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It&rsquo;s hardly news that, in 2019, tech companies are leading the charge when it comes to changing the way the restaurant industry does business. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizazimmerman/2019/05/09/a-closer-look-at-2019s-top-restaurant-trends/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158#1a720cd211b4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">According to a recent Forbes interview</a> with <a href="https://table.skift.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Skift Table</a>&rsquo;s senior editor, Kristen Hawley, the main issue before restaurateurs in 2019 is how to best partner with tech companies on data solutions that drive their business forward. 

Said Hawley: &ldquo;From a trends standpoint, this could mean new and creative business models [like counter service or personalized ordering screens]; it could mean more delivery-forward concepts, with restaurants serving needs that are potentially based on data.&rdquo; According to the article, Hawley calls restaurant service based on a data-backed need &ldquo;the <a href="https://www.ubereats.com/en-US?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Uber Eats</a> example of creating a second concept out of a restaurant kitchen to be delivery-only based on data it has surrounding demand.&rdquo;

There&rsquo;s the word we&rsquo;ve all come to know well over the last few years: Data. So just who are the leaders in data-driven restaurant solutions, and how are they solving for the restaurant operations problems of today? Three of the dominant players are <a href="https://upserve.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Upserve</a>, <a href="https://www.shiftgig.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Shiftgig</a> and <a href="https://www.olo.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlNe7-daR4gIVgbbACh19awPVEAAYASAAEgITT_D_BwE&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Olo</a>.

Andrea Kayal is the Chief Marketing Officer for <a href="https://upserve.com/restaurant-insider/upserve-bolsters-online-ordering-capabilities-with-features-loved-by-restaurants-and-diners/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Upserve</a>, a full-service restaurant management platform offering innovative tech solutions, from a cloud-based POS system to scheduling software and more. Kayal said that robust data is critical in 2019 because it arms restaurant operators with the insights they need to most tactically drive their business.

&ldquo;[At Upserve], we marry business information, customer information and operational data together to show how human behavior impacts a given business,&rdquo; said Kayal. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a one-stop shop so that operators have better access to their data. That&rsquo;s the most critical thing; restaurant owners today need to be able to access their inventory, workforce and customer data quickly. The faster you can make money-saving decisions, the faster you become profitable.&rdquo;

Kayal also clarified the distinction between the automatic analytics reports that point-of-sales (POS) systems typically run as compared to those of Upserve&rsquo;s platforms.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty easy for POS systems to run reports, but to report insights? It&rsquo;s not just a question of how much money you made on a given night; it&rsquo;s about insight,&rdquo; Kayal said. &ldquo;For example, we have one functionality that categorizes menu items into &lsquo;hidden gems,&rsquo; or items that weren&rsquo;t promoted but that people recurrently and consistently order. That&rsquo;s an insight you can&rsquo;t get from traditional analytics.&rdquo; 

In today&rsquo;s restaurant climate, that insight matters: as markets get more competitive in labor and food costs, restaurant owners will have to optimize their processes&mdash;meaning everything from scheduling the right staff at the right time to lessening food waste and managing inventory margins. 

&ldquo;Knowing what you pay your suppliers for your food is important, but having a great track record regarding what you pay to your suppliers against the market rate for your goods is important for you as a business owner,&rdquo; said Kayal. &ldquo;You need a single place to know how food is moving in your system, how you can provide a great customer experience, and so on. All of that is data that Upserve harvests and surfaces to our partners.&rdquo;

Another major player when it comes to restaurant technology&mdash;and one of the earliest players in the world of restaurant data&mdash;is <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190225005046/en/Olo-Releases-Guide-Restaurants-Boost-Delivery-Discoverability?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Olo</a>, founded by entrepreneur Noah Glass in 2005. While working in South Africa, Glass observed the way mobile payments operated and envisioned a plan to change the restaurant industry back home in the U.S. Since its early days as a text-based ordering platform&mdash;the brand booked a segment on Good Morning America in 2006 which ended up being largely focused on teaching Diane Sawyer how to send a text&mdash;Olo has now become a sought-after B2B- and B2C-mobile ordering platform.

According to Jackie Berg, Vice President of Marketing for Olo, the brand has innovated as the restaurant technology market has changed.

&ldquo;We started as a consumer-focused mobile ordering service, but we&rsquo;ve now grown to service brands and help brands build their own programs as well,&rdquo; said Berg. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a prevalent mobile ordering player given our history, but as the market has changed, we really see ourself as the interface between the restaurant world and the on-demand world. We help brands streamline to meet demands across channels by building platforms for orders wherever they originate&mdash;from a third-party app, or Alexa, or a brand&rsquo;s website; anywhere.&rdquo; 

According to its site, in 2018, Olo added a million new guests every two weeks, serving over 100 million customers for takeout and delivery on branded restaurant apps and sites.

Keeping their offering accessible from nearly any digital starting point has translated to some heavy lifting on the integration side of things, Berg explained. 

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re invested in rendering properly across POS systems, loyalty and preferred sales systems, and so on,&rdquo; Berg said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re also interfacing with providers like DoorDash to capture demand in the digital space.&rdquo;

In addition to laying the groundwork for the modern-day mobile ordering economy, Olo is also changing the way the restaurant industry does business by functioning as a thought leader when it comes to integration software.

&ldquo;A lot of brands approach us when they&rsquo;re in the midst of tech changes,&rdquo; said Berg. &ldquo;We take a brand and look at their infrastructure; we look holistically to see what their needs are. Many times, those needs evolve, so we work on a project-basis to make sure everything&mdash;from CRM, to loyalty systems, to POS spaces&mdash;are all speaking the same language.&rdquo;

Why do integrated technology solutions matter so much to the restaurant industry in 2019?

&ldquo;The rise of on-demand tech has enabled new customer expectations; what we call &lsquo;The Amazon Effect&rsquo;,&rdquo; said Berg. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s that accelerated need and expectation for brands in the space. When you look at the data on our platform, we have brands capturing market share at the expense of brands that aren&rsquo;t doing digital or delivery. If we look at the in-store sales for brands that use us, we see about a 45% increase in sales across 55,000 locations.&rdquo;

Interestingly, it&rsquo;s not only goods being ordered up in today&rsquo;s in-demand world; it&rsquo;s labor, too.

<a href="https://recruitingheadlines.com/shiftgig-announces-new-software-platform-for-staffing-firms/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Shiftgig</a> started as a full-service marketplace platform in 2015 as <a href="https://www.naco.org/featured-resources/future-work-rise-gig-economy?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">the modern-day gig economy</a> was crystallizing and has subsequently grown to include proprietary self-service workforce software for in-house labor scheduling. That means that users can log into a marketplace for at-need labor across industries, and restaurant operators can staff for volume without necessarily having to keep a full house of employees on the payroll.

Rick Bowman, CEO of Shiftgig, said that disrupting the status quo has been at the center of Shiftgig&rsquo;s vision from the beginning. 

&ldquo;A recent <a href="https://s3-prod.crainsnewyork.com/2019-04/Future%20of%20Work%20print%20feature.pdf?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Crain&rsquo;s New York study found that work flexibility is the most important aspect of work for 78% of respondents</a>. Workers pursuing that [flexibility] create a new talent pool with the expectation of true, on-demand access to work,&rdquo; said Bowman. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s exciting for how we think about our platform, which is really trying to turn the traditional concept of scheduling on its head. Instead of just managers staffing through a schedule they dictate, workers can choose multiple roles inside our platform, consistent with their schedule.&rdquo;

That work-life balance makes a difference, too: &ldquo;Scheduling flexibility translates to worker longevity,&rdquo; Bowman said. &ldquo;Workers with three times the opportunity stay with an employer for three times as long.&rdquo;

And while Shiftgig&rsquo;s platform certainly benefits those professionals navigating the gig economy, the company&rsquo;s model is especially relevant to restaurant operators seeing the rise of &lsquo;ghost&rsquo; or <a href="https://1851franchise.com/-dark-kitchens-shine-light-on-potential-restaurant-industry-transformation-2708665" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">&lsquo;dark kitchens</a>.&rsquo;

&lsquo;Dark kitchens&rsquo; are those that only exist within a mobile delivery app. According to an article on <a href="https://thespoon.tech/a-rough-guide-to-ghost-kitchens-according-to-chowly-ceo-sterling-douglass/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">The Spoon</a>, the idea behind dark kitchens is &ldquo;that companies who want to grow their user base or meet the demand for delivery don&rsquo;t have to open more restaurants to do so; they just need to find more kitchen space.&rdquo; 

And restaurant operators are wise to innovate along dark kitchen lines: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-24/uber-s-secret-empire-of-virtual-restaurants?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=three-tech-companies-that-are-making-the-restaurant-industry-change-its-game-2710158" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Third-party delivery apps like UberEats have spearheaded an entire wave of demand for virtual-only ordering</a>. The use of dark kitchens therefore lessens the need for a full-time staff and opens the door for as-needed staffing via platforms like Shiftgig. 

To state the obvious: The restaurant industry is changing rapidly, and it&rsquo;s up to tech to empower restaurateurs to keep up.

Upserve, Olo and Shiftgig are all major players involved in both constructing and subverting what Berg calls &ldquo;a new ecosystem&rdquo; comprised of the restaurant and technology industries. As Kayal sums it up: &ldquo;The sophistication of your customer determines how you deliver.&rdquo; 

And with consumer habits growing ever savvier, disruptive tech companies won&rsquo;t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Three Tech Companies That Are Making the Restaurant Industry Change Its Game

1851 Franchise

Innovators Upserve, Shiftgig and Olo are among the dominant players harnessing data to drive restaurant business forward. 

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Woofie's

Woofie's Wraps Up 2025 With 25 Franchise Deals Signed, Expanding Into Major Metros Across the U.S.

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Your Pet’s Life Is Busy, Too. Woofie’s Makes Care Easy

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Woofie’s Is Building the Full-Service Pet Care Franchise for Modern Pet Parents and Authority Brands Is Accelerating the Momentum

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urSwim

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Why urSwim’s Swim Lesson Model Is Built to Withstand Economic Downturns

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America's Swimming Pool

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America’s Swimming Pool Company Celebrates Franchise Growth and Excellence at 2026 Owners Conference

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Why Skilled Trades Are Emerging as the Economy’s Most AI-Resilient Careers

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The Penny Shortage Is Creating a New Risk for QSR Franchise Systems - 1851 Franchise

The Penny Shortage Is Creating a New Risk for QSR Franchise Systems

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Large Domino’s Franchisee Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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Design with Precision Garage Door Service team members

RF Investment Partners and Burlington Capital Join Forces to Acquire Top Precision Garage Door Franchise

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Private Equity Fuels Jiffy Lube’s Next Chapter as Monomoy Strikes $1.3 Billion Deal

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<a href="https://hardeesfranchising.com/">Hardee’s</a>, a 65-year-old burger chain best known for its Thickburgers and breakfast biscuits, is facing a fast-moving round of closures driven by a franchise dispute rather than a bankruptcy filing.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inc.com/ava-levinson/hardees-shutting-dozens-restaurants/91282586">Inc. recently reported that</a> 77&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-hardees-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2721286">Hardee’s</a> restaurants are expected to close within two weeks as one of the brand’s largest franchisees exits the system.&nbsp;According to the report, Hardee’s is suing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.arcburger.com/">ARC Burger</a> — a franchise operator owned by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.highbluffcap.com/">High Bluff Capital Partners</a> — alleging the company fell behind on required payments and other contract obligations. Twenty-eight locations had already gone dark as of late December, with remaining sites scheduled to shutter across eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and Wyoming.&nbsp;At the center of the complaint is the franchising “stack” of ongoing fees and pass-through costs that keep a system running. ARC Burger allegedly owes more than $6.5 million, including royalties, advertising fund contributions, technology and training fees, rent and taxes, and that payments stopped in December 2024. Hardee’s also argued in the lawsuit that the franchisee’s cash flow was not being used to bring accounts current.&nbsp;Hardee’s, for its part, is framing the shutdowns as a contractual enforcement issue, not a brand-wide retrenchment. “These closures are a result of ARC Burger’s failure to cure its defaults under its franchise agreements, despite solid sales,” a Hardee’s spokesperson said.&nbsp;The situation highlights a familiar franchising pressure point: unit economics. Inc. reported that Hardee’s operates more than 1,800 U.S. restaurants and that average annual sales per location are less than $1.2 million, well below averages cited for&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-wendys-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2722520">Wendy’s</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-buy-a-mcdonalds-franchise-2724654#stories">McDonald’s</a>. Lower volumes can leave franchisees with less room to absorb higher labor, food and occupancy costs while staying current on fees.&nbsp;Hardee’s said it is working to limit fallout for workers and communities and is looking for ways to reopen closed restaurants. For franchising, the next chapter will likely involve finding replacement operators, transferring sites and rebuilding compliance — a reminder that franchise growth depends as much on franchisee solvency and execution as it does on consumer demand.Read the original article&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inc.com/ava-levinson/hardees-shutting-dozens-restaurants/91282586">here</a>.Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisees find the right franchise opportunity? Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.1851growthclub.com">www.1851growthclub.com</a> and start your journey.

Hardee's Franchise - ARC Burger Lawsuit - 1851 Franchise

The closures stem from alleged unpaid royalties and missed franchise obligations by a major operator, not a broader chainwide collapse for the Hardee’s system.

Hardee’s Lawsuit Targets Franchisee as 77 Restaurants Prepare to Shut Down

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North County Pizza Inc., a major&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-dominos-pizza-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2725506">Domino’s</a> franchisee, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-pizza-chain-franchisee-files-173300667.html">Yahoo! Finance recently reported</a>. The bankruptcy filing gives North County Pizza time to restructure its debt and reorganize its business, while pausing any legal actions against the company during the process.The Oceanside, California-based franchisee did not explain why it filed for bankruptcy or whether it plans to close locations or lay off employees. Franchisees across the restaurant industry have pointed to tough competition, higher labor and food costs, and expensive leases as reasons for restructuring or filing for bankruptcy.The franchisee filed for bankruptcy on March 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California, reporting $100,000 to $1 million in assets and $1 million to $10 million in liabilities.The announcement follows recent news that&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-papa-johns-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2724607">Papa Johns</a> plans to close 300 underperforming restaurants, including 200 by the end of 2026, and cut 7% of its workforce. It also comes just weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yum.com/wps/portal/yumbrands/Yumbrands/">Yum! Brands</a> announced it was&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/yum-brands-pizza-hut-sale-2731599#franchise-news">considering a sale of Pizza Hut</a> and plans to close 250 underperforming U.S. locations.Together, these moves could point to a broader reset across the pizza franchise sector. For franchisees, this environment raises the stakes around site selection, cost control and operational efficiency, while also creating potential opportunities to capture market share as weaker locations exit the market.Read the original article <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/major-pizza-chain-franchisee-files-173300667.html">here</a>.Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisees find the right franchise opportunity? Visit<a href="http://www.1851growthclub.com">&nbsp;www.1851growthclub.com</a> and start your journey.

The California-based franchisee seeks to restructure debt as closures and strategic shifts continue across major pizza brands like Pizza Hut and Papa Johns.

<a href="https://www.yum.com/wps/portal/yumbrands/Yumbrands/">Yum! Brands</a> is considering a potential sale of Pizza Hut and plans to close 250 underperforming U.S. locations, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/consumer-services/nyse-yum/yum-brands/news/yum-brands-weighs-pizza-hut-sale-as-portfolio-reset-accelera">recent article on Simply Wall St</a>. For the franchising industry, the significance is less about the stock and more about what it says about how large franchisors are managing brand portfolios in a high-cost operating environment.<a href="https://1851franchise.com/pizza-hut-franchise-deep-dive-2722519">Pizza Hut</a> is one of the most recognizable names in franchising. If Yum! decides to sell it, that would be a notable shift for a company built on a multi-brand platform. For years, large brand groups have argued that operating multiple concepts creates advantages, including shared resources, stronger purchasing power and the ability to invest in technology across the system. A sale would suggest Yum! believes those benefits no longer outweigh the effort required to improve Pizza Hut’s performance.The planned closures may have the most immediate impact on franchisees. When a franchisor reduces its footprint, it can change how the brand performs in local markets. Fewer locations can mean less convenience for customers, which can hurt overall traffic. It can also weaken the effect of local advertising when there are fewer restaurants supporting promotions in the same trade area.Closures can also affect store-level economics in ways that go beyond the locations that shut down. In some markets, remaining franchisees may pick up some displaced demand. In others, customers may switch to competitors. The changes can also affect local co-op advertising budgets and, depending on how purchasing and distribution are structured, can influence costs tied to volume.The move comes as competition in pizza remains intense, with&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-dominos-pizza-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2725506">Domino’s</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-deep-dive-papa-johns-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data-2724607">Papa Johns</a> continuing to push delivery, digital ordering and value-focused offers. Simply Wall St notes Yum! has been rolling out its Byte digital platform across brands. If Yum! changes Pizza Hut’s role in the portfolio, it could also change where the company focuses its technology and marketing investment.For franchise systems watching from the outside, Yum!’s review is a reminder that growth is not always the main priority. Sometimes the bigger decision is whether a legacy brand can be improved inside a platform or whether it will perform better under a different owner and a different plan.Read the original article&nbsp;<a href="https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/consumer-services/nyse-yum/yum-brands/news/yum-brands-weighs-pizza-hut-sale-as-portfolio-reset-accelera">here</a>.Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisees find the right franchise opportunity? Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.1851growthclub.com">www.1851growthclub.com</a> and start your journey.

Yum! Brands Pizza Hut Sale - 1851 Franchise

Yum! is reviewing the brand and closing 250 U.S. locations, a move that could affect franchisees and reshape its restaurant portfolio.

Possible Pizza Hut Sale Signals Shift in Yum! Brands’ Franchise Strategy

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The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.franchise.org/">International Franchise Association</a> has released its annual&nbsp;<a href="https://www.franchise.org/franchising-economic-outlook/">Franchising Economic Outlook</a> report for 2026, painting the picture for a positive year of growth after notable economic turbulence in 2025.“The resilience of franchising has enabled our model to adapt, endure and thrive in the face of challenging macroeconomic headwinds,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhaller">Matt Haller</a>, IFA president and CEO, said in a release. "After a year of recalibration, franchising is better positioned to navigate an improving economic environment than independent businesses due to tax certainty, lower interest rates and investments in AI that will propel brand growth, franchisee unit-level economics and wage growth for the franchise workforce."The report features key industry projections for the year, including:<ul><li>The addition of over 12,000 new franchised businesses</li><li>The addition of over 150,000 jobs — meaning the industry will represent nearly 8.9 million jobs</li><li>An increase in total franchise GDP from $549.9 to $558.4 billion</li><li>An increase in multi-unit ownership as current single-unit franchisees pursue scale</li></ul>In addition to the strength of the industry as a whole, the organization highlighted segment-specific trends.&nbsp;<ul><li>This year, child services and commercial and residential services are recognized as top performers, expected to achieve a 3.2% year-over-year growth rate.</li><li>A focus on experiential dining, rather than value alone, may drive full-service restaurants to outpace quick-service brands in output growth.</li><li>Preventive health care has risen to be the third-largest franchised industry, and it represents strong opportunities as consumer awareness surrounding preventive health care persists.</li></ul>In terms of growth markets, Texas continues to lead the country as the fastest-growing state for franchising, followed by Florida, Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina. Michigan, Ohio and Utah have joined the top 10 this year thanks to their relative affordability and the potential they offer for market leadership and long-term growth.The outlook for 2026 is upbeat, and the drivers behind it look different than they did a few years ago. More brands are putting AI and automation to work in day-to-day operations, which helps franchisees move faster on basics like scheduling and inventory and stay tighter on margins.The growth in multi-unit ownership points to a shift in how people are approaching franchising. More operators are treating it like a scalable investment, focused on building an asset, not just buying themselves a job.As the year ramps up, IFA’s data suggests growth in 2026 will be driven by those leveraging the scale of the franchise model, embracing a tech-forward approach to business ownership, and staying agile in an evolving business landscape.Find the full 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook report&nbsp;<a href="https://www.franchise.org/franchising-economic-outlook/">here</a>.

Highlighting child services and commercial and residential services as top performers, the organization predicts the industry will add over 150,000 jobs and increase its GDP by billions this year.

IFA Releases 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook Report, Predicting Over 12,000 New Franchised Businesses This Year

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How much can franchisees make? It’s a question many prospective owners ask before investing in a franchise. While earnings tend to be driven by variables such as industry, location and general management skills, a proper understanding of the key factors driving profitability can help franchise owners develop expectations that are realistic.&nbsp;Multi-unit franchisee&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mangesh-patel-9368569/">Mangesh Patel</a>, who’s readying the launch of six&nbsp;<a href="https://www.beefobradysfranchise.com/">Beef ‘O’ Brady’s</a> restaurant locations in the Macon, Georgia area, shares insights from his franchising experience.<h2>Understanding Franchise Income</h2>Keeping operational costs in check can have a major impact on overall earnings. Taking a proactive approach to expenses such as food and labor, as well as payroll and scheduling, can help align actual franchise income with general expectations for the business.“I just had a meeting with a couple of people, and they said, ‘You talked about a 25% profit margin, but I’m only doing 12%.’ So, I looked at the figures they sent me,” Patel said. “Their&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/calculate-restaurant-franchise-profit-2730476">restaurant</a> food cost was running at 37%, which should be around 30%. The national average is about 32%. If I do things correctly, my average food cost needs to be at or below 30%. And payroll should run around 18%. But many people run 25 to 28%.”So,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/unraveling-franchise-earnings-how-much-can-you-really-make-2723935">how much can franchisees make</a>? Here are five areas to consider.<h2>Practical Tips for Prospective Franchisees</h2><ol><li>Control Costs From Day One:&nbsp;It’s important to monitor payroll, food and supply costs closely. Overstaffing and inefficiencies can quickly reduce profits.</li><li>Plan For The Opening Surge:&nbsp;Traffic within the first few months of opening is likely to be higher. It’s important to adjust staffing and inventory accordingly, and pay close attention to how those levels change as time goes on.</li><li>Invest In Training:&nbsp;Properly trained workers can help reduce waste and improve overall service, which has a direct effect on net income.</li><li>Understand Your Market:&nbsp;Each market is unique and revenue potential will vary depending upon location, demographics and competition.</li><li>Track Metrics Regularly:&nbsp;Food cost percentages, labor ratios and weekly sales data act as key indicators operations may need to be adjusted.</li></ol><h2>What Profitability Really Comes Down To</h2>Patel notes that if franchise owners manage labor and costs properly, it’s not impossible to achieve strong cash flow even in the first year, bucking some franchising trends.So,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-much-can-you-make-as-a-franchise-owner-2724761">how much can franchisees make</a>? While results tend to vary, careful planning, disciplined operations and a proactive approach to assessing initial costs are essential. But by grasping and guiding the elements that drive franchise profitability, franchise owners can maximize overall business earnings, scaling a business that’s sustainable financially over the long term.Want to learn more about franchise opportunities on 1851 Franchise? Be sure to visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/power-rankings">Power Rankings</a> to read more on brands making moves.

How much can franchisees make? This guide explains what drives franchise earnings and how to manage costs, with expert tips from multi-unit owner Mangesh Patel on maximizing your franchise income.

How Much Can Franchisees Make? A Guide for Prospective Franchise Owners

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Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: A fast-casual restaurant brand serving made-from-scratch sandwiches, salads, soups and pizzas rooted in Southern hospitality.


Newk’s Eatery Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

newks-eatery-franchise-costs-fees-profit

Amada Senior Care Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Amada Senior Care is a non-medical home care, assisted living placement, and related senior-support services with multiple revenue streams.

amada-senior-care-franchise-costs-fees-profit

The linear sales funnel is dying. Prospective buyers are no longer filling out a form at first glance and waiting for the phone to ring. They’re doing the majority of the heavy lifting before they even make themselves known to the franchisor. For franchisors, this means one key thing: you must know exactly where candidates spend their time. No guesswork. And you have to adjust your strategy accordingly.And, in today's buyer world, the biggest buzz term is 2026's ride or die for franchise brands – Ai.&nbsp;If you are trying to sell a franchise today, you must meet candidates where they are (four walls, Ai, website, social advertising).&nbsp;Focusing on a strong digital footprint first and then lead generation will help the brand with validation and will lay the foundation for trust before the first conversation even happens. Still, franchisors must know where to find their candidates and be confident the candidates are being sent to the right place.“We consistently see the strongest lead performance from Google Search (paid and organic), social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and our franchise development website,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinlsnyder">Erin Snyder</a>, head of franchise development at&nbsp;<a href="https://handelsicecream.com/handels-franchise/">Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream</a>. “Because all awareness and advertising efforts ultimately funnel candidates to our development site, maintaining a highly optimized, mobile-first web presence is critical for conversion.”<h2>The "Hidden" Channels: Authentic Research via AiSEO</h2>While Google and major portals are often where a candidate might start a broad search, the deep research happens in the shadows. This is where candidates scroll, mindlessly or otherwise, simply observing rather than clicking “apply” immediately; or, ask Ai chatbots about the best franchises to buy, the blind spots, the why nots, and, of course, the whys.Right now, Ai plays a key role in this research stage. Buyers want the truth.&nbsp;For franchisors, this means your content strategy must pivot. It is no longer enough to post stock photos of happy business owners. You must document the journey, showing the behind-the-scenes reality that proves your concept has staying power.<h2>The Pivot From Print to Digital Interactivity</h2>While print media has been a channel for franchise development in the past, its static nature has made it less effective as the buyer’s journey has shifted to digital. Buyers are generally looking for channels that will allow them to click, read and continue the search immediately.“Traditional print media has largely become a thing of the past for franchise development,” Snyder said. “What has been encouraging, though, is seeing many of these publications successfully pivot to digital formats that offer greater interactivity, stronger analytics and far better linkability than print ever could.”This creates a more dynamic experience for the candidate. In addition to a digital article, franchisors can embed a “day in the life” video, for example, or hyperlink a deeper dive on costs and profits for instant validation.This shift also allows franchisors to track return on investment more effectively. Instead of guessing if an article or ad worked, digital publications allow you to see exactly who clicked through, allowing for retargeting and smarter budget allocation.<h2>The Conversion Hub: Your Mobile-First Website</h2>Once a candidate has discovered you on Google, watched your videos on TikTok and read about you in a digital publication, they finally arrive at the destination: your franchise development website.This is the bottom of the funnel, where you will win or lose a candidate. Because all other channels point here, your website cannot just be a digital brochure. It has to be a conversion engine. And crucially, it must work perfectly on a smartphone.The question can’t just be “Do we have a website?” Questions about the website should surround usability and readability. Is navigation easy on a smartphone? Does the site load quickly? Is it readable? If a prospect has to pinch-and-zoom to read your investment costs and financial performance, they will leave.An optimized, mobile-first presence is critical because it serves as the collection point; all other awareness efforts funnel potential franchisees to the site. The user experience here should validate the trust built on other channels. However, accessibility is only half the battle; the content itself must be unsparingly open. The website is the channel where you must prove your value proposition with hard data.“Across all channels, the messaging needs to be clear, concise and consistent,” Snyder said. “Candidates should be able to easily find transparent investment ranges and financial requirements, a clear value proposition, compelling franchisee success stories, key differentiators from competitors and straightforward next steps for how to inquire.”When you treat your website as a transparency engine rather than a gatekeeper, you change the dynamic of the eventual sales call. A candidate who has already consumed your financial data and success stories arrives at the inquiry stage educated and qualified. This allows the development team to skip the basic fact-finding and move straight to strategy and fit.“When a candidate submits an inquiry, the first conversation should build on what the candidate has already learned,” Snyder said “ensuring they understand the opportunity they are considering, clarifying details, personalizing the discussion to their goals and moving them into a structured education process rather than starting from scratch.”<h2>Allocating the Budget: The "Ideal Candidate" Approach</h2>While a presence across multiple channels — from search and social to digital publications — is key, understanding exactly how much to invest in each option is the next hurdle. There is no single, magical approach to budgeting; a brand selling multi-million-dollar franchises needs to develop a presence in different places than a low-cost, mobile franchise will.To spend effectively, you must deeply understand your ideal franchisee profile. Once you know who is investing, you can begin working on where to find them. For example, a high-net-worth investor might be on LinkedIn and reading digital trade journals, while a first-time investor or someone seeking an owner-operator model might be influenced by local Facebook ads.“Franchisors should start by understanding their ideal franchisee profile and then allocate budget toward the channels where those prospects spend the most time,” Snyder said. “The mix will naturally look different for a high-investment, multi-unit candidate than for a first-time owner-operator. Beyond that, it’s critical to consider overall brand awareness and invest in channels that consistently get both the brand and the franchise opportunity in front of qualified prospects. A balanced approach that supports both awareness and lead capture tends to produce the strongest results.”<h2>Key Takeaways and Next Steps:</h2>Make sure you have a content footprint that answers the top 25 questions asked about your brand in Ai and Google searchs.Review your mobile experience: Open your franchise development site on your phone. If it takes more than three seconds to load or if the "Apply" button is hard to find, fix it immediately.Embrace "lo-fi" video content: You don't need a production crew. Use a smartphone to record "day in the life" videos with your franchisees and post them to social to build authentic trust.Ensure transparency and continuity:&nbsp;Candidates need to be able to find the information they’re looking for, and the experience should be consistent between a social page and a franchise development site. Make sure your value proposition is clear across all channels.Embrace innovation, but don’t count out the classics:&nbsp;Look at the whole picture. Many candidates are exploring opportunities on supplemental platforms like social media or in the results of a Google search, but they’re still looking at the franchise development site, too. Don’t confine yourself to the “old reliable” methods, but don’t leave them behind, either.Budget by persona, not platform: Don't just "do Facebook ads." Define exactly who your buyer is, and spend your money only on the channels where that specific person consumes content.For more information on franchise growth channels, check out these related stories on 1851 Franchise:<ul><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-to-use-social-media-marketing-to-promote-your-franchise-2727185#stories">How To Use Social Media Marketing To Promote Your Franchise</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/building-a-franchise-website-that-converts-key-features-and-best-practices-2727363#stories">Building a Franchise Website That Converts: Key Features and Best Practices</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlfduHqGy7I">How to Sell Franchises | The Buyer Persona</a></li></ul>

To succeed in the shifting landscape, franchisors must understand the buyer’s journey, identify the ideal franchisee profile, and build a digital presence that meets candidates where they are.

How To Sell Franchises in 2026 — Top Channels Franchise Buyers Use Before They Inquire

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Visiting Angels Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Visiting Angels is a senior home care franchise focused on in-home support for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Three Tech Companies That Are Making the Restaurant Industry Change Its Game

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