Perky Blenders
Location: Seven locations across London
Restaurant type: Café
Business type: Coffee and pastries
Years open: 9
The start: Back in 2015, Walthamstow was just emerging as an up-and-coming neighbourhood in East London. Victoria Cozens and her husband Adam noticed small businesses starting up in their area and spotted an opportunity. Amongst the breweries and bakeries, they realised there wasn’t anywhere to get a really great cup of coffee. And so Perky Blenders was born.
They began with a humble coffee cart on the local high street. “There wasn’t anything like that at the time in the area so there was quite a buzz around [it],” remembers Cozens. Through word of mouth, Perky Blenders has flourished into a much-loved local brand: “Our community have just really got behind us and championed us,” she says. Today they have seven locations across East and North London, and a successful online subscription business.
The challenge: Like any start-up, Perky Blenders has experienced what Cozens calls “growing pains”. As they’ve expanded, they’ve faced new and unexpected challenges, and had to learn how to deal with them – fast. Lockdown presented a huge challenge for their bricks-and-mortar stores, but they were fortunate to have an online offering where their loyal customers could go for their “Perky fix”.
When it comes to software, Cozens admits they had their fingers burnt a couple of times, making them cautious about taking on new tech. But ultimately, they realised that they had outgrown their tech setup, and they needed to find a new provider that could support business growth. When they switched to Square, it was “a relief moment”. The seamless integration with Xero has cut down bookkeeping time, and being able to see real-time reporting across each location in the Square Dashboard has saved Cozens at least one day a week in admin time.
The present: Today, the Cozens are focusing on new areas of growth, including franchising. Using Square, they can share the menu with franchisees and retain control over the brand while paying out to different bank accounts. Meanwhile, the subscription business continues to grow organically, and word has spread far beyond E17. “When I look now at all the different postcodes that we send [to] across the country it's quite mind-blowing,” says Cozens.
The recommendation: Cozens’ advice to budding entrepreneurs is: “If you’ve got an idea, just do it!” However, she cautions against setting your sights too wide to begin with. It’s best to focus your efforts on your immediate community: your friends, family and associates in your local area. “It’s fundamental to have that kind of support network around you,” she says.
Square products used: Square Stand, Square Point of Sale, Square Terminal, Square Loyalty, Square for Restaurants, Square Online Store, Square Gift Card
