When someone pops over your home, it’s natural to offer them a tea or coffee. As part of our culture, we like to make visitors feel welcome with a nice, warm drink, so it’s not surprising that many salons do the same. But how do you feel about extending this welcome to a whole café?
Plenty of salons have broadened their options to include savoury breakfasts, sweet cakes and, of course, drinks (cheeky glass of bubbly, anyone?)! These added offerings have boosted salon popularity and profit over the last few years, making them a very viable option for future expansion.
A delicious experience
Part of the salon café success comes from the experience. With so many clients swayed by at-home treatments, high street salons need to offer more unique experiences in order to compete.
We all like a bit of a natter over some tea or coffee, so why not book a catch up at a salon café? That’s the opinion of many clients, who book group treatments and catch up with friends at the café before or afterwards. Suddenly, the salon visit is more than just a monthly ask, but a social experience – a date in the diary.
Brand new opportunities
Like retail products, different brands of food or drink will attract specific clientele. Just look at how many are picky over their coffee! Many will offer something that matches the feel of the salon, such as a cruelty-free, vegan salon providing both vegan products and vegan cuisine.
To offer such great service in both the café and salon sections, the owners have gone beyond just cross training their staff. After all, a well-styled cupcake may not taste the greatest! Many salons have hired professionals in each area, like baristas for coffee or on-site bakers for all those cakes.
Milking it
A café not your cup of tea? No worries! Salons have also been known to couple up as art galleries or even transform into live music venues. With so many modern salons offering more than just hair and beauty treatments, why not take stock of what you currently offer and see what you could provide to stay ahead of this emerging trend?