Lists are always subjective and this one is no exception — in fact, I’d say it’s more subjective than most.. It’s not clear what criteria Inc. Magazine used to decide which franchises made the list. Because the selection criteria is quite murky and the franchises included are unexpected and in some cases unknown, it gives the impression that it’s more of a marketing piece rather than a serious list.
But what I do find useful about this list is that it introduced me to several unique franchise concepts that I’d never heard before. So from that perspective, I think this list is worth reading and sharing. I’ll let you decide if you agree with Inc. Magazine’s choices for the most promising franchises of the year.
1. Energy Kitchen – a quick service restaurant concept where nothing on the menu is over 500 calories, and every dish is either grilled, baked, or steamed. They currently have just 10 units, but their goal is to have 1,000 locations over the next 10 years.
2. Red Mango – one of the pioneers in the fast-growing frozen yogurt category, this South Korean brand invaded the US market in 2007. In 2009, Red Mango opened 42 units in Texas and New York, with an intermediate goal to have over 550 locations by 2015.
3. Smashburger – competes with Five Guys Burgers and Fries in the “better burger” category. They currently have 100 locations open, but plan to double that number in the next year. They are expanding aggressively in the Northeast, particularly in Long Island and Brooklyn, New York.
4. Kumon – Kumon seems out of place in a list of promising franchises because they’ve been in America since 1974. They have over 1,500 franchise locations in the US, with plans to open 100 more in 2011.
5. Planet Beach Contempo Spa – for an affordable monthly fee, Planet Beach members have unlimited access to fully automated and push-button spa and UV services such as tanning, massages, facials, and teeth whitening. They currently have 340 franchise locations in 38 states and 9 countries.
6. Edible Arrangements – the company that created the fruit bouquet category is now the subject of a lawsuit brought by its franchisees for allegededly altering its business agreement and unfairly imposing new company-wide mandates. It opened 84 stores in 2010 and recently signed its 1,000th franchise agreement.
7. BrightStar Care – this is a franchise that provides in-home care to seniors. They have very agressive growth ambitions, with the goal of having 400 locations open by the end of this year, from just 163 in 2010. I’ve been noticing a lot of ads and media articles on BrightStar recently and this seems to be part of their aggressive expansion strategy, which also includes the launch of 7 new brands in the next 10 years to give franchisees the opportunity to expand their service offerings.
8. Stratus Building Solutions – a commercial cleaning franchise that has grown by leaps and bounds from just 708 franchises in 2007 to 3,512 franchises in 2010. Commercial cleaning franchises as a group have been receiving a lot of interest from prospective franchisees because of their low cost of entry — and I know this from my own blog statistics.
9. Junk King – a fast growing junk hauling franchise that competes with the likes 1-800-Got-Junk. It markets itself as “America’s Fastest and Greenest Junk Removal Service.” The company is based in San Carlos, CA and has recently expanded to Massachusetts, Colorado, and Arizona.
10. Planet Fitness – while the 24/7 neighborhood fitness clubs like Anytime Fitness and Snap Fitness have gotten all the buzz, Planet Fitness has also grown significantly (they’ve grown over 326% in the last 3 years). They are trying to differentiate themselves by promoting a friendlier, no-pressure, and fun environment, with monthly pizza nights and free Tootsie Rolls.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,
I work for Stratus Building Solutions and growth and numbers aside, I have personally seen lives change. I have been employed through them for a little over 2 years now, and have developed a relationship with the franchise owners you don’t typically get in such a large organization. They bring in their families and you see the children growing up. By starting their own business, we witness good things happening for them as they are able to fulfill their dreams. People might show up in a new car one day, or share how excited they are to be able to put their child through college now. It is a very heart-warming job/industry/company.
Behind all the #1 Fastest Growing (Entrepreneur) and the 500|5000 List (Inc.), there are real people working 24 hours a day to make this company what it is.
If you’d like any more info, I’d be happy to share. Please email m.lather@stratusclean.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or Linkedin.
Have a great weekend!
Funny because the class action lawsuit naming Stratus as the defendant just filed within the past week or so in Missouri paints a much different picture.
I am currently an Edible Arrangements Franchisee and I hate the company!!!!!!!! They are so greedy and do nothing, I mean not a dang thing to help you become profitable. So many of these sites and magazines want to showcase Edible as a great business model to get into, but they always seem to fail to actually interview the franchisee’s that were manipulated by corporate at their discovery day. Picture a guy named Bill standing at an eraser board circling the number $60,000 and saying this is the profit that is left over for a store that does $360,000 in sales. Now, the truth is my store does $560,000 in sales and unless I am ready to work my fingers to the bone from sticking fruit on a skewer I have yet to see $60,000 go into my personal bank account. I am not part of the lawsuit, but I hope the brave owners who put it together get this company straight and get us all back to believing in the opportunity we were presented with. My personal opinion is to skip this franchise and find one that actually cares about you and your well being. Good Luck!
Hi James,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with Edible Arrangements. I’ve invited your franchisee association to present their side of the issues raised in their lawsuit against Edible Arrangements. A representative of the association has gotten back to me but she is holding off giving an official statement before consulting with her lawyer. Just waiting to hear back from her. Wishing you all the best.
Best regards,
Ambrosio