2 Min Read

In December 2019, Stephan and his brother Petrus opened Platō Coffee out of a converted shipping container in Centurion. No advertising budget. No fancy fit-out. Just good coffee, kind people, and a name borrowed, loosely, from a Greek philosopher who arguably never anticipated his legacy being a flat white in Irene.

By early 2020, the country was in lockdown. By 2025, Platō had crossed 100 stores, employs over 500 people, and is opening its first international location in Harare, Zimbabwe, with Europe and the Middle East firmly in its sights.

Let’s look at how they’ve strategically branded and positioned themselves to achieve this.

If you’re new to boxing, would you fight Mike Tyson, probably not right?

You’d start off by fighting some unknown boxer from some unknown gym from down the road, or from a South African perspective you’d probably down a brandy and coke and take on anyone at your local bar.

Point is, for Platō it made no sense to go head to head with the likes of Starbucks and Seattle Coffee, who had already established themselves. So instead of competing for space in prime real estate locations like malls.

Instead they started in regional hubs and mining towns using shipping containers. The thought process was target professionals in towns Welkom, Rustenburg, and Polokwane. These towns often house engineers, doctors, and lawyers who have disposal income to pay for a slightly “overpriced” cappuccino.

Coupled with their excellent quality and customer experience, they were able to establish themselves among customers before transitioning into more urban and high-traffic areas.

Most coffee shops go for the "steampunk" or industrial look with dark wood, exposed brick, and dim lighting. Platō intentionally did the opposite. They took inspiration from the clean, minimalist design of Japanese and South Korean cafés, aiming for a feeling similar to walking into an Apple Store.

This drives the following:

Tying into their strategic locations, Platō does exceptionally well at building a loyal customer base, which acts as a pocket of community.

Because of the overarching tighter-knit communities in their areas, people find a sense of familiarity with one another at a Platō, because they often know others there. This coupled with what seems to be some of the best customer service. I mean I’ve yet to go to a Platō where the baristas don’t remember your name after 2-3 visits.

This creates loyal customers, and guess what… loyal customers return time and time again.

And let’s not forget the weekly run clubs.

A converted shipping container, a clear vision, and the discipline to say no to the wrong locations built one of South Africa's most recognisable café brands in under six years.

For future CAs and business advisors, the takeaway is simple: the numbers will always tell you what happened. Understanding the brand strategy tells you why. And clients who are building something real will always need someone in their corner who gets both.

Until next week,
The Journal Entry Team

The journey to those four letters CA(SA), is a long one, let’s not kid ourselves. We all know the high volume of coffee and library hours required to get there.

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