Cafe Frihet brings together 83 franchisees, with advance questions from 27 outlets

Cafe Frihet, a 24-hour unmanned café franchise, met franchisees from across South Korea to discuss ways to boost trading in the second half of the year and improve store management. A notable feature of the meeting was that its agenda covered questions raised by existing franchisees, rather than focusing solely on new openings. For those assessing franchisor–franchisee communication in the South Korean market, the way questions were collected merits attention alongside the size of the event.

Franchisees from 60 outlets share operating experience in Seoul

Cafe Frihet said it held its ‘2026 National Franchisee Meeting’ on 19 September at the SK V1 Centre in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. According to a Newspim report on 12 October, 83 franchisees representing 60 outlets nationwide attended. Total attendance, including head office staff, was around 100. The event brought together representatives of the franchisor and franchisees from different regions to share information on running their stores.

Topics included boosting second-half trading, store management know-how and a franchisee Q&A. Franchisees’ questions were the starting point for the meeting. The company explained that, rather than simply presenting material prepared by head office, it had invited stores to submit questions ahead of the event. However, holding a meeting should not be confused with evidence that individual stores’ operational problems have been resolved.

The attendance figures also need to be read carefully. The figure of 60 refers to the number of participating franchise outlets, while 83 is the number of franchisees who attended. These measure different things and are not interchangeable. Nor should the number of outlets represented be interpreted as the brand’s total number of currently trading stores. The figures show only the scale of participation in this particular event.

More than 40 advance questions from 27 stores

Head office collected questions before the event, receiving more than 40 submissions from 27 stores. This is the most clearly documented part of the meeting’s communication process. Collecting questions in advance allows the franchisor to prepare relevant explanations and gives franchisees a formal way to raise operational queries. That is the value of the approach; it does not mean that every question has been fully resolved.

The 27 stores that submitted questions and the 60 outlets represented at the meeting are also separate figures. Whether someone submitted a question is not enough to judge their interest or satisfaction. As one store could submit several questions, the total of more than 40 questions cannot be treated as a franchisee count either. It is best understood as evidence that an advance question-gathering process took place.

For those assessing franchise relations, the next point to examine is what happened after the questions were collected. What answers were provided? How were matters requiring further investigation handled? Was information useful to other stores shared more widely? These are criteria for assessing how effective the communication system is, not confirmed follow-up outcomes from this event. Attendance and question counts alone cannot establish the overall quality of support from head office.

Prospective franchisees may also find the advance-question approach worth noting. During franchise enquiries, it is useful to check not only how head office provides operating information, but also whether franchisees have channels through which to raise questions. Regular meetings and day-to-day enquiry channels can serve different purposes. Alongside checking whether an annual event takes place, prospective operators should therefore examine routine response procedures and find out who handles enquiries.

244 stores opened to date: contracts and operating performance are different measures

Cafe Frihet opened its first store in October 2021. According to the company, by October 2026 it had opened its 244th outlet on a cumulative basis and signed franchise agreements up to its 251st outlet. These figures indicate that the brand has continued opening stores since its launch. However, openings and signed agreements represent different stages of development and should not be combined into a single store count.

In particular, cumulative openings are not the same as the number of stores currently trading. A signed franchise agreement also does not mean that the outlet concerned has already opened. It would therefore be incorrect to interpret the announcement of agreements up to the 251st outlet as meaning that 251 stores are currently operating. Accurate comparisons require attention to both the reporting date and the wording used.

Opening and contract figures illustrate the brand’s expansion, but do not directly establish individual stores’ sales or profitability. Similarly, the fact that the meeting discussed ways to boost second-half trading and improve management is separate from evidence of improved sales. Anyone considering a franchise should take the scale of expansion into account while independently checking the costs and operating demands of the outlet they are considering. Brand-wide growth and the commercial viability of a particular store require separate assessments.

Annual meetings: practical information matters most

Cafe Frihet said it has held the event annually since its first national franchisee meeting in 2023. This gathering was therefore a continuation of an established nationwide meeting programme, rather than a new, one-off event. Regular meetings can give franchisees opportunities to exchange operating experience, but their continuity alone does not guarantee effective support for individual stores.

The company also said it had been designated an outstanding franchise by South Korea’s Small Enterprise and Market Service for two consecutive years, in 2024 and 2025. This recognition and its regular franchisee meetings are relevant background when assessing the brand. However, official recognition, communication events and individual store profitability are distinct assessment areas. Rather than treating one as proof of the others, prospective investors should consider what each indicates and the limits of its relevance.

The key feature of this event was not simply that 83 franchisees attended, but that questions from 27 stores formed the starting point for discussion. Even within an unmanned café model, it provided a forum for head office and franchisees to share management experience and address questions. For the wider franchise sector, the useful lesson lies not only in expansion figures, but also in how the views of existing operators are gathered.

In practical terms, it is worth looking beyond whether a meeting was held. Existing franchisees should review the answers and follow-up guidance relating to their questions, while prospective franchisees should examine both regular communication arrangements and everyday support procedures. The central issue is not the size of the event, but what information it delivers that operators can use in running their stores.