Food Feature Articles

Food Feature Articles

Franchise Sector Showcase

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

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
  • 15,679 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
  • 3,599 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.
  • 3,844 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
  • 2,906 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
  • 3,530 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
  • 5,133 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
  • 2,094 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
  • 7,352 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
  • 3,778 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
  • 4,020 Reads 40 Shares
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
  • 3,232 Reads 17 Shares
Jeff's Bagel Run
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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
  • 3,829 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
  • 3,931 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
  • 5,261 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
  • 3,469 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
  • 2,872 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
  • 3,623 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
  • 3,721 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
  • 3,809 Reads 81 Shares
He always meant to quit working at Jack-in-the-Box and pursue his goal of becoming a doctor in the United States. Instead, he found success beyond his wildest dreams...in franchising.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 51,731 Reads 16 Shares
If you're looking to add women franchisees--and according to every statistic, you should be (more are looking, and more have the means and skills), then you should know what women want (our apologies to the movie).
  • Linda C. Ray
  • 4,578 Reads 25 Shares
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
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Tropical Smoothie Cafe
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When Doug Castino decided it was time to get out of his hugely successful restaurant design and supply business, he'd never thought of franchising and didn't know what an area developer was.
  • Ripley Hotch
  • 4,566 Reads
Retail is huge. Franchising is huge. And, of course, holiday shopping is huge. Add all that up, and opportunities for retail franchises are tremendous--especially in the last four to six weeks of the year.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 2,490 Reads 1,014 Shares
Franchise concepts continue to proliferate�"an important sign that the industry is healthy and poised for more growth.
  • Joan Szabo
  • 3,805 Reads
According to most mavens (experts), bagels arrived in the U.S. in the 1880s, along with the wave of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and Germany who settled in New York City. While bagels were swallowed up by most New Yorkers, they remained mostly a local phenomenon until the late 1920s. That's when Harry Lender, a Polish baker, set up his bagel factory in New Haven, Conn., putting bagels in supermarkets and introducing frozen bagels.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,221 Reads 1 Shares
Contrary to what the financial media would have us believe, a financial fortune is not made—or retained—by exploiting hot stock tips or by jumping from fund to fund based on the latest "Top 10" list. In fact, selection of individual securities doesn't even make the short list of the top few most important portfolio decisions you will make.
  • Carol Clark
  • 3,579 Reads 6 Shares
Panera, phenomenally successful today, had an uncertain start. In 1993, Boston-based Au Bon Pain acquired the Saint Louis Bread Company and its 20 stores. From 1993 to 1997, the company "re-staged" the Saint Louis brand, increasing unit volumes by 75 percent. Somewhere en route, with visions of national expansion dancing in their heads, managment changed the concept's name to Panera Bread.
  • 4,681 Reads 26 Shares
"A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz." That's what Humphrey Bogart, American icon, said way back when. Today, the once-lowly hot dog has become an icon of its own, especially at sporting events around the world.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,618 Reads
Wouldn't it be great if you could call a home repair service, book an appointment, and be guaranteed they'd show up on time (and not within a four-hour window!), be courteous and respectful, and perform a reliable, professional job?
  • 3,515 Reads 11 Shares
Franchising can provide an opportunity for you to clean up. Whether it's inside your home or the clothes on your body, there are many choices. Busy Americans are driving explosive growth in the cleaning industry. With little time of their own to clean, U.S. consumers are spending more than $9 billion a year on residential cleaning-a figure expected to grow at a rate of more than 20 percent a year.
  • 2,582 Reads
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