Interview with Danielle Best, Founder of Mexi Bean Express
whichfranchise talks to Danielle Best, Founder of Mexican food franchise, Mexi Bean Express. It was traveling to Mexico and enjoying the unique flavours of Mexican food that led Danielle to want to replicate this in the UK but with a modern brand that was centred around community and the social aspect of sharing a meal. The first Mexi Bean restaurant was established in 2020 as a dine-in concept restaurant. This was followed in 2021 with the takeaway concept of Mexi Bean Express, Mexi Bean Food Truck was launched in 2023 and their first franchise launched at the beginning of 2025. Danielle is looking to expand the brand across the UK…
Tell us a bit about yourself
Mexi Bean Express was inspired by my travels to Mexico and the unique flavours I tasted there. I wanted to recreate them in the UK with a clean, modern brand that was inviting and centred around community and the social aspect of sharing a meal. Our tagline “Let’s taco ‘bout it” reflects that.
Before starting Mexi Bean Express I didn’t have any experience in hospitality and had to learn everything as I went along. I believe that this helps me to relate to what new franchisees may be going through and help them avoid the pitfalls of the industry.
In my spare time I love spending time with my three children who also participate in the family business, and I continue exploring the world looking for new ideas and inspirations.
Can you tell us about Mexi Bean Express franchise
The first Mexi Bean restaurant was established in 2020 as a dine-in concept restaurant. In 2021 we created the takeaway concept of Mexi Bean Express, launched the Mexi Bean Food Truck in 2023 and our franchise launched at the beginning of 2025.
Since day one, I saw their potential for this business to grow into a global franchise and developed every part of Mexi Bean Express to be scalable and repeatable. Even from early on we’ve had interest from people who like the brand, see its potential and want to open up their own Mexi Bean Express.
Going down the franchising route allows us to replicate the success across larger territories while ensuring the same quality and consistency is maintained at every Mexi Bean Express location.
We offer several concepts that tap into different market segments, making it a great brand for serial entrepreneurs who are looking for rapid growth and expansion, as well as less experienced franchisees who want to start smaller.
Who is your target market?
We provide high-quality quick-service Mexican food to customers with busy lifestyles who are on the go or want to enjoy in the comfort of their own home.
We have a very diverse fan base, including students, professionals and families - anyone can be a part of our cartel. Mexican food has a wide appeal and is an underserved niche where the offerings are not very inspiring – we’re changing that!
Why is Mexi Bean a great investment for potential franchisees?
Mexican food is a niche that has a huge growth potential in the UK and around the world because Mexican food is rarely done well in the QSR sector and we do it very well.
We have curated our menu over the last five years to accommodate various dietary requirements and developed recipes and processes so that anyone investing in our franchise will benefit from having that experience and our competitive advantages straight away.
We have run several successful restaurants ourselves to find out what works best, and all of our processes and procedures are backed by experience and results. Therefore, anyone launching their Mexi Bean Express will have access to our success formula and support from our team including myself.
What differentiates Mexi Bean Express from the competition?
Our franchise has a strong brand and amazing food with many customers saying that our food is the best Mexican food they’ve ever had.
In addition to serving authentic Mexican flavours, we also put our own modern twists on Mexican cuisine, keeping our menu fresh and innovative.
Our branding reflects that, using traditional Mexican imagery in modern, crisp visuals and standing out from traditional Mexican brands that use outdated decor and branding.
We will provide comprehensive training and support to enable the franchisees to launch their restaurants quickly and efficiently and become leaders in their territories.
What is the role of one of your franchisees?
Our franchisees are the ambassadors of our brand and a key part of the Mexi Bean Express community.
It is very important that all of our franchisees are fully committed to the core values of the brand, striving for excellent food quality, consistency and amazing customer service that results in having raving fans.
What qualities do you look for in a franchisee?
We are looking for people who see the big picture and are excited about our vision to grow Mexi Bean Express into a global household brand and be a part of an exciting journey with a dynamic, fast-growing brand.
To become a successful franchisee, you need to be positive, energetic, enthusiastic and hardworking. Tenacity and determination are everything in hospitality.
What challenges have you had to overcome?
I started the business during the pandemic because I had the idea and didn’t want to delay executing it, so I had to quickly react and adapt to the changing legislation and consumer needs.
This was like a crash course in business agility, which although challenging at the time, has fortified and future-proofed the business as we learned so much in a short period of time.
What have been your biggest achievements to date?
We have gone from one location to four in less than five years and we have won multiple awards, including Best Food Manufacturing Business and Hospitality Leader of The Year.
We’ve also built a strong following on social media and partnered with local charities to give back to the community.
What does the future hold for Mexi Bean Express?
I am very enthusiastic about the future and the next phases of our growth. Launching the franchise has enabled us to escalate the growth of the company and offer other entrepreneurs the opportunity to become a part of our success story.
We will be launching the first franchise restaurants in the next few months and we are opening two new locations ourselves in the next couple of months.
Mexi Bean Express will always be growing and evolving – we will make it a household name with locations all over the world.
What expansion plans have you got nationally and internationally?
Nationally, we’re planning to have our franchises in all major UK cities in the next 12 months and internationally, we’d love to have our franchises established in several key countries in the next 2-3 years.
What advice would you give to someone considering franchising their business?
Take time to review every single aspect of your business and simplify it without compromising quality and reliability.
Question every single detail before you pass it on to your franchisee and collaborate with industry experts to make sure you get everything right before launching the franchise.
If you had to do it all again, what would you do differently?
Since establishing Mexi Bean Express, I’ve founded two more businesses and they were significantly easier to launch as I already had a lot of experience that helped me streamline the processes early on.
Looking back, it was the challenges that I overcame that helped me get where I am today, so I wouldn’t change anything.
Interested and want to know more about Mexi Bean Express?
The Mexi Bean Express profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
