Food Feature Articles

Food Feature Articles

Franchise Sector Showcase

Informative Food franchise articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors.

In the chronicles of franchising history, some names come immediately to mind - Ray Kroc, S. Truett Cathy, Dave Thomas. The names conjure up images of independent-minded entrepreneurs with the savvy, know-how, and vision to create successful business models replicable anywhere. As part of the celebration of Franchise UPDATE's 20th anniversary, we look back at some of these colorful, inspiring, and sometimes controversial characters.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 5,070 Reads
When native San Franciscan Ellen Hui left a career in banking in 1989 to take on her first Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits restaurant, she experienced a big culture shock.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 4,577 Reads 2 Shares
The incredible surge in outsourcing prospect generation to franchise brokers has - literally - reshaped the sales programs of many franchise systems.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,250 Reads 5 Shares
Remember pulling up to the Jack in the Box drive-thru in the 1970s and placing your order through an over-sized talking Jack head where the voice on the other end sounded like a grown up from a Charlie Brown cartoon. You had no idea what the person on the other end was saying or how your order would turn out. Times have changed and the evolution of technology in the fast food industry is picking up the pace - and making the fast food arena one full of strong franchise opportunities.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 33,504 Reads 7 Shares
Life was easier for a franchise sales person in 1987. There were fewer media, fewer regulations, and what prospects knew about your brand was mostly what you told them.
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,447 Reads
From Mail Boxes Etc. to The UPS Store, a quick history; or, 27 years in 90 seconds or less.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 10,769 Reads 7 Shares
With the first kick-off of the pigskin this season, chicken wings were back on top of the menu once again for hungry football fans nationwide. Each autumn, migrating herds of Americans return to their favorite hot (wings) spots week after week to catch the big games on big screens, or wolf down their favorite spicy chicken wings at home on their new HDTV unit. It's a routine that's become big business, and it doesn't seem to be losing any steam.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 2,280 Reads 3 Shares
If history has taught us anything, it’s that not all good things from the past necessarily follow us into the future. Employee attitudes and work ethics that were around two decades ago are no exception.
  • Gloria Plaisted
  • 4,716 Reads 1 Shares
The Little Caesars Pizza story is… well, quite a story. Founded by Mike and Marian Ilitch, first-generation Americans of Macedonian descent, the company is approaching its 50th anniversary. Still family owned and operated, Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. has grown prodigiously since its first store opening in 1959 in Garden City, Mich.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 15,961 Reads
Multi-unit operators have been a part of the growth and expansion strategy at Fantastic Sams since the brand first began franchising in 1976, according to Jeff Sturgis, vice president of franchise sales development.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,270 Reads 1,014 Shares
When Liz Goodwin of Durham, N.C., was announced as the Curves Franchisee of the Year for the Southeastern Region last October, a cry went up from across the Las Vegas hotel ballroom.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 4,105 Reads 20 Shares
Jersey Mike's Subs
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Check cashing has come a long way toward respectability in the past couple of decades. Its reputation, however--at least in the eyes of the media and much of the general public--has lagged behind.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 15,575 Reads 1,701 Shares
Just as the Memorial Day holiday was about to begin, lawmakers preparing to flee Washington, D.C., for vacation, reached agreement on continuing to fund the war in Iraq. That funding bill also raised the minimum wage. Not a big deal, many business owners would say, because half the states already require minimum wages in excess of the federal level.
  • Mark E. Battersby
  • 3,513 Reads 7 Shares
This issue's Tech Talk takes a look into four ways franchise companies are using technology to improve their business: 1) integrating digital surveillance with POS systems; 2) contactless retailing; 3) protecting the brand in the online era; and 4) using an online service to track promotions and referrals.
  • 3,750 Reads 1 Shares
This issue's Tech Talk looks at two ways area developers can save time and money by using technology to improve their management and operations: 1) using Web-based software to conduct online meetings for all or some of their sites; and 2) using in-store cameras to improve operations on the fly and provide a digital record that can improve customer relations and protect employees at the same time.
  • Ripley Hotch
  • 2,835 Reads 4 Shares
Conventional wisdom has it that young franchises are jumping on the area developer bandwagon to grow quickly and establish their presence in the most efficient way.
  • Ripley Hotch and Debbie Selinsky
  • 3,477 Reads 137 Shares
Innovation has played a progressive role in franchising since the beginning. Over the years, there have been new spins and fresh angles on all kinds of products, services, and concepts. As if there were any doubt, consider the more than 300 new franchise concepts introduced last year alone, according to franchise research firm FRANdata.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 5,049 Reads 182 Shares
In the early summer of 2007, retired Air Force Tech Sergeant Robert Flores was making his way across the country with a U-Haul from Texas to Indiana to open his first Little Caesars franchise. That may sound extreme -- but it's not -- nor, is this his first brush with running his own business.
  • Franchising.com
  • 2,046 Reads 35 Shares
On Wall Street, smart investors will tell you that diversification is a critical part of any portfolio. It's an approach that can shelter investors from significant losses by spreading the risk. It's also a good way to ensure consistent dividends. And diversification is a strategy that is being adopted and becoming more and more popular among multi-unit franchise operators.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 7,251 Reads 2 Shares
Financial experts agree it’s a good idea to help existing and future franchisees find the best financing methods to launch or expand a franchise. While you may not be able to offer franchisees a financing package, it makes good business sense to provide as much practical information as possible concerning where to apply for and successfully land business loans.
  • Joan Szabo
  • 3,701 Reads 24 Shares
When she was just 16, Mandy Bryant (now Mandy Bryant Verges) got a job at a Gold's Gym in her home city of New Orleans. She worked a couple of years in sales and did well. In April 1995, owner Steve Smith opened a tanning salon called Electric Beach in the city's Uptown district. When Smith bought out his business partner, he needed a manager for the salon. Bryant asked, he said yes, and transferred the 18-year-old to the salon as its new manager.
  • Eddy Goldberg and Kerry Pipes
  • 3,915 Reads 40 Shares
MY SALON Suite
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Pets and pet-related businesses are among today's hottest franchise opportunities--especially in the U.S., where pet owners are notorious for pampering their dogs, cats, birds (and even their rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and fish).
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 3,129 Reads 17 Shares
Kelly Saxton thinks big. He's the largest McAlister's Deli multi-unit operator, with 30 units throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Kansas. Prior to that, he was the largest Mazzio's Pizza multi-unit operator, with 50 units throughout Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi.
  • Eddy Goldberg and Kerry Pipes
  • 3,734 Reads 1 Shares
I have to confess that I truly admire the creativity of marketing folks. I have very little creativity, and I am impressed that on occasion their creativity has some semblance to reality. On the other hand, I read recently how a marketing consultant was hired to develop some new images for Atlanta's Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Authority. The consultant's "suggestions" included replacing the typical bench seats we find in subway cars with overstuffed leather sofas. You can write the next sentence for yourself.
  • Rupert M. Barkoff
  • 3,874 Reads 9 Shares
Fish tales about the "big one that got away" are legendary. Franchise salespeople have their own stories of big ones that got away, too. But the good ones also tell tales of the near-misses they pulled from the fire-- and of how, at the eleventh hour, whether through fancy footwork or a simple stroke of luck, they landed the deal after all.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 5,177 Reads 3 Shares
Gary Hoyle thought there might be a good concept for franchising at a Florida restaurant he knew. So he ate there every day for three monthsâ€"soaking in the atmosphere and dining on the delicacies. It was enough to convince him it could work.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,396 Reads 1 Shares
Business Opportunity!! The words practically leap from the pages--whether in well-known national business publications such as the Wall Street Journal or Entrepreneur magazine, or in the classifieds flooding the back of the smallest daily and weekly newspapers in every city and town in the world. But what exactly is a business opportunity?
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 2,802 Reads
Mr. Rogers, of children's television fame, would have felt right at home at the Franchise UPDATE's 8th Annual Leadership & Development Conference--The Playbook: Winning Strategies for Franchise Success. No one would have raised an eyebrow at the close of the conference if they'd heard his reassuring voice in the hotel lobby singing those familiar words: "It's such a good feeling..."
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,556 Reads 1 Shares
It's human nature to want to be recognized and appreciated. After all, those kinds of accolades help to determine how we feel about ourselves as well as our careers. It's certainly no different in the franchising world. Franchisees want to know that they're more than just another cog on the wheel. They want to feel valued. When they feel like they play an active role in the decisions affecting their business, they're going to work harder. When they work harder, they're generally going to be more successful. And, of course, more successful franchisees mean a more successful franchise organization. So say the franchise executives who are really tuned in to their franchisees.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,623 Reads 18 Shares
Whether it's Kung-Pao Chicken, Shrimp Teriyaki, noodle bowls, or chicken lettuce wraps, more and more Americans are searching for healthier and more exotic alternatives. This desire to eat better and experiment with flavors helps explain much of the growth in Asian food franchise concepts.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,748 Reads 81 Shares
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