Top 4 Hottest Industries According to FranNet

Tracy Rickman has served as a FranNet consultant for over 14 years. Her work has allowed her to analyze industry trends and assess which franchise opportunities are the best options for potential franchisees.

Here are Rickman’s top industry picks in 2022.

The Pet Care Industry

During the pandemic, 23 million families added a pet to their household. The result? The segment is booming as caring pet parents tend to all their animals’ needs.

“As Americans, there is nothing we won’t do for our pets,” said Rickman. “As of 2021, this was a $140 billion industry — and that number continues to grow. Regardless of the state of the economy, pet owners will continue to love and support their pets.”

Part of what makes this such a massive segment is that there are so many specialty areas, including cleaning, grooming, dog walking, boarding, specialty foods, exercise and more.

“Staffing-wise, it’s so easy to find pet-loving employees who are passionate and devoted to their work. These employees are likely to be satisfied in their roles,” said Rickman.

The Beauty Industry

The beauty industry is massive, valued at approximately $132 billion. People are often willing to pay top dollar to maintain their hair, nails, eyelashes and more.

“Most businesses in this space receive reoccurring revenue through memberships and frequent-return clients,” said Rickman. “Many beauty specialists can expect to see their clients every three to four weeks.”

Beauty employees tend to be passionate about their careers and the services they offer, creating another industry that is not difficult to staff. Additionally, business owners can take advantage of a semi-absentee model, allowing increased freedom and the option to diversify their portfolio.

The Home Services Industry

The home services industry is worth over $5 billion and is booming in 2022. Businesses in the segment are primarily referral and marketing driven, meaning they aren’t necessarily making cold calls. And because owners and staff don’t have to devote as much time and resources to making sales, they can focus on the work that really matters to them. 

In 2022, there is no shortage of work for businesses in this space. With so many millennials buying their first homes, the demand for home services is remarkably high.

“When you think about younger generations, they grew up in disposable societies. If their cell phone broke, they bought a new one,” said Rickman. “So once they bought a house, they didn’t really know how to fix anything. The home services industry is the perfect solution for that trend.”

In the age of social media, homeowners are taking pride in their homes like never before, resulting in an unprecedented demand for home services.

“Nowadays, people feel their home needs to be Instagram-ready,” said Rickman. “A whole segment of this industry helps homeowners increase their home’s value by doing small updates over time.”

The Business-to-Business Industry

The business-to-business (B2B) industry comprises all services conducted between companies rather than those between a company and a consumer. While many of these transactions occur behind the scenes, they ultimately impact the success of widely-known businesses and industries.

“Consider the restaurant industry during the pandemic,” said Rickman. “Their rules were regularly changing. They would say, ‘We have dine-in; we don’t have dine-in. Our menus changed because we can’t get items.’ Their signage and online presence were changing all the time. Without the B2B industry serving mom-and-pop restaurants, they wouldn’t have survived all those drastic changes.”

Another example of a booming category within the B2B space is coaching. Professional development, sales training and other employee development programs are taking off in 2022.

“Even post-pandemic, when employees are staying remote, coaching services have simply moved to the internet,” said Rickman. “This is where franchises are really succeeding because they already had these systems in place.”

If you are a potential franchisee looking to invest or a franchisor looking to attract new candidates, contact FranNet at https://frannet.com/.