It all began with a little French vintage coffee van that trundled around business parks, providing office workers with their morning caffeine hit.

Called HatHats, the mobile service proved a big hit, with the 60-year-old Citroen HY a familiar and welcome sight.

But seven years later, the micro business has grown into an award-winning, multi-million-pound company, which by April will have seven outlets across east Kent.

Behind its remarkable success are husband and wife Louis and Lisa Hurst from Chestfield near Whitstable, who now have even bigger ambitions to become the county's biggest independent coffee shop brand using their uniquely-sourced blend.

"We didn't initially set out to go into the coffee business," says Louis, 44, who describes himself as a "serial entrepreneur" and has a background in media, telecoms and marketing.

"The van was originally just something for Lisa to get back into work as our three children were growing up.

"We spent a few thousand pounds sorting it out and called it HatHats after our youngest daughter, Hattie, and Lisa took it around business parks and served commuters at Chestfield station."

"There were some very early starts, which wasn't much fun on cold, dark mornings," added Lisa, "but we always felt it was important for our customers to know we would be there for them with a warm greeting and a hot coffee or chocolate".

Louis says when he sold his telecoms business, the couple saw the opportunity to upscale their coffee brand and snapped up the site at the Reculver visitor centre when Canterbury City Council put it up for lease.

"People said it would never work, but we have proved them wrong and it's become hugely popular with walkers, dog owners and families," he said.

"The numbers visiting the adjoining coastal classroom have grown hugely, which, I believe, we can take a lot of credit for."

As well as coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cold drinks, the business quickly expanded its offering with cakes, ice creams and crepes.

"Coffee brings people together and our ethos from the start has been consistency, so we are open 364 days a year, come rain or shine," says Louis, a self-confessed coffee lover who downs up to seven cups a day.

"We did get some criticism when we opened during the pandemic for serving takeaway drinks, but we operated within the law.

"I remember one old chap stopping myself and Lisa while we were walking our dogs and thanking us for being open, saying the smile and welcome he got from our staff was the only human interaction he had at the time."

HatHats has now gone from strength to strength, opening a barista academy at its cafe at the Canterbury Academy, and outlets at Faversham recreation ground, Herne Bay station and Whitstable's South Quay Shed.

New launches are also due to take place next month at Herons Leisure Centre in Herne Bay as well as Deal and Canterbury East stations in April.

In its first year, the van took £56,000, but Louis is now expecting to turn over £2.3 million by the end of this year. He is aiming to reach £5 million in 2025.

"We crafted more than 397,500 drinks in 2022, including coffee, tea, hot chocolate, frappes and smoothies," he continues.

"And, in the last three years, we have used the equivalent weight of two double-decker buses in coffee beans."

Louis says he has calmed his own coffee habit by recently "going decaf", after finding a brew he claims tastes almost identical to the "real" stuff.

He believes the business' success is not just down to the taste of his coffee, but also the high level of staff training and customer service which he obsesses about.

A total of 58 people are employed across the chain's branches - and 16 more jobs will be created when the new sites open.

But he envisages more HatHats outlets launching across Kent and beyond when opportunities for the right locations arise. He is also interested in hearing from other coffee shop owners thinking of packing it in, who he might be able to work with.

Along the way, one of the firm's most successful recruits has been Charlotte Thomson, who first worked with Lisa on the coffee van when she was 17.

Just two years later, she was named apprentice of the year at the KEIBA awards and now manages the site at Reculver.

Also in 2017, HatHats was named start-up business of the year. In 2018 it was a shortlisted for an employer of the year award and in 2021, was a finalist in medium business of the year category.

Louis places great emphasis on staff training, ethical trading and community involvement.

He also runs the Amelix Entrepreneurship Academy in Canterbury, inspiring and mentoring young entrepreneurs.

He has developed the HatHats brand using IT technology and social media and also registered a new trademark, 'Together We Can'.

"We have had over 17,900 downloads for our customers app from the Google Play and the Apple stores and more than 221,000 Youtube views on our channel," he says.

He has also just launched the HatHats Foundation - a charity which will support community projects and the developing coffee growing world.

But what of the future of the van, where it all began but whose mechanical woes have kept her off the road for some time?

"Unfortunately, she became too unreliable - but she will ride again," promises Louis.

"We made a successful bid to the Kent and Medway Business Fund to give her a heart transplant with a new, modern VW engine.

"When ready, she will be attending lots of locations across the county with our events trailer, which is basically a HatHats on Wheels, to again serve our coffee and drinks."