Gourmet coffee franchises make for a great investment opportunity. However, too much of a good thing can be a negative, especially with market saturation. If you're contemplating investing in a gourmet coffee franchise then there are some things you have to do first to increase your chances of success. We'll discuss them in this article.

Gourmet coffee is growing in popularity. In fact, there has been a 76% increase in the consumption of gourmet coffee in the last five years. Starbucks has been a big leader in this area, but they are far from being the only ones. With that has also come a rash of gourmet coffee franchise opportunities.

The profit margins are high, the demand is high, and so naturally the competition is high. There are two favorable circumstances where you can make a gourmet or specialty coffee franchise work for you.

The first circumstance is the best one, but is also the rarest. This involves being the first in a certain area to open a gourmet coffee franchise where there is adequate demand to support your business. This lets you steal pretty much all of the market share and you don't face the pressure of competition. If you feel you have a situation like this on your hands then it would be a wise move forward and invest in a gourmet coffee franchise.

The second circumstance occurs much more often - that's where there is a high demand, but there is also a lot of competition. Don't think that competition is necessarily a bad thing because it is not. It shows that a gourmet coffee business can work in that area. However, you must take someone else's market share to become successful.

There's only one way to do this. You must offer the consumer something extra they can get nowhere else. This could be a better price, more convenience, a relaxing atmosphere, or a certain type of specialization or other innovative idea. Do this and your odds of success will skyrocket. Don't do this and your odds of surviving in business at all will be very low.

So when it comes to evaluating gourmet coffee franchises first you have to look at your area and calculate what you perceive to be the demand and competition. Then start looking at other coffee franchises that offer competitive advantages in your marketplace. Start a franchise that can compete by offering something better to the consumer.

Check out different business models of these franchises and compare their strengths and weaknesses to understand the differences. At the same time, sometimes you can realize a competitive advantage simply by negotiating a very fair franchise agreement. Also, it will depend on the amount of investment you can make for the franchise as well.

Keep these things in mind when evaluating different gourmet coffee franchises.