How to Start Your Own Food Franchise

Starting your own food franchise can be one of the most profitable and enjoyable ways to get the most out of the food industry. In what is one of the UK’s most competitive sectors, here’s how you can start your own food business.

If you’re looking to be your own boss, work for a big franchise, and potentially earn big profits, working as a franchisee in the food industry could be the perfect opportunity for you. 

Despite the effects of the pandemic, the food market continues to turn over a revenue of £104.4 billion [Food and drink industry], meaning that if you’re looking to start your own food business, there are plenty of opportunities to get stuck into this multi-million-pound industry. But, how exactly do you start your own food franchise?

What does a food franchise do?

A food franchise is a big business with stores all around the country, each providing delicious and varied meals, treats, and drinks to customers. There are lots of different ways of running a food franchise and this is a sector that is changing all the time. There is plenty of diversity in how you choose to run your business and what you decide to offer, so you can tailor your options.

Should you start a food franchise?

There’s no denying that many food businesses have had a hard time of it during the pandemic. Many businesses were forced to close – some temporarily and some permanently – and all lost the majority of their revenues.

In this massive sector, survival rates for franchises are higher than the survival rates of independent and local businesses. As a franchisee, you, your business, and your staff will have all the support you need to keep your business thriving.

While your franchise will have trialled and perfected new ways of working over the pandemic period, your franchisor will play a vital role in helping your business grow, reach new customers, and stay busy. So, if you’re thinking of making a career change with a food franchise and wondering if now is the right time, the answer is a resounding yes.

How to start a food franchise

If you’ve decided to take the leap – congratulations! You have already overcome one of the biggest challenges many aspiring franchisees face: having the courage to take the leap. So, here’s everything you need to start your own food franchise.

1. Decide what kind of business you want to run

As touched on before, this is a sector that has been forced to innovate to survive. Gone are the days of the food sector being made up of sit-in restaurants. Today, there is a huge range of food establishments you could work at. You could look at:

• A traditional dine-in restaurant: Dining restaurants are the most traditional kinds of establishments customers can experience. These restaurants can feature set or changing decorations, counters and bars, music and table service. 
  
• Van-based: An increasing number of businesses have been moving towards remote and van-based businesses. These flexible and footloose ways of working allow businesses to offer more tailored services wherever the customers need them to be, while also avoiding fixed premises and costs.
  
• Ghost kitchens: Ghost and virtual kitchens are one of the biggest trends disrupting the food sector. Ghost kitchens are run by businesses that operate on a delivery only basis. These kitchens prepare the food and deliver them directly to the customers without any of the strings attached.

Ghost kitchens provide more flexibility for customers by giving them control over exactly what they’re eating and when it will arrive. Most ghost kitchens use cloud-based mobile ordering, which means customers can personalize exactly what they want and get their specific meals made to order.
– Blake Morgan, Forbes

2. Choose your franchise

Once you know what kind of food business you want to operate, the next task is to choose the franchise that is right for you. There are a number of different franchising opportunities and each of them will have different perks, ways of working and demographics. 

Identify which franchises serve food that interests you. Which ones are you passionate and knowledgeable about, and which aren’t as appealing. Then, identify what training and support is on offer and to what extent you can be your own boss. Not all franchises will be a good fit, so be critical and filter down your options.

3. Specify your skills

Whether you choose to stay in franchising for the rest of your career or decide to move on, you’ll have gained a complete and well-rounded skill set to take forward. But, to get your business up and running, you’ll also need a number of skills to help your launch go smoothly. 

• Organisation
  
• Multi-tasking
  
• Communications
  
• Leadership
  
• Confidence
  
• Ambition
  
• Drive

4. Get creative

While the franchisee is the junior partner, your relationship with your franchisor should remain constructive. While your franchisor will have a number of pre-existing plans, programmes and mentors to help you along the way, you should feel free to bring your own experience to this venture. After all, you’ll be the one running the business on a daily basis.

Most franchises won’t require you to have previous experience to start a franchisee, so the more diverse your background, the better. Whether you have your own ideas for planning your premises and location, decoration, price range, marketing or products, you should feel free to express yourself.

Become a food franchisee today

These have just been a few things that you’ll need to get started as a food franchisee. Starting a business is never easy and is full of small challenges, but with ambition and determination, you can make this opportunity work for you. 

If franchising sounds like the right kind of opportunity for you but the food sector doesn’t appeal as much, you can see a full list of sectors where there are exciting franchising opportunities on the UK franchise directory.