The Wall Street Journal: Business is Booming for Senior Care Franchises

One of the hottest trends in franchising these days isn’t sit-down restaurants or real estate. It’s seniors.

Providing home-health aides and other services to older Americans is a fast-growing business, as brands and franchise owners seek to capitalize on an aging U.S. population and low costs of entry.

“There is no way to lose with the demographics we see,” said Claudine Halpern, chief operating officer of My Elder Advocate LLC, a recent entry into franchising. “All of us are planning on living until 100.”

Ms. Halpern and her husband, Jack, decided two years ago to expand his eight-year-old New York City business, which helps senior citizens and their families navigate the world of elder care. The couple have sold two franchises for $39,500 each this year.

The Halperns aren’t alone. Over the past three years alone, the senior home-care sector has grown by 6.6% annually, faster than the overall franchise industry’s 2.6% compound annual growth rate, according to market researcher FRANdata. About half of home-care agencies are now franchises, up from about one-third five years ago, according to Home Care Pulse LLC, a market-research firm.

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