I am often asked “What’s The Hot Franchise?” or “What’s Hot in Franchising?” As a good lawyer I am reluctant to answer because don’t want to be seen as endorsing anything! But Franchise Times magazine has provided data to support a reasonable answer to this question circa 2015. So, using that data and my own experience interacting with franchisees and franchisor executives of various brand, below is my subjective list of “What’s Hot”:
- Paul Davis Restoration (disaster cleanup)
- BrightStar Care (in home care for seniors and disabled)
- Right at Home (same)
- Anytime Fitness (24 hour limited service gym)
- Massage Envy Spa
- Sport Clips (barbershop)
- Buffalo Wild Wings (casual dining)
- Dickey’s BBQ (“fast casual”)
- Smashburger (same)
- Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen (QSR, great same store sales increases)
- Jimmy John’s (sub shop)
- Firehouse (same)
- Jersey Mike’s (same)
- Holiday Inn Express
And a special shout-out to a client of ours who is not in Franchise Times, but is growing like wild fire: Hissho Sushi, to go sushi bars mostly within supermarkets, 53.4% unit growth in 2014 up to 741 locations (72% franchises). The brand has continued to grow and expand in 2015, and should be on Franchise Times’ radar for its 2016 edition!