Rawsters launches mobile cafe franchise model in Perth

Perth-based Rawsters Mobile Cafe has launched a franchise model, taking its coffee and healthy food business into Australia’s franchise community after 13 years of operation. The founders plan to grow across Perth’s industrial areas before beginning an expansion into the eastern states within five years.

From Perth mobile cafe to franchise offer

Julia and Dmitry Federov founded Rawsters in 2013. The business specialises in serving premium coffee and healthy food in industrial areas, targeting locations where, according to the company’s account, lunch bars often offer limited variety and few healthy choices.

The franchise launch was reported by Inside Retail on 29 October, in a story originally published by Franchise Executives. It marks a new stage for a business built around taking refreshments to workplace areas rather than operating a conventional fixed-site cafe.

That customer focus is central to understanding the offer. Rawsters is positioning its mobile cafes around the needs of people working in industrial locations, with coffee and food delivered through a van-based format. Its stated growth ambition remains tied to those locations, starting with broader coverage of Perth.

For prospective franchisees, the distinction is important: this is a mobile food and coffee proposition with an industrial-area customer base, rather than a high-street cafe opportunity.

Weekday hours underpin lifestyle positioning

Co-founder and director Dmitry Federov describes the franchise as a lifestyle option. The reported working pattern is Monday to Friday, with trading from 7am to 11.30am and a further one to two hours of administration. Franchisees also have the option to add weekend work.

Those hours are a prominent part of the proposition, but the trading window should not be confused with the entire working day. The administrative commitment sits alongside customer-facing service, and prospective operators should establish how preparation, cleaning, stocking and travel fit into the proposed schedule.

The optional weekend element also deserves consideration. Anyone assessing the offer should ask whether the financial projections they receive assume weekday-only trading or include additional work. That would help them compare the business with the lifestyle they intend to maintain.

The practical question is not simply when coffee is sold, but how the full workload would fit around an owner’s other commitments.

Entry cost and territory revenue claims

The reported cost of buying a Rawsters franchise is between $140,000 and $160,000.

Federov also outlined a range of territory sizes and revenue capabilities: “Our territories range in capabilities and sizes from $300,000 pa in sales revenue for single van operators, through to $2 million+ with multiple vans.”

Those figures are the co-founder’s description of territory capabilities, not a statement of guaranteed earnings. Sales revenue is also different from profit or the income an owner can draw from the business.

The distinction between single-van and multiple-van operations is particularly relevant. Prospective buyers should not treat the upper revenue figure as directly comparable with the single-van proposition: Federov explicitly associates it with multiple vehicles.

Before committing, applicants should seek a clear breakdown of what the purchase price covers, what additional working capital may be required and which operating costs underpin any projections. They should also ask how the territory’s proposed revenue capability has been assessed and what staffing and management commitments a multiple-van operation would involve.

Perth coverage before eastern expansion

The founders’ stated plan is to meet demand across Perth’s industrial areas and begin expanding into the eastern states within five years. That is a forward-looking ambition, rather than an announcement of completed interstate openings.

For prospective operators, the immediate focus is therefore the Perth proposition: the territory on offer, its customer potential and the practical requirements of running the mobile cafe. The longer-term expansion plan provides context, but should not replace scrutiny of the individual business being purchased.

Practical takeaway: assess Rawsters’ weekday schedule alongside the full workload, and test territory revenue projections against costs. Obtain independent legal and financial advice before entering a franchise agreement.