Mowgli goes to a cafe

Soyuzmultfilm is launching a new franchise in the catering segment – Soyuzmultkafe. Franchisees will be able to use images of characters from the studio’s cartoons in interior design and promotions, as well as show the cartoons themselves. Experts call the niche low-competitive, and the format of the children’s cafe is in demand. Other Russian animation studios are also looking to take their franchises with their characters into new segments.

Soyuzmultfilm is launching the Soyuzmultkafe franchise, Kommersant was told at the animation studio. It assumes the formats of a family cafe, restaurant, corner kiosk and food truck. By 2024, the studio expects to launch up to 30 cafes in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major cities, and up to 20 food trucks and kiosks in the spring and summer. Soyuzmultfilm’s partner was SM-Franchise.

Franchisees will have the right to show cartoons from the film studio’s collection, and will also be able to use individual animated images “strictly within the acquired thematic franchise” in the interior, menu and promotions. Among the options are Prostokvashino, Mystery of the Third Planet, Krutiks, Mowgli, 38 Parrots, Checked Zebra. Kiosks and food trucks will be designed in the style of the cartoons Umka, Winnie the Pooh, The Kid and Carlson, and Cipollino. “There are practically no mass brands in the niche of children’s and family cafes, only Anderson is known from the popular ones,” the studio added.

The acquisition of a franchise to open a cafe will cost from 1.5 million rubles. with the subsequent payment of royalties of 7%, the fee for organizing a corner kiosk will be 350 thousand rubles. with a royalty of 6%, said in Soyuzmultfilm. In general, investments in the launch of a cafe by the franchisee are estimated at 25 million rubles.

Soyuzmultfilm already has two franchises – Soyuzmultpark (a pavilion with multimedia attractions) and Soyuzmultclub (a center with educational programs for children). Now two Soyuzmultparks are open – in Moscow and in Tatarstan. There are three Soyuzmultclubs: in Moscow, Korolev and Tarusa. “Past Soyuzmultfilm franchises were in highly competitive niches. Soyuzmultclub is an additional education for children, it is difficult to compete only with the help of a brand: people make a choice based on a set of programs,” says Franshiza.ru expert Anna Rozhdestvenskaya. In the segment of children’s cafes, the studio is more likely to receive high demand, the expert believes. However, she continues, the format of a children’s restaurant has disadvantages compared to, for example, an Italian family restaurant: a small load on weekdays and in the evening, which may affect the final payback period.

The general director of the Megalicense agency, Zakhar Nazarenko, recalls that the idea of ​​using animated characters in catering is not new: cafes with the Animaccord studio brand Masha and the Bear were opened abroad, and Hello Kitty cafe operates in the Dream Island amusement park in Russia. “It seems to me that the Soyuzmultfilm brand itself so far attracts parents more than children. The format itself is interesting, but the commercial potential will depend on the people who implement the project, locations, menus, interior design, hitting the target audience, average bill, etc.,” he added.

Competitors of Soyuzmultfilm have already experimented with catering. “Last year, the Russian pavilion at the Expo 2020 exhibition in Dubai hosted the opening of the Fixy Cafe, in which the design and menu are stylized as a series. So we have already considered this topic before,” says Yulia Nemchina, Managing Director of Riki Group of Companies (brands Smeshariki, Fixiki, etc.). “In the future, we plan to continue developing the franchise line,” she added, without specifying whether it will be a cafe. Anderson did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

Valeria Lebedeva