It is true that the death of the company canteen combined with the fact that many people are too busy to make their own lunch and take it to work with them means that the take-away lunch is more popular than ever, with the most popular product still being the sandwich. No longer the simple ham or cheese filling between two slices of bread, the sandwich has come of age and certainly evolved with all sorts of new fillings and flavours and as a result has become the snack of choice for most of us.

The problem for the operator is now the amount of choice the public expect to be available. From 10 different types of bread, to potentially hundreds of combinations of fillings, taking into account all sorts of dietary requirements such as gluten free, low carb, low fat, allergy restrictions etc

A natural extension to the sandwich shop is the mobile round. After all, the shop overheads are already in place, the additional cost of a van and driver can be more than compensated for by additional sales of up to £400 per day per van. Another source of revenue is the buffet trade, A job can be anything from a very simple business lunch for 6 up to something like a funeral for 200 or more. Once again with the main overhead of the shop paid for, the only additional cost besides the food may be additional labour hours and someone to deliver it.

Added value can be added in the form of high revenue drinks such as coffee and cold drinks to cakes, crisps and other items.

As probably best demonstrated by the Subway chain, variety is the most vital thing in this type of business. Your customers will suffer from menu fatigue and you will find that they may come in your shop every day for months and then suddenly they will stop and go somewhere else, don’t worry it is most likely down to menu fatigue and if your products are good it is likely they will return at some point.

You may however try and prevent this by making regular changes to your products or coming up with daily specials in addition to the old favourites but ultimately most will wander at some time in their daily eating habits.

Remember that competition will be fierce from garages, supermarkets, chemists, cafes, mobile operators and the lady making sandwiches and cakes from home who, incidentally will have a lot lower overheads than you are competing for the same business.

You have one thing on your side ‘FRESH’. Ignoring the price factor consumers are more likely to choose a freshly cut sandwich over a date-stamped vacuum-packed one that they will get at the supermarket or garage.

Seating is something else that needs thinking through carefully, takeaway or eat in? Its a question that needs to be answered, it adds extra work in cleaning, washing up and breakages but having somewhere for your customers to sit and relax be the thing that sets you apart from the other operators in your area.

Another important external factor is parking otherwise you will severely restrict your market

Start-up costs can be fairly low compared to many other sectors, but rent is the biggest factor. Keep the overheads to a minimum and remember although the big city centre locations make the big profits they also pay enormous rent and rates.

Like all forms of catering, sandwich shops are very labour intensive. The hours on the face of it may look reasonable, opening from 8am till 3pm, but in reality its usual for a high street sandwich shop to have staff in from 6 am until 4 pm, as preparation and cleaning have to usually be done outside opening hours, which can be 6 or even 7 days a week.

All that said and done, my wife and I made a very comfortable living out of the three sandwich business’s we operated over nearly a 20 year period so success can definitely be achieved if like anything you're willing to work at it.