The French fast food market is constantly developing and attracts new players and entrepreneurs every day who plan to embark on this business.

Are you a fan of fast food, and are you also considering entering this competitive market?

However, not all fast food outlets are a success, so it is essential to anticipate your investment rigorously.

How to open a restaurant? Here are the details of the crucial steps not to be overlooked to launch your business successfully. Click here for more information.

Opening a fast food restaurant: what skills?

 

To open a snack or fast food restaurant, no diploma is necessary. However, you are required to undergo prior training on compliance with hygiene rules.

Launching your fast food also means opening your company, which supposes that you have at least notions of business management, accounting, and management to create your business.

 

Preparing for the implementation of your project

 

Define the concept

 

The advantage is that fast food allows the setting up of original concepts. So, remember to stand out from your competitors by offering a new service technique or exotic cuisine to match the principle of fast food.

The key is to offer customers an original concept to set them apart from your competitors.

To do this, think about multiplying the services of your fast food by offering, for example, home delivery, click & collect and, if possible, a loyalty program with a card example.

 

Market research

 

It is then essential to carry out a study of the local market you intend to integrate. For this study, you can contact professionals in the field.

It is then a question of analyzing the targeted clientele: client profile, consumption habits, needs, the response provided by the competition, and level of satisfaction. This data will allow you to assess the viability of your project.

If your economic potential is confirmed, this analysis will also allow you to concretize your concept and offer.

 

The choice of location

 

Once the concept has been defined and the market study has been carried out, it is advisable to proceed to the choice of premises in a strategic location to attract the targeted clientele.

The location of your business is an essential element. It can have a direct influence on your results.

Thus, it is advisable to consider certain external elements: pedestrian streets, if necessary, parking spaces near the premises, and activities in the surroundings (cinema, shops, etc.).

It is also important to pay attention to the building. Your premises must be attractive and comply with health and safety standards. Choosing a suitable room can save you from incurring heavy fitting-out work.

 

Writing the business plan.

 

Establishing a business plan implies preparing your project in detail. This document is essential to demonstrate to potential investors or partners the reliability and potential profitability of your project.

It is, therefore, necessary to answer various questions: the resources mobilized, with which partners or associates, the premises, the planned prices, and the developments envisaged in the medium and long term.

The business plan must highlight the main axes of the strategy of your project to optimize the chances of success and to develop its own identity with your customers. This document allows you to determine the structure of your activity: the means necessary for its launch and proper functioning, the choice of premises, and the most relevant legal design for this project.

 

The choice of the legal structure of your fast food

 

The choice of legal regime is important for properly managing your fast food restaurant.

Indeed, the choice of legal status has an impact on issues in terms of liability, taxation, accounting legality, as well as the means necessary for the constitution of the company.

To open your fast food, you have several options:

 

The creation of a sole proprietorship

 

In this case, you develop your business alone, in your name. This status is the easiest to manage. The entrepreneur is solely responsible for his actions.

It can be a classic sole proprietorship (EI) or its specific regimes: the microenterprise or the EIRL.

However, this legal form supposes several limits: the company has no legal personality, that is to say, no share capital, no partners, no articles of association, and no manager. In this sense, its prerogatives and its funding prospects are then limited.

No distinction exists between your assets and that of the company. As a result, the two are confused, leading to risk in the event of financial difficulties of your fast food.

Attached to the self-employed tax system, you are subject to income tax. This structure can be interesting for a small restaurant with very limited means.

 

The creation of a SASU (simplified one-person joint-stock company)

 

This is the one-person form of SAS. It is a one-person company. Its creation is, therefore, more complex and expensive than a business, but you benefit from limited liability.

Creating a SASU for any company requires the drafting of statutes, the deposit of capital, etc.

The SASU offers certain freedom in the drafting of statutes. The President of SASU is, therefore, free to organize his company as he wishes (unlike the EURL and the SARL). However, it is also a risk. Therefore, be careful not to forget any essential clause in the statutes.

This social form adapts well to projects intended to evolve. The transfer of shares is facilitated (no approval as for the SARL) and makes it easy to welcome new partners.

 

The creation of a EURL (a single-person company with limited liability)

 

It is, in this case, a SARL with a single partner. Most of the essential characteristics are similar to the SARL.

By default, the EURL is subject to income tax, but it is possible to opt for corporate tax.

 

Creation of an LLC (limited Liability Company)

 

The SARL is one of the most used for the exercise of fast food activity.

Composed of at least two partners, the responsibility which weighs on the latter is limited to the amounts of their contributions.

Thus, in the event of bankruptcy, the partners’ assets are protected. This is the very beautiful nature of this legal form.

The SARL is distinguished by its simplicity of creation, management, and dissolution.

 

The SAS (simplified joint-stock company)

 

The SAS is relatively similar to the SARL. However, it is a multi-person company: with partners.

Most of its operation depends on the rules established in the statutes, the drafting methods of which are flexible. It is, therefore, possible to define rules favorable to your interests.

The SAS is managed by a Chairman and an employee-equivalent Managing Director who can bind the company vis-à-vis their third parties.

A SAS is a little more complex to set up than a SARL but has more possibilities. The freedom to draft the statutes offers more flexibility and may be suitable for you for the opening of a larger fast food restaurant.

You are now informed of all the key steps to get started!