restore the offering to its former status was evident, particularly given the current shift by consumers to health-conscious eating.

Juicy Lucy trades out of 17 franchised restaurants nationally.