Hookah bar franchise

Is it profitable to open a hookah bar as a franchise? What pitfalls should you expect in this business? Let’s try to figure it out together in this article.

Among the whole variety of hookah bars, three of the most striking varieties can be distinguished:
A traditional hookah bar - which refers to national oriental motifs: Arabic, Turkish, in general, countries where smoking hookah tobacco is embedded in the national culture. Among the features, we can highlight, first of all, the interior of the hookah bar with an oriental flavor: pillows, sofas, oriental ornaments, national games: chess, backgammon, etc.
The menu of such hookah bars usually continues the national theme and consists of oriental dishes, drinks and sweets.
You can't expect a variety of tobaccos and blends. The entire emphasis is on high-quality, high-quality preparation of a delicious hookah from traditional basic flavors: apple, peach, grapes, watermelon, etc.

Premium hookah bars are usually restaurants in which hookah is not the “title” item, but is loved by the audience and is one of the main menu items. Premium restaurants inherently require a wide, comfortable seating area, which is very suitable for hookah smoking. The restaurant menu has nothing to do with hookah; there are some items that are suitable for hookah smoking, but it is impossible to say that the menu is made “for hookah.”

Democratic hookah bars are a format that has gained momentum over the last five years after a very long lull in the hookah segment. With the general rise in interest, hookah bars saw explosive growth: “Mint”, “Hookah Place” and other hookah bars of a similar format. Let’s take a closer look at this format, because all hookah franchises have recently existed in this format.

The main features of this format:
Targeting young people - game consoles, music, service style.
Restraint in the interior is the basis for the design of such hookah bars. Everything is very democratic, restrained, usually in a loft style.
A wide range of tobaccos and hookah flavor combinations - hookah bars in this category compete in sophistication and combinations of hookah flavors. Visitors try to outdo each other in the sophistication of their hookah tastes and preferences.
Meager menu - the food menu is usually very limited, offering mainly dishes that complement the hookah and a rather large assortment of drinks that complement the hookah smoking process.

Essentially speaking, the slogan of such hookah bars is “taste above all,” and the luxury of the interior and lordly service are secondary.

Let's say you've decided on the format.

The next step is to determine what you should first pay attention to when opening your hookah bar:
Ventilation - guests of your hookah bar will simultaneously release puffs of smoke. This is a big load on the ventilation system. When opening his hookah bar, the owner must take care of this so that his guests have enough air.

Veranda - a very big advantage when choosing a room for a hookah bar will be the presence of an open-air veranda, because the audience prefers open hookah bars.

Comfort - smoking a hookah usually takes 1-2 hours. This process is quite lengthy and guests prefer to smoke in a comfortable, relaxing environment. This can be achieved by properly designing the room, choosing the right comfortable furniture, setting up cozy lighting and music.

Flavorful Hookahs - if you have a tasty hookah, guests will come back and recommend you to their friends. Taste comes first, everything else is secondary. To achieve the ideal hookah taste, several components must come together: properly selected raw materials, trained staff, high-quality professional hookahs.

Marketing - smoking is not the most important human need, unlike food, water and even sugar. Smoking a hookah is a cultural and even fashionable process. Therefore, when opening a hookah business, you should take care of competent marketing support so that your hookah bar becomes a fashionable place.

By reading the previous paragraphs, you have most likely already concluded whether you want to open a hookah bar yourself or purchase one of the franchises. So that you can still confirm your choice, we will list the main advantages that a hookah bar franchise provides before opening a hookah bar on your own.

So, what can a hookah franchise provide:

1. Recognized Brand: Leverage an established brand name without the trial-and-error of building your own marketing strategy.
2. Branded interior so as not to spend money on design.
3. Discounts on tobacco and inventory, because a large chain most likely has significant discounts on purchases of basic consumables.
4. Reduced personnel costs, because most likely, if you open a hookah bar yourself, you will unknowingly overspend on this expense item.
5. Expeditious Launch: because the network has already opened not a single point, so the process is most likely streamlined.

Along with the benefits received under the franchise, purchasing a franchise has 2 main restrictions:

1. Basic franchise payments - at the start you will be forced to pay a lump sum fee, and then regularly pay royalties. This reduces your profits somewhat, but the benefits of operating online usually outweigh the franchise fees.
2. Work at the direction of the franchisor - when working under a franchise, all your actions are prescribed in regulations and rules. You have no room for creativity, innovation or liberties. If you need a business to express yourself, you definitely shouldn't buy a franchise.

I hope our article helped you decide whether to open a hookah bar on your own or buy a franchise. If you are the owner of your own network of hookah bars and are reading this material because you want to pack a franchise for your hookah bar, I can assure you that you are on the right track, because a hookah bar is a very scalable business area and this business is extremely convenient for introducing franchising.