Children's cafe as a business

There are many catering establishments, but not all of them are suitable for visiting with children. Today, those in which a child can not only have a tasty and safe meal, but also celebrate his birthday, play with animators, participate in a themed children's party, etc. are especially in demand. In order to successfully compete with fast food chains, you need to take into account their advantages and disadvantages, as well as analyze the positive experience of entrepreneurs who have implemented projects for children's cafes from scratch.

The legislation does not divide catering enterprises into “children's” and “for adults”, however, there are nuances, and those who are looking for an answer to the question of how to open a children's cafe from scratch need to understand them.

Forecasts and prospects

How promising is the idea of ​​creating a cafe for children, which is quite expensive in terms of investment, but does not immediately begin to make a profit?

Market capacity can be represented by fertility statistics (see Fig. 1). As can be seen from the graph, the measures taken by the government to equalize the demographic situation have a positive effect, despite the economic crisis. By 2025, the birth rate is expected to approach the levels of the mid-80s, when there was a surge. This means that in the near future all areas of business related to motherhood and childhood will be in demand by society.

Thus, the market of goods for children from 2009 to 2012. grew by 32 billion dollars, that is, in difficult times, parents prefer to save on their own needs, but not on children. By the way, the majority of visitors to catering establishments, according to marketing research, are also people with children (see Fig. 2)

In large settlements, family confectioneries, canteens, fast food establishments equipped with high chairs and offering a special menu for young visitors, as well as focused only on children, are becoming increasingly popular. For example, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 83 such enterprises are actively promoting their services. Most of them are franchised: Yakitoriya and Sushimin sushi bars, New York cafes, etc.

Fast food or "proper nutrition"?

According to sociological research, in 2015, the catering market in Russia was dominated by demand for the services of fast food restaurants (see Fig. 3).

Knowing this, many investors avoid investing in a children's cafe as a business, fearing competition with such "monsters" as McDonald's, Chocolate Girl, Rostics, Baskin Robbins and others offering a branded assortment of dishes and services.

The largest research holding Romir in 2012 identified the TOP-10 factors of attractiveness of fast food establishments popular with parents with children, and market leaders in terms of these indicators (see Table 1)

*the study was conducted in cities of 8 federal districts with a population of over 100,000 people. Sample - 1,000 people. aged 16 to 50 years.

It is noteworthy that the factor of the presence of a menu for children was not included in the top ten most significant, although McDonald's, which leads the attendance rating, relies on young visitors and successfully deals not only with food, but also with the sale of toys in Happy Meal sets.

Success factors for fast food chains should be considered by those who are planning to open their own family cafe. However, in recent times, society has increasingly leaned towards healthy natural food:

“The principle of less is better is found in catering organizations lately - to eat simply and quickly. This is a shorter menu, reduced portions, the ability to vary their size, change the menu based on personal preferences, which allows you to focus on the uniqueness of dishes.”
(Akhmadeeva O. A., Idrisova A. I. Trends in the development of the public catering market in Russia // Young scientist. - 2016. - No. 8)

Thus, you can start a business using ready-made models (by franchise), or establish your own brand on the principles of natural baby food.

Requirements for a cafe for children

Not all entrepreneurs know exactly what is needed to open a children's cafe, most of the doubts are related to the requirements of the regulatory authorities: is there any special specifics in this?

No, the lawyers say. Regardless of the age audience of the catering establishment, the requirements are clearly regulated, since in any case, your customers will be adults - parents who are responsible for children. You, in turn, are responsible to them for the quality of food and the provision of services.

Here are the regulations that you will be guided by:

1. Law on Consumer Protection
2. Government Decree No. 1036 "On approval of the rules for the provision of public catering services" (dated August 15, 1997)
3. Decree of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation No. 31 "On the Enactment of Sanitary Rules" (dated 08.11.2001)
4. Government Decree No. 584 “On the notification procedure for the commencement of certain types of entrepreneurial activity” (dated July 16, 2009)

Important! This list of documents reflects the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor and other authorities for a cafe that does not have an “adult” assortment, including alcoholic beverages and alcohol. This type of activity does not require licensing.

You can collect permits for opening a children's cafe on your own or entrust this to a law firm. Its content and speed of registration will depend on the choice of premises.

There are two options: rent a room adapted for catering or equip it yourself. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages (see Table 2)

Practitioners advise: if you decide to open a business in a room that is not suitable for catering, agree in advance with the owner on a long-term lease and include the costs of repairs, refurbishment and re-registration into the rent.

family club

The most risk-free project is the franchised one, but before there is a franchise, someone has to be the first to realize the concept. Today, more and more entrepreneurs embody original ideas. For example, two successful business women figured out how to open a children's cafe with a playroom in the Ribambelle club they created (forbes.ru told readers about it).

The concept was invented by young mothers Yu. Fedorishina and O. Musakhanov and implemented in 2013. For the club, a room not adapted for catering was chosen, so more funds were spent on its equipment than originally planned: for example, it was necessary to lay communications under the kitchen.

For those who open such a business, the girls are advised to check all the calculations of the hired "specialists" from the very beginning, since they have repeatedly had to deal with overestimations. For example, firefighters put up an estimate of 2 million, but in the end the costs amounted to 1 million rubles.

The total cost of opening a family club with a dining room and an 800 m play area in a large shopping center costs, according to startups, about 700 thousand euros.

Ribambelle immediately introduced a number of innovations that allowed it to successfully compete with other enterprises:

• fast food ban
• strict requirements for the preservation of the beneficial properties of products on the menu for children
• adaptation of popular dishes for a children's audience (kids want to be like adults!)
• emphasis on holding holidays and culinary master classes for children and their parents
• the presence of a playroom in the form of a children's town with animators
• catering

In 2014, the girls reached a monthly profit of 11 million rubles, but in the first 2 years, according to their confession, they failed to return the starting investment. Today, for those who are close to the idea of ​​Ribambelle, they offer a franchise: this allows the franchisee to avoid financial losses when starting a business.

Children's cafe at the zoo

A cafe for children can be a good addition to an existing business. In Nizhny Novgorod, this is organized on the territory of the private zoo "Limpopo". Its owner V. Gerasichkin has several "adult" projects on his account.

In an interview with the correspondent of Arsenal Entrepreneur (No. 10, 2010), when asked about the profitability of the enterprise, he answered:

“... It is really impossible to earn big money at a children's cafe, so this topic is not interesting for business sharks. But if you have a thriving business and have the opportunity to run a project without winding up large percentages, then you can create conditions for children to celebrate birthdays in a cafe and meet with classmates.

A distinctive feature of catering at the zoo is seasonality: the hottest time is summer and early autumn. Hence the format - a small pastry shop or a street restaurant with a children's menu. Entertainment is nearby: these are animals that you can feed, and chat with some, and rides. At the summer peak of attendance, it is possible to earn funds that allow you to maintain business in the autumn-winter lull.

These examples show that, with the right organization, a business that is not very profitable at first glance can actually bring not only income, but also pleasure to its owner.