This is fast growth in the Australian market.

Soul Origin is one of the most significant brand success stories of recent years. We talked to Adam Neill, COO on how they are handling their rapid growth from being in single-digit store numbers as recent as 2014, through to 110+ locations by the end of 2019.

Three brothers opened the first store in Sydney CBD in 2011, and by the end of 2019 Soul Origin was serving in excess of 18 million customers per year.

Adam describes the key success factors are underpinned by “Having founders that have come from a retail background that live it and breathe it, and that has infected the entire organisation.”

“From a product perspective it’s fresh, it’s easily accessible, you see what you get. (And) We don’t sell product off digital menu boards. It’s made with heart, it’s made with soul. And it’s easy for people to be able to buy nutritious food on the run.”

“The second part is our coffee business, which has seen incredible growth since the inception of the brand.”

The Soul Origin Vision and Mission is described by Adam as very clear, “For us it’s about ensuring that we support our franchise partners everyday. For us it’s about bringing new innovation whether it be product, systems, technology into our business. 

For us, it’s important that we’re there to serve our franchise partners. Everyday we work towards ensuring that we’re improving operating profit for our franchise partners. It’s very clear what our obligations are to our franchise partners.”