Cooks Coffee Company Limited (NZX:CCC; AQUIS:COOK), the international coffee focused café chain, has announced that its Esquires brand has received multiple awards at the recent Irish Franchise Association Awards 2026.
Esquires Coffee was shortlisted as a finalist in seven of the fourteen award categories and received two awards on the night:
· Franchisee of the Year 2026 – Food and Beverage
· Franchisor of the year 2026 – Expanding (Food and Non-Food)
The Company notes that the award to its long-standing franchisee underlines the continued expansion of their Esquires portfolio, which has grown from one store at the beginning of 2025 to six stores by April 2026. This growth includes the development of Esquires locations within Tesco stores across multiple locations in Ireland, with further sites planned.
The Franchisor of the Year – Expanding (Food and Non-Food) award recognises the ongoing development of the Esquires brand and its expansion across both food and non-food franchising categories, reflecting a broadening of its offering.
The Irish Franchise Association Awards celebrate excellence in franchising across Ireland, including performance in areas such as customer service, innovation, sustainability and operational delivery.
Aiden Keegan, CEO of Cooks Coffee, said: “We are delighted to see Esquires recognised across a number of categories at the Irish Franchise Association Awards, demonstrating both brand-level performance and the achievements of our franchise partners. These awards reinforce Esquires’ position as a leading ethical coffee brand and align with our focus on embedding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles throughout the business. We believe this highlights the strength of our franchise model and the dedication of our partners and supports our broader strategic objectives of delivering excellence across all areas of the Group.”
