Vida e Caffè caters to demand for high street brands in corporate HQ

Vida e Caffè in the design centre of The Foschini Group's head office.

Currently, it has stores within EY, MultiChoice, Vodacom, MTN, Old Mutual Cape Town, The University of Stellenbosch Medical Centre, The Foschini Group, Liberty Life, KPMG and Sanlam Santam.

This follows a growing trend in the rise of high street retail brands in large corporate environments, providing staff with access to retailers, QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) and coffee shops on the ground floor of the building – a place to save time, meet friends, work or engage in a meeting.

Coffee is a growing market, with Statistics SA showing that coffee shops have contributed to around 2.8% of the positive annual growth around takeaway and fast food. South African brands have cottoned on to a huge opportunity – access to the foot traffic of thousands of consumers from Monday to Friday.

High street brand association

According to Hitesh Patel, new business director for Vida e Caffè, “Employers want the brand association of a high street offering, less down-time and an association with quality – a one-stop shop without having to leave the building. Many of the clients that we service see it as a value-add for their staff.

“We found there was a demand from the staff for a high street brand, as opposed to a corporate or generic coffee shop caterer. Employees were prepared to pay for it too, wanting a more upmarket quality cup of coffee, vibe and service. The positioning of the store has been vital to its success. Often situated in a ‘swing space’ on the ground floor near the entrance – the coffee shop has become a connection hub and staff occasionally choose to meet there as opposed to in their offices.

“This corporate model works well for us. We have created a niche operating space, especially from a coffee shop point of view. We often get potential franchisees that see the model work and want to invest in a store, so it has also become a sales platform for us, leveraging us into different avenues – a self-marketing exercise. What we have is flexibility – no floor layouts are the same. It is tailor-made to the client and its footfall,” concludes Patel.