Camile Thai Kitchen
Camile Thai Kitchen is a healthy and sustainable restaurant brand operating in the home delivery category, in the ever-expanding delivery industry in the UK.
With 45+ restaurants and counting, Camile is rapidly growing its sustainable and healthy business across different revenue models. We’re at the forefront of the delivery restaurant industry, featuring in Forbes and a host of other business publications and consistently winning awards for Best Thai and Healthiest Takeaway every year within the Irish market. Camile now aims to bring that experience and knowledge further across London and the South of England.
Investment Amount:
£100,001 - £250,000
Industry Sector(s):
Food & Drink Franchises, Retail Franchises
ABOUT US
Camile Thai Kitchen is a healthy and sustainable restaurant brand operating in the home delivery category, in the ever-expanding delivery industry in the UK.
With 45+ restaurants and counting, Camile is rapidly growing its sustainable and healthy business across different revenue models. We’re at the forefront of the delivery restaurant industry, featuring in Forbes and a host of other business publications and consistently winning awards for Best Thai and Healthiest Takeaway every year within the Irish market. Camile now aims to bring that experience and knowledge further across London and the South of England.
Camile believes that small acts lead to big change. We take a stand for things that are important to us. That’s why we only use fully compostable packaging and implement ways to lower our carbon footprint. We create delicious dishes, served in environmentally conscious packaging as we endeavor to give our guests’ the best experience whilst causing no harm to our planet. Choosing Camile is a signifier of intention of people’s desire to join the green revolution. We research emerging nutritional trends and collaborate with a team of talented chefs, to produce dishes our community expects. We are always trying to find more sustainable ways for you to enjoy Camile, guilt-free. Just ask the 7,000 guests who attended Camile Yoga sessions across 2019.
We create innovative food that is perfectly tailored to holding its heat and quality during delivery. Our in-store service is optimized to increase the capacity of sales for dine-in, takeaway and collection. Our innovation stretches beyond the restaurant, having partnered with Manna to become the world leader in drone delivery for food. We strive to be at the cutting edge of new technology, always keen to see what technology can improve our guests’ experiences. Each touchpoint of the customer’s journey has been closely analysed to create a world-class guest experience that leads the home delivery restaurant industry.
We put trust in our staff and in our workspaces. We recruit carefully, and it’s our ambition to create a culture of great service, full of inspired staff. This is how we build the best teams. Restaurants run their own driver fleet, while also maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with industry-leading aggregators. This two-tiered approach to delivery gives us a significant advantage over our competitors.
The last year has seen a fundamental shift in the traditional restaurant lines of service. People’s habits have drastically changed, with monthly restaurant deliveries growing by 350% since last March. Camile is well-positioned to flourish and thrive in this new environment, with our restaurants geared towards a quick and efficient delivery process, facilitated by our brand-new app, offering a flawless ordering service for home delivery and collection. With online food delivery and the on-demand economy set to increase to a hefty $200 billion in the next 4 years and 57% of the population not having used delivery services before, there is huge opportunity for Camile to grow.
Since opening our first location in 2010, the business has expanded through a combination of company-owned and franchised restaurants. Ongoing expansion in London remains at the forefront of our strategy. The Camile franchising model has been well developed in Ireland and is a winning business model. With single-unit and multi-unit franchisees growing our businesses at a steady rate, it’s an amazing time to join Camile Thai.
At Camile, prospective franchisees will find the opportunity to join a unique thriving food delivery brand in a booming market, with an incredible opportunity for growth
USPs:
- Healthy and sustainable food offer to appeal to young urban professionals (compostable packaging, dairy-free and vegan options, calorie counted, to name a few)
- Existing restaurants turnover up to €35,000 per week in Ireland (where Camile are brand leaders) / £20,000+ in London. Most franchisees are opening or have opened further outlets
- We use the latest bespoke technology to manage the logistics of delivery and user experience online
- Suits owner-operators capable of building their own team
- Contemporary restaurants and unique packaging design, with a brand focus on innovation
INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE
Camile’s franchise model offers a fantastic balance between the freedom of being your own boss and the support of an established network. This model has allowed many entrepreneurial individuals to work for themselves, without feeling alone.
Each Camile Thai store is individually owned and operated by franchise owners who are committed to contributing to their local economy. Investment in a new Camile restaurant will be from £200k, to cover not only the pre-opening expenses and franchise package fees, but to fit out a fully functioning restaurant kitchen.
Franchisees for Camile will likely have three characteristics:
- Minimum personal investment £100k (total £200k+)
- Hands-on operator who is keen to grow
- Relevant management experience
FRANCHISE PACKAGE
Pre-opening
- Market research on the proposed development area
- Assistance with site selection, store design, equipment selection
- 6-week fast track franchisee training programme
- Operations manuals
- Pre-opening staff recruitment and training
- Assistance with hygiene and health and safety registration
- Assistance with business plans
Post-opening - lifetime support
- Ongoing communications with the Camile community
- Central purchasing – food, consumables, uniforms etc
- Marketing and advertising support
- Website and online advertising
- Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages
- Leaflet distribution
- Product and concept development
- Post-opening hand holding and training
- Lifetime training, assessment and support
- Regular local and national meetings
AVAILABLE LOCATIONS
- Opportunities available across London.
- Minimum investment: £100,000
- Full training provided
Sound interesting?
Get in touch today to find out more about the Camile Thai franchise opportunity!
SUCCESS STORIES
Pramod Thankappan, Camile Franchise Owner & Camile Franchise Consultant
I began my career at Camile back in 2011 as a manager, and I never imagined that I would be the owner of 8 franchises, with more on their way.
Camile was only in its infancy when I joined, with only 1 restaurant in Dublin to their name. I had never encountered a fast-casual restaurant that is insistent on using fresh and high-quality ingredients. Camile deserved to be classed apart from your average takeaway, whose food is usually riddled with MSG and is generally very unhealthy.
Over the years, we built a strong brand and reputation as the Best Thai in Dublin, which allowed us to successfully open restaurants every year. As a company, Camile now has 10 company owned restaurants and 35 franchises.
I had significant management experience in the food industry and that allowed me to progress through the company and become Camile’s first head of operation. I saw that Camile’s business model was thriving in the Dublin market and the more I’ve seen of this market develop, the more you can see people’s attitude towards food is changing. More traditional restaurants are giving way to fast casual and delivery restaurants and it’s an exciting market to be a part of.
As a franchise, it is great to be able to be in an environment where you work closely with people in the Camile head office. There’s always a worry that a company may lose interest in a restaurant once it becomes franchised as their responsibility diminishes. That hasn’t been the case at Camile, as they have been very attentive to all my needs and offered their support when I’ve faced certain issues.
Camile has grown and developed enormously since I first joined, but it has still kept the core culture and principles which drive it. It has been a pleasure to have been working with Camile for the last eight years. I’ve learnt a vast about the restaurant industry and that has enabled me to achieve success with my 8 franchises. I hope that I’ll be working with them for many more years to come.
Q&A with Rakesh Gopalakrishnan
Rakesh Gopalakrishnan is the proud owner of 3 Camile Thai franchises in London. Camile Thai has over 45 restaurant locations across the UK and Ireland and is known for its healthy Thai food, delivered expertly to its customers. With over 20 years of experience within the hospitality industry, Rakesh has an intimate knowledge of the store he recently acquired, as he has been managing it for over a year. We spoke with Rakesh to find out a little more about this exceptional man.
Where were you working before Camile?
My last job before joining Camile was as a Multi-Site Manager at a chain of restaurants based in London. Prior to that, I worked as a General Manager in London’s West end with a group of Thai restaurants. Although I started my career working in hotels, most of my experience comes from managing high volume restaurants across various parts of the country.
What about Camile attracted you to the job?
I’ve worked in high-end Thai restaurants before, so I was familiar with the cuisine, but what attracted me to Camile was the health-focused, community-oriented, dynamic nature of the role. I could see a huge opportunity with a lot of space to grow and experiment. Camile does bring a lot of life and creativity to the concept of management. I decided to take on the franchise opportunity so I could fully realize what I wanted to do with the business. The support that I have has never been matched by another employer, in terms of one-to-one contact and interaction.
What is the secret sauce to being a Camile Thai franchisee?
Lots of hard work, energy, curiosity and eagerness are the key factors. You have to be hands-on, lead by example, and manage your team from the front. I always try to bring positive energy, and passion, and I’m not afraid to ask questions or implement new ideas.
Franchise News
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Camile Thai Franchising - This Is Camile
Franchisee Testimonial - Pramod Thankappan
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