Coffee Stall Business-What Colour Scheme?

barrymung

Hi All,

I'm about to start a mobile coffee business and will be operating from a small marquee/party tent/gazebo at local shows and events.

I'll mainly be selling 'posh' coffee but also tea, snacks and canned drinks.

The gazebos I'm looking at are available in a wide range of colours...my question is, what colour do the good people of MSe think would gbe the best colour? What'd attract the most customers, give an air of quality but won't look out of place?

Choices are: White, royal blue, light blue, black grey, dark green, black and possibly a few others. (Brown isn't on the list, presumably no-one wants a brown party tend)

Baz

pinkclouds

But brown makes you think of coffee (and chocolate). Costa Coffee is brown! And shades of beige, caramel, cream, etc do look "posh" - when used in moderation.

Are the tents all block colours? Can they be customised in any way? What sort of theme are these shows/events? You can't expect to fit in everywhere if you are attending everything from wedding shows to motorcar events. You can't be soft and pastel coloured as well as bold and bright at the same time (unless you have multiple tents). I would maybe stick to white or off-white - it's a colour associated with catering.

barrymung

Brown would be ideal, as would beige, sadly not available from the company I'd like to go with.

I intend to customise the stall with a couple of custom banners; these could be brown and pick upon the stall colour if needed.

I don't want to look like costa coffee, just something 'quality' and not tacky. I intend to offer 'posh' coffee, ie better than that offered by your usual catering stall, at a competitive price.

In front of the stall I intend to have a couple of folding wooden tables and chairs, rather than the chrome/metal which is so common nowadays.

My personal preferences at the moment are dark green, red or black, in no order.

pinkclouds

Go with black then. Keep it monochromatic and use white, black and shades of grey for your banners. It won't be instantly obvious that it's coffee but it will look modern and "posh".

Well, in my opinion at least!

cte1111

Light blue would work well with coffee coloured banners maybe.

paddyrg

And green for the country fair look...black being a bit of a heattrap in the summer, white muddying up easily, etc...

So many opinions, looks liek you're going to be left with your own taste!!

McKneff

Racing Green and gold alwsys looks classy

JPS29

barrymung wrote: »

Brown would be ideal, as would beige, sadly not available from the company I'd like to go with.

If you are serious about this as a full time business, and want to give it every chance then think about your statement above, and the replies/opinions of others. YOU are the customer. There are loads of suppliers just change to one that meets your needs.
Brown is the best,most obvious colour

Not a dig Barry, and wish you every success in this, I was actually going to do it myself but with the "ape" coffee vans but after doing the numbers and previous experience of events/fayres/exhibitions etc I couldn't get the numbers to stack up as favourably as I would have liked.

Good luck anyway mate whatever you decide

Savvy_Sue

Of the list you gave, I'd have gone for Royal Blue, as the most likely to be distinctive in a sea of other gazebos, but I seem to be outnumbered ...

I would definitely 'jazz it up' to make yours stick out. You want yours to be the one which Mums point out to their offspring and say "Look, if we lose each other, we'll meet up at that bright blue gazebo with the glorious pink flowers on the roof."

barrymung

JPS29 wrote: »

If you are serious about this as a full time business, and want to give it every chance then think about your statement above, and the replies/opinions of others. YOU are the customer. There are loads of suppliers just change to one that meets your needs.
Brown is the best,most obvious colour

Not a dig Barry, and wish you every success in this, I was actually going to do it myself but with the "ape" coffee vans but after doing the numbers and previous experience of events/fayres/exhibitions etc I couldn't get the numbers to stack up as favourably as I would have liked.

Good luck anyway mate whatever you decide

Couldn't get the figures for the ape vans to add up either!

My logic;

I don't have a massive budget and this'll be a part time/weekend venture so need the figures to add up as you say. Hence, some sort of portable structure that can be set up in the morning and broken down at the end of the day.

Attending events instead of adopting a pitch on the high street avoids having to buy a licence and also means it can be done on an as-and-when basis. No food hygiene certification is required.

Everything should pack down small enough to get in the back of the estate-saves buying a new vehicle. I have blagged the machine for free.

I have worked out that I can make a coffee, in a fancy cup with a fluffy top for 35p. I'lI get a quid or more then I'm laughing..

If I had a lease on a van to pay for then you are right, the numbers wouldn't add up.

paulwf

barrymung wrote: »

No food hygiene certification is required.

You might as well do it anyway - £25 and 2 1/2 hours of your time online. It only covers the basics but you might pick up a few tips. Although problems are unlikely if a case was to arise certificates will always be looked upon favourably.

If you want to be the best and give your customers a great experience that includes food safety. If you can't be bothered to spend this little amount of time and money then you probably don't have the passion to run a business. I suspect you do though so just go and do it