If you are planning to open a coffee shop, you know just how hard it can be to stand out from the crowd. Having the right branding for your shop is important, and part of this branding effort requires coming up with unique coffee shop ideas that will make your store truly unique.
Think about all the major coffee brands that you know and love. They are all founded on some unique branding efforts that have made them memorable and in high demand. If you are not sure what your coffee shop ideas should look like, this guide will help you to brainstorm ideas. Unique coffee shop business ideas can be a way to beat out the competition.
There are many ways that you can make your coffee shop stand out from all the others that are in your area. You probably just need some good ideas to get you started. Once you have the ideas that you have been looking for, you are ready to make the most of your coffee shop business!
How do I Attract People to my Coffee Shop?
One of the key aspects of operating a successful coffee shop is to make a really good cup of coffee. You can also make sure that you offer really good breakfast food items and bakery goods. However, this is not the only set of factors that will make your shop a success. You need to look at unique coffee shop business ideas to help you stick out.
You need to hook people with a unique experience that they cannot get anywhere else if you want your shop to stand out from the crowd.
The branding of your shop can be linked to anything that you find to be important. Maybe you give away part of your proceeds to a charity, or you have a silly mascot. These small details are enough to make your coffee shop unique and attractive to those who are looking for a cup of coffee in the middle of the day or on their way to work.
Attracting customers to your shop is much easier when you have the right combination of really good products and excellent advertising. Part of your advertising is the experience that you offer to each guest who comes through the door.
What is the Unique Selling Point of a Coffee Shop?
Coffee shops require something special to make them stand out from the crowd. After all, there are so many shops out there these days that you will struggle to get by if your company does not have something that makes it unique. Unique coffee shop business ideas can make your coffee shop more unique.
This might be a specific drink, some kind of action that you have the baristas take when they make a cup of coffee, or even the kinds of products that you are using. The unique selling point of your shop can be anything that you believe will make your shop successful.
Ideally, this idea has not been done before and will be fresh. In some cases, you might have to reboot an idea that someone else has had but make it your own. In either case, you need to be sure that your branding plan feels unique, special, and truly one-of-a-kind for the best results.
Making your coffee shop unique is easy if you come up with the right ideas. Farming these ideas can be tough, but once you have the right plan for your needs, you will be ready to go forth and create amazing coffee in ways that no one else has before!
How Can I Make My Coffee Shop Unique?
Do you need a little inspiration to make your coffee shop special and memorable? This list will give you the ideas that you have been looking for to find the right branding and personality for your store. Some unique coffee shop business ideas include:
1. Coffee and Garden Shop
Lots of people love gardening, and many people engage in this kind of work in the morning before the day gets hot. You can offer your garden-loving clients the chance to get a cup of coffee and some new flowers, seeds, or even potting soil. Who doesn’t love using a lazy morning and a cup of coffee as a chance to shop and enjoy a hobby?
Offering those who love to create a beautiful home garden or care for their indoor plants the chance to stock up on their gardening supplies when they drop in for some coffee can be the right way to make your coffee shop stand out from the crowd.
2. Coffee and Cats
Everyone knows the statistics about how petting an animal is good for your health. If you want to offer your customers the chance to hang out with some sweet kitties while they drink their coffee, start a coffee and cats shop!
You can even make this shop give back to the community by making your kitty crew adoptable pets who are looking for that special someone to take them home! This is a win-win for everyone and a great way to convince people to come back to have coffee with you over and over again.
3. Coffee and Hair Salon
Hair salons always struggle to fill those pesky morning slots with clients, but not if you offer yummy coffee and pastries to start the day off right! You can make sure that your clients can get the coffee that they have been looking for and the haircut that they need all in one place!
4. Books and Coffee
If you love books, chances are, most of your customers do too! You can create a local bookstore that offers authors from the area as well as mainstream works alongside your coffee stand products.
There is so much to love about offering people the chance to get a cup of coffee and browse through your bookstore, and you can benefit from selling in both markets to people throughout the day. There is something really lovely about being invited in to enjoy a cup of coffee and read a book as well that welcomes people into your store with open arms.
5. Coffee and Cooking
Nearly everyone could improve their cooking skills, and what goes better with a cooking class than a little pick-me-up? You can offer local talent the chance to come and teach classes at your shop, or you might have the chops to teach these classes yourself!
You can have a ton of fun pairing coffee specials with class offerings and helping the people in your community learn to cook better and have more fun in the kitchen.
6. Coffee and Laundromat
This is a tried-and-true option that works best in towns with only one laundromat or places that have a lot of young people living in them. Being able to get a coffee and a snack while your laundry is being washed is amazing, and your customers will thank you for this comforting and cozy option.
Make sure that you also offer a nice place to sit down so that your customers will stay a while and be inclined to get a second cup of coffee or a snack while they wait for their clothes to be done getting clean.
7. Coffee and Studying
Students are always burning candles at both ends, and not everyone has the right study-friendly environment in their apartment or dorm. Offering students affordable coffee and a quiet place with lots of outlets and tables to work at can be the right focus for your store.
You can make the right study hangout that everyone in your town has been looking for, and you will probably find that you will run out of table space come finals week each semester.
8. Coffee and Daycare
Moms and dads who are home with kids are working hard and need a break from time to time. Offering a coffee shop that also includes a kid’s daycare can give everyone the fun that they have been looking for.
Kids will love the chance to hang out and play with other kids, and frazzled parents will get a much-needed break to take care of paying bills, studying, or even just looking for some peace for a few hours.
9. Coffee and Clothing
Clothing stores are becoming less and less common, but if your coffee shop has the room to offer up some clothes and accessories along with excellent coffee, you can fill this niche! Local stores with really good taste are needed in nearly every city, and people welcome the chance to get a yummy coffee and find that sweater they have been looking for or a new pair of earrings.
Clothing stores might not be surviving, but combining coffee shop perks with the fun of retail therapy can be the key to your business’ success.
10. Coffee and Painting
Everyone has heard of wine and paint nights, but what about coffee and paint adventures? For the morning people who want to get up and get going with a fun art project, a coffee and paint activity is the perfect thing to offer!
Have local artists host the classes, or have an artist on staff host classes during specific parts of the week or even every day! You could even have walk-in classes if you have the demand!
11. Coffee and Outdoor Gear
If you live in an area that is close to hiking, biking, fishing, and camping, you might want to combine your passion for coffee with a store that offers the essentials to your customers who are in the area looking for recreation.
Having fishing gear, tents, and some convenient food items that can be packed on a hike in your store can help those visiting town to get all the supplies they need for their trip, along with a cup of joe. The locals will appreciate having access to a quick stop that has it all as well because everyone always leaves something out of their backpack before they head out to camp near the river.
12. Coffee and Tech
If you can offer an area for people to try out cool new things like VR, or the latest Apple products, you can offer a tech and coffee location that is fun for everyone. Carve out some time for speakers on the topics of where the internet is going and how social media is changing.
Or make sure that you host specific days for people to come in and sell or swap computers and gadgets. This is a relevant theme in city areas or near college campuses that can get some traction.
13. Coffee and Foreign Language
Let’s face it; if you want to learn a foreign language, you need to use it. You can’t learn in a vacuum. A coffee shop that offers a chance to speak a variety of languages with native speakers or local teachers can be the right way to get people to come back to your store over and over to continue their language arts education.
You might even speak more than one language, and you could offer the first instruction until your brand gets more established. If you are located near campus, there are plenty of young people who would love to drop in for the chance to practice various languages for school or personal interests as well.
14. Coffee and Photos
Nobody makes the kind of time that they used to for family pictures, but what if you could head out for a cup of coffee as a family and pop in for some cute pictures at the same time? You can also offer pet photos and holiday-themed photo shoots alongside holiday coffee products.
This is a really fun way to make the most of building relationships with your customers, and offering the chance to get some really cute family pictures done can make it easy for people to want to come back again and again.
15. Coffee and Art
Do you love art? Are you a collector, or do you know an art gallery owner? If you want to combine art with coffee, you can make your store supportive of both ideas. Supporting local artists can be a great way to give back to the community, and you will find that offering up community events and other kinds of art-based fun is easy once you make some connections.
Let people dine near the pieces that are for sale and hanging on the walls of your shop and you will start bringing in art lovers from all over.
16. Coffee and Sunshine
If you live in a place that doesn’t have a long winter, you can make your coffee shop stand out by turning it into a place that feels like a tropical location all year long. Offer fun things like shaving ice alongside your coffee treats and sell swag like bikinis or sun visors.
You can even offer up really fun drinks that are themed around tropical themes or specific coffees from tropical locations. Being able to offer up the warmth of the sun when it has gone into hiding for the year can brighten the day for all of your clients.
17. Coffee and Dog Park
For people who don’t have a backyard, getting their dog enough exercise can seem impossible. Dogs that live alone might not spend enough time with other dog friends either.
Offering dog owners the chance to get a cup of coffee and let fido have fun with friends can be the right way to stand out from the crowd! Your clients can always bring friends along who don’t have dogs, and everyone can enjoy the antics of happy canines in the morning.
18. Coffee and Swimming
Do you live in a place that’s hot all the time? Do you have the ability to set up a swimming location with your coffee shop? Maybe you can park your coffee shop kiosk in the parking lot of the local water park instead.
Either way, you can make your coffee shop based on the joy of staying cool and enjoying the water. Coffee and lounging by the pool can be a great pairing on a sunny day. Just make sure that you serve a lot of iced coffee drinks for this kind of store.
19. Coffee and Gaming
Computer games or even console games are still really popular, and nearly everyone loves to engage in this pastime. You can offer the chance for people to book rooms or specific games to play with family and friends at your location. Offer lots of fun coffee drinks and also snacks and things that will appeal to kids if you choose this business model.
You will have a lot of younger clients coming to you at this kind of shop or you might find that parents bring their kids. This means that you need hot chocolate and other kid-friendly items to make kids enjoy their time at your store.
20. Coffee and Karaoke
While you won’t get the same liquid courage from coffee that you would get from alcohol, karaoke is well-known these days, and nearly everyone loves to have fun with this kind of activity.
You can set up some rental karaoke rooms at your shop and offer coffee drinks and karaoke rentals as a boxed set if you wish. This is a really fun way to blend two very popular things into one activity, and karaoke appeals to all ages as well.
21. Coffee and Cars
This is a common event that is hosted around the US, but you could make your shop themed around this idea. People love to get together to show off their cars and hang out with other car enthusiasts.
You can theme your shop around this idea and invite people to show up and hang out in your parking lot daily to talk about cars and things that interest gearheads. This is a great way to get the local community involved with your business and create a lasting impression on the customers.
22. Coffee and Pet Grooming
For those who have to get their pet to the groomer all the time, this can be a big burden. The process doesn’t take quite long enough that you want to head home, but waiting around can be dull. If customers don’t live near the grooming shop, the dog or cat might have to wait around for hours for the owner to be able to come back and get them once they are clean.
This is why offering a nice place to sit down and enjoy coffee and snacks can be such a good pairing with a dog grooming business. Everyone wins with this business model, and dogs and humans alike will love this coffee shop plan.
23. Coffee and Lingerie
You don’t have to think about lingerie as something that gets purchased at nighttime only. Lots of lingerie stores are open just during regular business hours. This means that it is perfectly reasonable to offer up some yummy coffee and snacks alongside beautiful nightgowns, garters, and other kinds of intimate items.
This kind of boutique experience is always really welcome when it comes to lingerie, and your customers will thank you for making the process of shopping for this kind of product so comfortable.
24. Coffee and Vet Clinic
There is nothing that can seem like it is taking longer than waiting to see the vet. If you have come in with your pet on a day when the vet is running behind, you might end up waiting for a long time for your appointment to get taken care of.
Offering coffee and snacks to vet clinic patients can help make the process of waiting for an appointment more enjoyable. People will be happier, and because owners are happy, pets will be happy too.
25. Coffee and Reading Club
For those who love to read, there are never enough people who are willing to talk about the books that they love with them. Most book clubs are really small affairs that are hosted by friends of friends and are not open to the public.
Making your shop around a book club theme and activities can allow people from all over the community to read books and make new friends at the same time. Your customers will love being invited in to talk about the current book that everyone is reading, and they will want to hang out for a while, which is great for sales.
26. Coffee and Home Décor
Knick knacks, rugs, plants, and lamps can all go along with coffee with ease. You can offer home décor of any variety that you want alongside your coffee shop offerings to combine two fun things into one.
Your coffee shop patrons can choose to wander and look at furniture items, small local crafts, or even items like wall art or tapestries. The artists and products that you choose to offer at this kind of shop are up to you completely. You can be very creative with this kind of shop and make it your own in every possible way.
27. Coffee and Massage
If your patrons are feeling tense and need a little bit of self-care, a coffee shop and a massage location can go together perfectly. Coffee already makes us feel like we are giving ourselves a treat. Adding a massage to the purchase can be an easy way to make the adventure to the local coffee shop so much more memorable.
This is a great location to offer all kinds of massage services, and even quick services like chair massage for those who are in a hurry and don’t have time to get an hour-long massage. This can make for one of the best unique coffee shop business ideas on the list!
Planning Out a Unique Coffee Shop is Easy
Always make sure to take the time to look at the market where you want to open a shop and see if there is room for your shop in this spot. You might have to pick a new location if you find out that there are too many coffee shops already found in that area, making it too difficult for you to even get started. A unique coffee shop business idea can take some time to adjust to.
In addition, always be sure that you look into the limitations and permits that are needed for each of your coffee shop ideas. Your local area might not allow you to create some of these shops, and you should know this before you have worked hard on the idea and started to buy the things needed to bring it to life.
Coffee shops are an ideal way to make a business that will stand out from the crowd. If you did not have a good idea for your coffee shop before you read this list, you will have them now. Take a look and see whether one of these great coffee shop ideas makes sense for you.
