Roy Ridge, Founder of Cone Appetit, joined us for a brief chat at the Sydney Franchising & Business Opportunities Expo, August 2022.

We covered some of the key aspects of the franchise business including the type of people that best suited, where the idea came from, common misconceptions about the brand, as well as what he loves about the business and more…

Cone Appetite franchise Q & A with Roy Ridge, Founder.

What is your business?

"Our business is Cone Appetit. We're a food trailer business, based in Melbourne." 

Where are you located?

"We're located in Ballarat and Melbourne and we're looking to expand into New South Wales and Western Victoria at this point." 

What is a common question you get asked about your business?

"The number one, where did you come up with the idea? 

It's a food. It's 16 different food flavours in a cone. In a pastry cone, like a bread cone. 

Where did you come up with this idea? Was it original? It wasn't. It was born from the love of food, takeaway food. And my wife and I were in Melbourne and we were actually, we purchased a hamburger and we had a coffee and we were walking along in the evening trying to figure out how we were going to eat this because we couldn't put it down anywhere. 

And then I came up with this idea of a pastry cone and went, oh, that's different. And then just it grew from there. And we started looking at ways to fill those cones. And that's where we came up with the 16 different recipes for those for cones." 

What do you love about the business and what you do?

"Very passionate about it. It's a business that we've grown to love. We've been doing it now for nearly two years. We actually were due to launch two years ago, but because of situation in the world, we didn't. 

We launched in January this year." 

What do you look for in the right-fit person to be a franchise owner, can you describe them?

"A person who's passionate, who’s got to be passionate about food, obviously. And then a person who's obviously willing to put in the hours.

We want franchisees that are prepared to work to build their business, but we're also there to help them and lead them through through the system as well and help them grow." 

What’s a common misconception you believe people have about your brand or niche?

"We've had a few people ask the question in relation to do you think that the food industry has reached its peak in relation to takeaway foods, mobile foods? 

No, it's in its infancy stage. I believe the mobile food industry has a long way to go because people are a little more cautious when it comes to fixed fixed areas where they can sell food. Whereas this is mobile, you can go anywhere." 

What would your advice or guidance be to people looking to get into their own business?

"Look, I would always say, look, do your homework, talk to your solicitor, talk to your accountant, talk to your partner if you have a partner that you're going to get involved with, but more importantly, be prepared to put in the time. 

My advice would be, if you're looking for something that's just a license to print money, don't go into business, okay? Because you have to put some time into that business. That's what I recommend."

What is your key focus for the next 12-18 months?

"We’re looking at, our goal is to have between ten and 15 franchises over the next 12 months. Like I said, throughout Australia, if possible on the East Coast first if we can. That is our goal and objective. We are creating a lot of excitement about our brand because it is unique. It is unique."