The “shop small” movement seems to dominate consumer preferences, leading many to believe national chains and franchises have lost their allure for consumers seeking authentic, localized goods and services. In the same way, prospective business owners might struggle with the “confinement” of attaching themselves to an existing brand along with responsibilities to a corporate parent.

Even with swirling notions about “chains,” franchising not only remains a powerful tool for expansion, but one that continues to grow in popularity across the nation and the world. We take a look at today’s franchising industry through the lens of data trends and insights.

Correcting Franchise Misconceptions

Before jumping into the data, it’s important to address some misconceptions about franchising and its advantages to prospective business owners. Unraveling these notions not only dispels mischaracterizations about the business model, but also highlights its unique strengths.

Let’s start with brand identity. For some, the idea of adopting an existing brand identity can feel confining. Often, critics of franchising might say it only offers “cookie-cutter” concepts. Yet, as franchise development specialists, we know this belief couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Over more than three decades, we’ve worked with a variety of franchise concepts and styles. From food and beverage to fitness centers to home renovations, there are countless businesses that expand through franchising, and each brand, even those in the same category, can approach the process in unique ways – one being branding.

Take fast coffee as an example. Both Scooter’s Coffee and PJ’s Coffee are key industry franchises. Though both companies provide the same product, their brands differentiate the consumer experience. In this case, Scooter’s Coffee offers amazingly fast service (especially as a 100% drive-thru operation), and PJ’s Coffee prides itself on New Orleans style brews.

Whether Scooter’s Coffee or PJ’s Coffee, each location of either franchise brand maintains a distinct brand identity according to the parent company. Yet, looking deeper into the companies’ differentiation strategies, you notice a brand that isn’t cookie-cutter, but competitive.

Which brings us to the primary benefits. One reason franchising has become a dominant expansion strategy lies in its ability to curate a cohesive and consistent brand identity. Where others may (unjustly) critique its “lacking originality,” these skeptics forget the value of adopting a brand with existing customer loyalty.

Opening a franchise location means servicing a customer who already has a conception of your products, services, quality, and overall brand. It’s a proven recipe for success.

Others believe franchising would overly corporatise their businesses, losing touch with local markets and lacking authenticity. Like branding, these critics fail to understand the special partnership between a franchisor and franchisee.

For the franchisor, every location represents a new opportunity to grow its customer base. For the franchisee, the new location represents his or her own business backed with support from a larger parent organization, whether that be operations training, marketing assets, or even store front supplies.

In the same vein, critics often also cite how the growth of “corporate chains” takes support away from local businesses. However, it’s important to remember that franchise locations are not upholding a massive enterprise, but supporting local franchise operators as well as a team of local employees. In essence, a franchise represents a different kind of local business.

Franchising – A Thriving Business Model

These advantages are the reason franchising continues to be the chosen method for growing businesses across the nation. In fact, according to FRANdata, franchise growth surpassed 2024 projections. Increasing at 2.2% (compared to its 1.9% estimation), franchising has put its popularity on full display, despite today’s inflation challenges and other economic uncertainties. The report even predicts another 2.4% in growth by the conclusion of 2025.

This advancement has even contributed to the U.S. job market. In 2024, employment through franchise businesses added almost 190,000 jobs. As we make our way to 2025, franchising is projected to create approximately 210,000 more jobs for a grand total of 9 million jobs within franchises nationwide.

Franchise output generated $896.9 billion last year. Following the same pattern of growth, that number is expected to increase 4.4% to $936.4 billion in 2025.

Business-friendly policies have helped spur some of this growth, especially in southeastern and southwestern states, which deliver outputs of 6.2% and 8.5% respectively. Today, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, and Maryland make up the top 10 fastest growing states for franchise businesses.

Seize the Moment

With projections like the FRANdata report, there’s never been a better time to grow your company through franchising. FranSource serves as an experienced partner for business owners ready to take the next step. Our detailed and dedicated approach ensures every aspect of the franchising process is fulfilled from necessary legal services to operations manuals to marketing assets, and much more.

FranSource can help you navigate every layer of franchising. Contact us to discover if your business is ready to seize the moment.