The iFranchise Group, a leading franchise consulting firm based in the Chicago area, sees a number of current trends in franchising that they expect will endure, and has identified others as ones to watch as 2011 continues to unfold. Key franchising trends they have indentified fall into several main categories:
1. Innovative and healthier foods
2. “Green” products and services
3. Health and wellness businesses
4. Low cost and other market-appropriate conceptsFranchising has seen a recent influx of trendy food service concepts. Some of the most notable of those include gourmet hamburger restaurants, as well as the return of frozen yogurt shops, many offering a new self-service spin on a concept that was first made popular back in the 1980s.
According to Mark Siebert, noted franchise consultant and CEO of iFranchise Group, “Upscale burgers and frozen yogurt have been going strong for a little while now, and probably have another three years of continued aggressive growth before we start seeing market saturation.”