4 Tips for Running a Healthy Food Franchise

Healthy eating is occupying an ever more important part of our diets. And, with so many healthy recipes proving to be just as delicious as some of our sweeter treats, there’s never been a better time to be running your own healthy food franchise. If you’ve been thinking about starting your own healthy food business, here are some key tips to help you along the way.

When you start your own healthy food franchise, you’ll very quickly be able to tap into many of the advantages that starting your own business brings. You’ll be your own boss, you’ll have plenty of training and support and will immediately be able to leverage a tried-and-tested brand profile. But, what are the key steps to running a successful healthy food franchise? 

Why start a healthy food franchise?

Partly driven by the pandemic, more and more Brits are looking to change up their food habits with a view to eating more sustainable, healthier food options. In fact, as many as 80% of people have taken the decision to eat healthier throughout 2021 [Sustain]. With this many people looking to take positive steps towards a healthier diet, it’s clear that there is plenty of room for profitability in healthy food. 

And what better business model to really push your profits than the franchising model. With franchisees having proven survival rates well beyond smaller and independent businesses, there are lots of advantages to running your own franchise business, including:

• A pre-existing brand reputation and identity
• Experienced and specialist training and support
• Beneficial financial rates
• Plenty of room for specialism and diversification 

4 Tips for running an effective healthy food franchise 

If you’re ready to start your own business, there are a few things you’ll need to do prior and post-launch. So, here are our tips on what you need to do to get your own franchise business off the ground.

1. Put together the right business plan

At the heart of almost every successful franchise is an accurate and put-together business plan. These documents set out the heart and soul of your business, from your position within the healthy food market to future projections and your financial options. They will also help you attract financial backing if you need it, so they are important documents. 

So how do you put together a great business plan? You’ll need to have done some extensive research beforehand and will know the rough lay of the land, so make sure you leverage a lot of the research you have done to put together a great plan. Highlight some key market trends such as:

• Your unique selling point
• How you intend to finance your business
• How you would market your business differently
• What kinds of employees will you be looking to recruit
• How you will look to diversify your business
• What kinds of future growth will you be targeting

By including these and various other specific details, you will have a great foundation for your business plan and will be well on the way to putting together the right plan.

2. Location, location, location

High streets have been experiencing decreasing amounts of footfall over the last few years, meaning that you need to pay close attention to where you decide to set up your food business. One of the benefits of running a food business is that as long as your shopfront is visible, people will come. While this doesn’t mean you can set up shop just anywhere, it does mean that running a healthy food shop has some advantages when it comes to finding the right location.

You could also consider to what extent you really need a fixed premises at all. With food delivery platforms more popular than ever, many new and start-up kitchens are only cooking their food, with delivery of their food being provided by riders. Not all franchises will be open to working like this, but you should consider it when thinking about running your business. 

3. Keep your ear to the ground

The food industry is always changing and the rapid pivot towards healthy eating is evidence of that. But remember, when you start your own healthy food franchise, you’re tapping into a relatively new and exciting part of the industry. If you fail to keep on top of some of the newer trends, your competitors could quickly overtake your business.

Never believe that your business is settled into a way of working for the long term. There are always new ways of working, consumer habits and pieces of technology that are re-innovating the food industry, so be sure to keep on top of these as they come. 

4. Network

As a franchisee, you’ll have an extensive network of like-minded franchisees to speak with. Whether you are facing problems, need advice or guidance, that franchise network is there to support you so be sure not to let it go to waste. 

Beyond this, networking outside of your franchise can also be a great way to ramp up your personal and business development. Whether you network with suppliers, stakeholders or anyone else of use to you, you could find yourself learning about new and exclusive opportunities through simple word of mouth. Networking isn’t just important for employees; it can be vitally important for employers as well. 

Start your own healthy food franchise today

Starting your own business brings lots of advantages. In what is an exciting and fast-growing part of the British economy, there’s never been a better time to run your own franchise, so if you’ve been thinking about taking the plunge, now is the best time to do it.

If healthy food isn’t your area of expertise though, don’t be afraid to look elsewhere. There are lots of ambitious franchise businesses in the UK who are always on the lookout for perfect franchisees, so consult the UK franchise directory for a full list of available opportunities.