Madame Croissant plans ten new franchise stores for 2026

Madame Croissant plans to expand its German store network significantly. The croissant specialist, launched in Cologne in 2022, operates nine stores and has announced ten further openings for 2026. The expansion is being delivered through franchise partners. Plans are particularly advanced at Tegernsee, where a store on Seestraße is due to open in mid-October 2026. Alongside in-store sales, the brand also offers corporate catering.

From a Cologne launch to a multi-regional network

The first Madame Croissant store opened in Cologne in October 2022. Four years later, the brand lists locations in Aachen, Berlin, Bielefeld, Dresden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Oldenburg. The concept now has a presence in several regions of Germany, rather than being concentrated solely in its original Rhineland market.

Recent additions include Dresden, where a store opened in November 2025, and Oldenburg, which followed in July 2026. These two locations show that expansion to date has included cities in both eastern and northern Germany.

According to a report by L’Express Franchise dated 7 October 2026, another round of expansion is now planned. The ten additional openings announced would more than double the current network of nine stores. It is important, however, to distinguish between stores already operating and projects that have been announced: the expansion announcement does not confirm that all the new stores have actually opened.

Tegernsee takes centre stage as the next location

The list of upcoming locations includes Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hanover, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Munich, Sindelfingen, Tegernsee and Ulm. The planned expansion therefore has a clear emphasis on southern Germany, without excluding other regions. Düsseldorf would strengthen the brand’s Rhineland presence, Hanover would extend its northern German network, and Leipzig would add to its existing presence in Saxony.

According to the report, the Tegernsee project is the furthest advanced. The store on Seestraße has a planned opening date of mid-October 2026. This makes it one of the most clearly defined projects in the announced expansion, with both a street and a target opening period identified.

The announcement refers to ten new stores but lists nine upcoming locations. It does not therefore provide a complete breakdown matching all ten openings to individual addresses. When assessing the growth plans, the relevant figure is the scale of expansion announced, rather than a fully verified list of ten new stores.

For those following Germany’s franchise market, the main point of interest is the transition from a young Cologne-based concept to a more geographically diverse network. Individual openings will show how quickly these plans are put into practice.

Corporate catering complements in-store business

Madame Croissant does not rely exclusively on in-store sales. Corporate catering is explicitly intended as a second strand of the business. The concept therefore combines sales at each store with a service for business customers.

For prospective franchisees, this combination is an important factor when assessing the business model. Anyone considering a potential franchise location should look beyond shop sales and explore the role corporate customers could play in the local catchment area. This is a matter for individual location planning, not a statement about catering revenue already achieved.

The information available does not include a breakdown of revenue between in-store sales and catering. Describing catering as a second strand of the business therefore reveals neither its share of revenue nor its contribution to an individual store’s profitability. What is clear is that the brand is actively pursuing this sales channel alongside its physical stores.

Fit-out costs as a starting point for due diligence

Kay Wernerus puts the cost of fitting out a store at between €70,000 and more than €100,000, depending on the design. He recommends that franchisees provide 20–30% of the investment from their own funds. These figures offer an initial guide for prospective franchise partners, but they are no substitute for a location-specific financial assessment.

The term “fit-out” is particularly important: without further clarification, the quoted amount should not be treated as the total capital required to launch the business. Equally, “more than €100,000” is not a fixed upper limit. Before making a decision, prospective franchisees should establish which costs are included in the specific offer and which investment figure the recommended own-funds contribution is based on.

Practical takeaway: Madame Croissant has announced a substantial expansion of its franchise network. Prospective franchisees should check which stores have actually opened and obtain clear, location-specific details on fit-out costs, total funding requirements and the intended role of corporate catering.