Hotcha Reveal their Plans for UK Wide Presence

Hotcha, the UK's first Chinese QSR chain speak to us about their brand, plans for the future and how they stand out in a crowded marketplace.

QSR: How many outlets does Hotcha now have?

We currently have 10 sites within the South West. We have 5 sites on the pipeline which we hope to be opened before the end of the year. We are looking to add an additional 22 corporate stores over the next 3 years.

QSR: How big do you think Hotcha can be?

I think there is a market for up to 1,000 Hotcha stores in the UK.

QSR: You work on a franchise model. What are your plans for the proportion of company owned and franchised stores going forward?

Going forward, I think there will be a lot more franchise stores than company owned. Of course that depends on the recruitment and more importantly the quality of the franchisees. We currently have 3 franchisees signed up to develop 10 stores each over the next five years in Liverpool, Chester, Reading and the South East.

QSR: What did a franchised business model offer you over an entirely company-owned model?

We decided to franchise the business because we think it will help us grow our brand across the UK much quicker.

QSR: What locations are your top priorities for store openings?

For corporate stores, we are looking at Exeter, Taunton, Cheltenham, Cardiff, Oxford (all within the South West). For our franchised stores, we are targeting the bigger cities i.e. Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Birmingham, Reading, London and most of South East

QSR: How does Hotcha stand out in what is a fairly competitive Chinese restaurant market place?

Obviously food quality is the most important, we work very hard to keep the food consistent from store to store but I think what makes us stand out within this highly competitive market, is we understand that we have to get our service right, as our customers respond very well to quick and friendly service, and on top of that our constant menu development which gives us the ability to update our menu very regularly also put us in a very good position among our competitors.

QSR: You’ve just begun a crowdfunding campaign. What made you choose this route over other traditional forms of finance?

We have developed quite a strong following for the brand, so I think it will be a great opportunity to involve some of our customers (or will be customers) in this very exciting growth journey of the Hotcha brand

QSR: How much do you hope to raise from the fundraising and what will you do with the proceeds?

We are targeting £1m with a £3m maximum. The use of the proceeds will be for new store openings, developing and recruiting new franchisees, upgrading our central production unit and developing a new websit.

QSR: How have you made Hotcha a scaleable business to suit a franchise model?

Traditional Chinese takeaway relies heavily on experienced chefs, we have streamlined the operation, which means all of the in store operators can be trained by us within a few weeks rather than having to rely on many years of experience. This gives the franchisee the ability to focus on driving their business and focus on providing the kind of service to the customers that will bring them back time and time again.

QSR:  What have been the most and least challenging aspects of setting up Hotcha?

The most challenging aspect of setting up Hotcha is developing systems to make the in store operation simple enough so the model can be replicated easily. This is challenging because there isn’t anyone in the market trying to do what we do, and hence we are having to create almost everything from scratch. Unfortunately there isn’t anything I can think of that is less challenging, it is never easy creating a brand from scratch, which is why we are really focussed on doing the simple things right, and hence our service culture of Fast, Friendly and Fresh.