Rock 'n Roll'd: Vietnamese QSR set to franchise

They have plans for 100 stores by 2016.  

Roll'd, a Vietnamese hawker-style eatery, offers a varied range of classic and healthy Vietnamese cuisine, such as rice paper rolls, salads, and noodle soup. The brand originated in the streets of Melbourne, and has quickly grown in just a short span of time.

Roll'd recently announced that it will soon be venturing into the world of franchising, with a goal of more than 18 stores set to open across the country by the end of the year, and a total of 100 stores by the year 2016. The brand is also planning to expand in the international market, looking into countries such as Malaysia, China, Philippines, Singapore, London, Dubai, and New York.

Below is a Q&A with Bao Hoang, one of the founders of Roll’d. 

QSR Media: Tell us about Roll’d?

Bao: Roll'd is a Vietnamese Street Food concept that originates from Melbourne, Australia, and born from a passion of sharing – simple, fresh, balanced food. Many of the recipes are classics, passed down through generations of home-cooks, and others, with our mothers' blessings, have been adapted to bring traditional Vietnamese cuisine to the masses.

As a team we’re committed to always delivering quality, value-for-money product, as well as a memorable experience for each and every customer. By the same token, we want to build an exceptional culture internally so our entire team becomes self-motivated to succeed with us. When customers and team members enter our businesses, we want them to experience the same hospitality and soul food that one would receive in any one of our family homes.

It took us at least two years to get every aspect to a standard we were prepared to share, and we’re extremely appreciative of the support and feedback we’ve received so far. It is essentially what drives us to continually improve and be at the forefront of our industry.

QSR Media: Could you tell us more about your product range, and what makes it stand out in the industry?

Bao: Everything on our menu can be found on the streets of Vietnam and on the humble dining tables of Vietnamese households. Our most popular items are our Roll’d Soldiers™ – rice paper rolls with a modern twist, Mr. Bun Mee™ – our take on the Vietnamese-French baguette, and Uncle Pho™ - the quintessential noodle soup of the nation. We also have a range of Classiquè salads – crunchy, exotic and healthy, and The B.- vermicelli noodle salads with your choice of protein, and an amazing balance of flavours. We have also recently introduced a dinner menu to select stores, and a selection of traditional beers and house wines at our licensed venues. We’re continually developing our menu and future products include dessert options, and additional and limited edition/seasonal flavours across the range.

We believe our uniqueness lies in our ability to move the customer experience of Vietnamese cuisine away from the sit-down restaurant environment to the fast, casual food sector. We specifically chose menu items that would allow our customers grab and go options, and with consumer palettes becoming more adventurous and health conscious, we saw an opportunity to introduce a unique alternative to the likes of sushi and your typical sandwich.

We’ve worked tirelessly on our processes to ensure our food is served fresh, fast and portable without compromising on flavour and customer service. The product range itself and our price points, we feel, allows our customers to enjoy our food every day.

QSR Media: What are your priorities for 2013?

Bao: At less than a year old, there is much to be accomplished, however our focus in 2013 will be:
a) Establishing Roll’d as a National brand, recognized and loved in key cities across Australia.
b) To continually improve our processes so that our overall operation facilitates consistency of product and memorable experiences for our consumers, as well as our internal team members.
c) To attract and retain like-minded individuals that will support, innovate and advocate the Roll’d brand, so together we can create a robust and profitable business model that will provide success and significance to a wider network.

QSR Media: What pushed the brand to venture into franchising, and what are your expansion plans?

Bao: After also being involved in the Franchise Industry through my professional career as a Physiotherapist, I found that the model really does accelerate one’s knowledge of business. The support and assistance I experienced in this format really inspired me to develop a similar system and structure that will allow our Franchisees to build a profitable business and also enjoying their desired work-life balance. Along with my fellow Roll’d Founders, we also felt that with our aggressive agenda to grow to a National Brand required other like-minded individuals to join our team and feel that utilizing genuine “partners” (Franchisees) in our journey will continually challenge us to improve everything we do.

Our expansion plans involves an aggressive agenda to grow to 100 stores Nationally by July 2016. By the end of 2013 we will have expanded to over 18 stores with stores in Brisbane and possibly Canberra. We aim to open stores in Sydney at the start of 2014 and expand into the remainder of the states by the end of 2014. We have an enormous amount of interest from all states and really have to put the brakes on occasionally to assess where our strategic plans lie. Besides National expansion, there is also a lot of interest from parties in New York, London, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, China and Dubai. We expect to have at least 10 International stores by July 2016.

QSR Media: How would you describe Roll’d, the brand?

Bao: The Roll’d brand is youthful and vibrant, creative and adaptive, much like the street culture that inspires us. We are proud of the heritage of our cuisine, and are passionate about sharing the Vietnamese culture through our food.

This is reflected in many aspects of our business. The language can be found in our menus and artwork, even in the day-to-day lingo amongst staff. The stores themselves are thoughtfully layered to be reminiscent or symbolic of Vietnamese living.

We stand for quality with value for money; innovation with respect for tradition and authenticity; precision and purpose in our operations with fun and friendship in our relations.

QSR Media: What kind of investment are potential franchisees looking at?

Bao: The investment amount will vary depending on location but will vary between $150K-$500K.

QSR Media: Who are your typical customers?

Bao: Our customers are typically health conscious and time-poor individuals who look for both quality and value for money. At the moment, our clientele comprises largely of young corporates or uni students looking for that quick bite during a lunch break or between classes, that is light and fresh, and can easily be transported back to the office or campus. We believe the daily queues outside our stores are a testament to our quality, and the growing number of familiar faces each day tells us that consumers are satisfied with our price points, and are happy to have multiple visits.

QSR Media: Any other comments?

Bao: Again, the Roll’d family would like to show appreciation for the support we’ve received from both our consumers and the industry itself, and we welcome any feedback and ideas. At Roll’d sharing is a big deal. So if anyone would like to join us on our Roll’d journey we would love to hear from you at [email protected]. Visit www.rolld.com.au for more information and store locations.