The food franchise industry is the UK's most popular franchise
subsection and ranges from pizza franchises through to burger
franchises, sandwich franchises, baked potato franchise and restaurant franchises with many more in there also. The key to starting a food franchise is in 2 areas of research:
1. The franchise itself.
When researching any franchise and not just a food franchise you need
to look into the companies history and the current franchisee's
performance. Items of interest are:
- Franchisee turnover - how many people who bought the franchise 5 years ago are still in business?
- How long were they in business before they franchised?
- How long have they been franchising?
- Profit margins of current franchisees - does they hold up with the promises made in the promotional materials.
By asking questions to the
franchisor and obtaining a list of current franchisees you should be
able to get all these questions answered fairly easily.
2. Your local area.
Food franchises are extremely popular, as are stand alone food based
businesses. Before jumping in head first with a (example) "Mr Potato
Franchise" you really need to learn the demographics of your local
area or the area you wish to set up your food franchise in.
- How many other baked potato businesses are there within your target area?
- What is the population of your target area?
- Are there any other Mr Potato franchises close by?
- What is the density of household, businesses and busy roads in your target area?
- Parking, walking or high street? How are people going to get to your Mr P|otato franchise? If it is not easily accessible then custom will be slow.
Knowing your target market
and ensuring low density of similar businesses will go a long way to
choosing the right franchise. Where as in a primarily business area a
greasy spoon may not go down well, a sandwich bar might. However at
the same time you will find a mobile food franchise in an industrial
area woudl be better off as a burger n chip van than a healthy salad
van.
Armed with the right research and knowledge you will on track to making
a good decision as food franchises are well known to be profitable and
busy. However do not make the mistake that many do and open up a shop
or van in an area that cannot and will not sustain it.
We have some great food franchises on offer in our food franchise
category, take a look around to see what is on offer or if you have any
suggestions of franchises that we can add there then let us know!