The Marks franchise in Minsk: fees, support and standards

Maria Bakhanovich, who owns the Marks café franchise in Minsk’s Osmolovka neighbourhood, has outlined the terms of working with the Belarusian brand. In an interview with Onlíner published on 22 October 2026, she discussed fees, support from the franchisor and penalties for breaches. For those interested in franchising in Belarus, her experience illustrates both sides of an established business model: support at the outset and obligations that continue throughout day-to-day operations.

Why she chose an established business

According to the article, the Marks chain has grown to seven locations in Minsk since August 2021. Bakhanovich explained that she chose a franchise to minimise the risks of starting a business: rather than creating another brand, she decided to join an existing operation. She had dreamed of owning a café since she was young.

The agreement was signed on 31 July 2025, and Bakhanovich started work on 1 August. This timeline relates specifically to her taking over the business. It should not be read as a promise that any café in the chain can open in a day: the interview describes the handover of an established, trading business after negotiations had been completed.

For a prospective franchisee, the reasoning behind her choice is important. She was not buying the freedom to experiment with a new concept, but access to an established system. Her role was to operate within that system, drawing on the brand, its support and its rules. Reducing uncertainty at the outset did not remove the need for her personal involvement in running the café.

What a Marks franchisee pays for

Bakhanovich identified three fees under her agreement. The initial franchise fee is 50,000 Belarusian roubles (BYN), paid once at the start of the relationship. The monthly royalty is 5% of total revenue, with a further 1% of total revenue payable as a marketing levy.

Together, the two recurring fees therefore amount to 6% of revenue. This is not a share of profit: according to Bakhanovich, the fees are calculated on the café’s total turnover. That distinction matters when assessing future costs. Prospective franchisees need to account for these payments separately from the café’s day-to-day operating expenses in their financial projections.

In return, Bakhanovich said, the franchisee receives an established, trading business. During the first few months, the brand provides access to a support team. The package also includes training for new employees, established standards and operating procedures. The franchisee does not have to develop every working process from scratch.

However, the initial franchise fee should not automatically be treated as the total budget for acquiring or opening a café. The BYN 50,000 quoted is a specific payment for joining the system. When discussing a deal, prospective franchisees should separately clarify what is included in the business being transferred, what investment is required and how far the brand’s support extends. Nor should Bakhanovich’s terms be assumed to apply to other opportunities offered by the chain without checking.

Standards come with accountability

Penalties imposed by the brand were a notable topic in the interview. The article reports a BYN 1,000 penalty in connection with a review on Threads. This episode shows that the relationship between franchisor and franchisee goes beyond sharing operating know-how and collecting regular fees: compliance with the rules is also monitored.

Bakhanovich cited repeated serious breaches of standards, damage to the brand’s reputation and deliberate concealment of actual revenue among serious violations in the relationship with the brand. However, the individual case described does not establish that every negative review automatically results in the same penalty across all cafés in the chain.

The practical lesson here is to understand the enforcement process in advance. Before signing an agreement, it is worth clarifying which actions count as breaches, how they are documented, whether time is allowed to remedy them and how a claim can be challenged. These are points to raise in negotiations, not statements about the specific provisions of the Marks agreement.

For the franchising community, this discussion is just as important as the support on offer. Established procedures help organise operations, but they also set limits on a franchisee’s independence. Anyone buying a franchise needs to understand both sides of that arrangement before committing money.

An established model does not replace the owner

In the interview, Bakhanovich describes a business that requires her direct involvement: when necessary, she washes the dishes herself. ‘Any employee can get up and leave, but you can’t walk away from your own business,’ she explains. Her experience is far removed from passive ownership of a café trading under a familiar name.

Bakhanovich estimates that, if the current pace is maintained, she should recoup her investment within two to three years of operation. This is the forecast of the owner of one particular café, not an achieved result or a guarantee for future franchisees. She puts profit at approximately 15–17% of revenue.

The practical takeaway: before buying a franchise, assess not only the initial fee and projected payback period, but also the scope of support, recurring payments, penalties and your own willingness to run the café day to day. The experience of Marks in Osmolovka shows why all these factors need to be considered together.