Over a little more than 25 years, Coffee Fellows has come a long way from a single café opened in 1999 in Munich by the family couple Kathrin and Stefan Tews, to a network of more than 300 locations across Europe. The German company has grown gradually, without rapid expansion, relying on a clear concept, standardized processes and strong local partners. The same principles underpinned the brand's entry into Bulgaria in 2021. For the franchisee EFDSI, the question was never whether another international café chain could be opened, but whether a model developed and proven in Germany could be successfully applied in the local environment.
Behind this process stands Iliyana Alipieva, an entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in developing international brands in Bulgaria. As the owner of MDL Group, she has built a portfolio of premium fashion and lifestyle brands, but after years in the fashion industry, she decided to take a step into a completely different sector. For her, Coffee Fellows is not just another franchise, but an opportunity to build a business from scratch, where the international model is adapted to Bulgarian reality without losing its identity. "A successful model does not change as an idea, but the context changes," she says. In Germany, the business moves within a more predictable framework, while in Bulgaria, the same model must work in a more dynamic and variable environment, where decisions are often made quickly and on the spot.
Starting with an idea
The first Coffee Fellows in Bulgaria opened on Vitosha Boulevard five years ago, with an initial investment of nearly 240,000 euro. The location did not start as an experiment, but as a long-term idea to build a network of coffee shops that are not just places for coffee, but spaces for staying, working, and meeting. However, the path was far from linear. Administrative difficulties, a slow start, and the COVID-19 pandemic placed the project under serious pressure. "If we had looked solely at the financial results, we probably would not have continued, but people started coming back and staying for a long time, and that was the first clear signal that the place already had a life of its own," the team says.
Hence, the coffee shop gradually transformed into a working space. In this type of business, the location is much more than a strategic choice. It sets the character of the site and the profile of its customers, but even the best location is not enough on its own. A leading factor is whether the market is ready, whether customer habits are changing in the right direction, and whether the concept meets the exact context at the exact moment. This is precisely what stands behind the opening of the second and third locations a few years later.
Three coffee shops, three profiles
After that point, growth was no longer perceived as a matter of luck or impulse, but as a logical sequence. Today, Coffee Fellows operates three locations in Sofia. Although they follow the same concept, each location attracts different customers. The location on Vitosha Boulevard is part of the center's dynamics, where people are most often tourists or stop by for coffee between meetings.
A second location opened in San Stefano Plaza in 2024, offering a calmer atmosphere where people work on laptops, hold meetings, and have longer conversations, with regular visitors often staying for hours. The newest location opens in 2025 on Cherni Vrah Boulevard. Located in one of the fastest-growing areas of the capital, it serves a different clientele - people living and working in the neighborhood who use the establishment as part of their daily route. The location changes not only the customer profile but also the character of the space itself. This ability to adapt to different urban rhythms is one of the reasons the team does not perceive its role as merely an operator of an international chain.
The franchise as a partnership
Behind the brand are specific people who make decisions every day, build teams, communicate with customers, and bear real responsibility for the results. In this sense, their role goes beyond operational execution - the Bulgarian company is an independent partner that manages the brand under real conditions. "We are the owners in Bulgaria - in the most meaningful sense of the word," says Alipieva. The international brand provides the framework, standards, processes, product philosophy, and accumulated experience, but the day-to-day business cannot be managed from a distance. It happens locally, specifically in conversations with customers, in the selection of people, and in the reaction to changing habits and expectations.Therefore, the relationship with the headquarters in Germany is perceived as a partnership rather than a classic franchise model. Decisions regarding the menu, campaigns, and operational issues are formed jointly in the balance between international experience and local knowledge of the customer. Over time, this process has accelerated thanks to accumulated trust, allowing for faster and more pragmatic decisions. At its core is the understanding that a sustainable model is not limited to rules, but to their ability to adapt to the specific environment. This logic also carries over to team management. In a sector with high turnover, the approach is to build a broader organizational structure that guarantees stability and predictable quality.
Business specifics
EFDISI currently employs about 50 people. Each location has its own manager who does not just monitor processes but builds a team, bears responsibility for the atmosphere, and sets the daily rhythm of work.
The return on investment for this type of establishment is highly individual. A preliminary business plan is made with estimates for investments, expenses, and turnover, but reality rarely follows initial forecasts. Factors such as pandemics, inflation, or changes in consumption can completely change the calculations, practically leaving more weight on experience and context. Therefore, the payback period depends on a combination of factors such as location, rent, team, traffic, and management, and there is no universal formula.
Revenues are growing, with turnover reaching 1.2 million euro last year, which is practically double what it was in 2024. In 2025 alone, the company has invested 366,000 euro.
Until now, the company has mainly relied on building a community around the brand. With the expansion of the team and the establishment of the brand in Bulgaria, the strategy is gradually evolving to include an active presence at various events, as well as organizing its own initiatives. To reach even more people, the company is expanding its portfolio with services such as catering, which allows it to be present at corporate, cultural, and private events. In parallel, the brand is developing its social media presence through partnerships with ambassadors who share their experiences and recommend the place to their followers.
