Joel Libava
In this post, I’m going to share the top 2020 franchise trends along with several specific franchising opportunities you should take the time to learn about.
Tip: When you find a trending franchise opportunity that seems interesting, click the link I provided to the franchise and bookmark it in your web browser right away. That way, you can go back and learn more about it whenever you want.
Read on to find out what’s hot in 2020.
2020: The Beginning Of A New Decade
With a booming economy (trending upward as of this writing), reasonable small business loan rates, and a large number of consumers more than willing to part with their money, I’m looking for the franchise industry to rock* in 2020.
*Whoops. I did expect things to rock in franchising until the pandemic. But hang in there. Something I predicted is still coming to fruition-and in a big way.
(That 2020 U.S. Economic Forecast Chart is courtesy of Goldman Sachs)
But (there’s always a “but”) in spite of seemingly unending positive economic news, there are two things that can derail things. Can you guess what they are?
1.
2.
Don’t worry; I’ll fill in the blanks shortly.
In the meantime, let’s take a look at the 3 hot franchise trends that can make you money in 2020.
2020 Franchise Trends: Hot Franchise Trend #1
I was going to save this franchise trend for last, but according to some of the best writers around, since you’re being absolutely bombarded with articles, podcasts, videos and more, I’m supposed to get to the heart of the matter, quickly.
That said, the hottest franchise trend for 2020 is “delivery.” Why?
In a word, Amazon. Jeff Bezos changed everything.
From Biography.com:
“With no press promotion, Amazon.com sold books across the United States and in 45 foreign countries within 30 days. In two months, sales reached $20,000 a week, growing faster than Bezos and his startup team had envisioned.”
That was in 1995. Here’s more from Biography.com:
“As of August 2019, both Bloomberg and Forbes estimated Bezos’ net worth at $110 billion, or more than 1.9 million times the median American household income. Bezos topped Forbes’ list of wealthiest people in the world in both 2018 and 2019.”
In a nutshell, Bezos is legendary, and Amazon.com has disrupted almost every type of business, with retail being hit especially hard.
But what does Amazon have to do with delivery and franchising?
Update: Delivery is now more than just a “trend,” because of Covid-19.
Click To Buy
Amazon has made it too easy for you…for us, to buy stuff.
Specifically, they’ve made purchasing something a 3-step process.
1. Find the product on the Amazon website
2. Click to buy it
3. Type in the credit card number
It’s easy right? But here’s the best part.
The product you ordered will arrive at your home or business within a couple of days. That’s huge, and we’re quickly getting used to it. And the reality is that Amazon is in the delivery business.*
That’s right. Thanks to Amazon, we want more and more of “our stuff” delivered. Heck, we’re almost at the point where we expect the things we buy to get delivered.
Tip: Bookmark this post right now, as I’ll be updating it all year long with new trends and opportunities to help you prosper in 2020.
2020 Franchise Trends: Franchises That Deliver
Can you find a franchise opportunity that offers delivery?
Sure you can!
For instance, you may want to look into trending franchises like:
Pizza franchises. For instance, Domino’s.
And restaurant franchises + fast food franchises.
This B2B franchise opportunity. (Deliveries happen through their website)
And while those are excellent examples of franchises that offer delivery services, more are on the way.
In other words, more and more franchise businesses are going to start adding delivery to their businesses. They’ll need to if they want to stay competitive in today’s fast-changing world. Can you think of any businesses that should start providing delivery services, ASAP?
Franchise Money-Making Tip
Since more franchise businesses and other small businesses are going to add delivery services in 2020, you may want to look into buying a franchise like The UPS Store®. Here’s why.
In this specific instance, let’s say you’re the owner of “Main St. Hardware“, and you’ve been watching what’s going on with delivery.
In fact, you’ve been thinking of adding a delivery option, but you’re having trouble justifying the purchase (or lease) of a delivery vehicle…and a new employee to do the deliveries.
Then one day, out of the blue, Thomas Spector (who owns The UPS Store franchise down the street), stops by your store and offers you “a new service for local small business owners.”
Thomas tells you that he’ll call you every day to see if you have anything you need to have delivered, and if so, he’ll take it to his UPS Store, box it up and ship it out. And it doesn’t matter if it’s local or not. He can do the shipping for your online store too! Problem solved. And now you don’t have to invest in a delivery vehicle or another employee.
Now, obviously a service like this is for non-perishable items…not food. Well not yet.
In other words, who’s to say that The UPS Store won’t one day add food delivery to their service offerings.
Have I got you thinking?
Good!
The bottom line?
If you own The UPS Store, or something similar, it would be foolish for you to stay behind the counter waiting for customers to stop in-when you have dozens if not hundreds of potential opportunities to offer delivery to small businesses in your local area.
*There’s one more opportunity in the delivery sector you may have heard about. If not, you’re about to.
That was a good video, especially if you like the idea of piggybacking on Amazon’s brand to be your own boss.
As a matter of fact, I remember when I first read about it.
“Buy An Amazon Delivery Franchise For $10,000!”
Let’s pause for a moment, because I need to share a secret with you.
It’s not a franchise business. Read why.
Now that you know that the Amazon Delivery Service Partner business is not a franchise business, does it still interest you?
If so, great! I encourage you to learn more about it.
If not, that’s okay, too.
At least now you know what it is-and what it isn’t.
2020 Franchise Trends: Healthy Eats
Like the franchise trends article I wrote in 2018, food franchises are included in this franchise trends article, too. But which ones? Which specific types? Let’s find out.
In 2018, L.E.K. Consulting’s Food And Beverage survey revealed the following:
“93% of consumers want to eat healthy at least some of the time, with 63% trying to eat healthy most or all of the time.” That’s huge.
Additionally-and this is important, “73% to 86% say they would pay extra for food products with health and wellness attributes that resonate.”
The end result?
Consumers are starting to put their money where their mouths are, literally.
What does that mean for you?
In a nutshell, healthy food franchises are in. And they’re going to be for a while.
2020 Franchise Opportunity Tip: if you’re enthusiastic about health and wellness and have been wanting to match your passion for healthy food with a business that reflects that passion, and one you’d be proud to own, it’s time to check out this space. Here are 3 trending food franchise opportunities that are worth a look.
Clean EatzNot only does Clean Eatz offer a menu of build-your-own bowls, sandwiches, flatbreads, burgers and wraps as well as on-the-go snacks and options from a smoothie bar, they are going after the growing off-premise market with its Meal Plans program, offering consumers the option to pick up prepackaged weekly meals to reheat at home.
Investment range- $123,000 – $545,000
B.GOODThe concept prioritizes clean food standards – no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives – and aims to incorporate local ingredients as much as possible. Additionally, B.GOOD features seasonal menu items, which rotate quarterly.
“We offer wholesome, natural, and freshly-cooked homemade food. Called “food with ROOTS,” our sustainable, homemade fare is what connects our community.’
This 75+ unit healthy food franchise requires a 2,000-2,400 square foot space, with an investment of $545,000-$941,000.
Pure GreenIf health and wellness is top of mind for you, and you want to be a part of the business side of things, look no further than Pure Green, a healthy fast food franchise out of New York City.
Pure Green’s menu consists of handcrafted and made-to-order superfood smoothies, acai and pitaya bowls, organic steel-cut oatmeal and cold pressed juice and shots.
The total upfront investment for this healthy fast food franchise opportunity ranges from $122,950- $379,900.
Get the details about Pure Green here.
2020 Franchise Trends: Fitness
The next trend in franchising shouldn’t surprise you at all.
What is more, it’s in the same franchise sector as the one above; health and wellness. And in 2019, 30% of my clients looked into fitness franchise opportunities, or at least expressed their desire to learn about them. But there’s more.
The Newest Wrinkle In Fitness Franchising
The fitness sector is experiencing a lot of growth.
Fact is, a lot of the growth is due to the large number of new franchise concepts entering the market.
In a nutshell, today’s franchisors are capitalizing on the fact that more people-especially millennial’s, are paying to get or stay in shape.
Moreover, the newer fitness franchises appearing in the marketplace are…well…different.
Micro-Niches In Fitness
Today’s franchisors are coming up with extremely creative fitness franchise business concepts. Like:
1. Red Effect
This franchise features instructor-led workouts that focus on strength, stability and endurance. And they take place under full-spectrum infrared lights. What?
2. Mayweather Boxing & Fitness
Floyd Mayweather’s franchise opportunity offers a boxing experience consisting of 12 rounds, with 2 warm-up rounds, 4 bag rounds, 4 floor rounds and 2 core rounds.
And your members can burn upwards of 1,000 calories.
Size-wise, studios are 2,000 – 3,500 square feet, and there’s serious branding in-place, as the Mayweather name is very well known.
Learn more about this new fitness franchise concept here.
3. The Max Challenge
From their website:
“THE MAX Challenge is a 10-week body transformation system designed to make fast and lasting changes to your appearance and overall well-being.”
The program includes:- 50 Unique Workouts
- Nutrition Program
- Members Site
- Guaranteed Results
Get the details about The Max Challenge here.
More On Fitness Franchises
A look at fitness franchising wouldn’t be complete without mentioning franchises that have helped this sector of health and wellness remain top of mind.
Ranked #60 in Inc. magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies List, Orange Theory Fitness has done exceptionally well.
It’s not very often that a franchise with one of the highest upfront investments in its sector ($575,422- $1,497,372) grows as fast* as Orange Theory Fitness has.
*As of this writing, 1600+ franchises have been sold.
Finally, when it comes to garnering media attention, Orange Theory seems to get more than practically any other fitness franchise.
Gold’s Gym
Gold’s Gym has been going strong since 1965.
Correct. 1965. When cars looked like this.
From the Gold’s Gym website:
“Gold’s Gym has grown into a global icon with 700+ locations serving 3 million people each day across 6 continents.”
Wow! Who wouldn’t want a piece of that?
Granted, the company has had some negative publicity, but they seem to have weathered the storm.
The good news is that if you were to become a franchisee of Gold’s Gym, you’d have the ability to hang signs in your franchise business stating the following:
“J.D. Power has ranked Gold’s Gym Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Health and Fitness Centers in 2015 and 2016.”
That’s powerful stuff.
Important Update!
Gold’s Gym To Be Acquired By German Fitness Group
Tip: Talk to a lot of franchisees in this space. The pandemic has affected the fitness industry in many different ways.
If you’d like to see a comprehensive list of fitness franchises being offered in 2020, check out Franchise Direct.
New Franchise Trend: No-Employee Fitness Franchise
Finally, there’s a new offering in the fitness space that’s worth mentioning (I think). Check this out.
“Our fitness centers have no full-time employees. You just need a clean-up crew to come in a few times a week.”
Huh?
Basically, potential members sign-up for a free trial membership using a special App. Then they go to their nearest MyFit18 location and use the App to gain access, 24/7. Of course payments are done through the App-even membership cancellations!
What do you think?
Check out the MyFit18 website for more details.
Note: As of this writing, there is limited information on startup costs and other relevant information for MyFit18. But their business model looks interesting enough to watch this fitness concept develop.
Two More Trending Franchise Sectors To Watch In 2020
If franchise opportunities that offer delivery, serve healthy food, or provide unique ways to get in shape don’t excite you, hang in there, because there are 3,485 other franchises along with several franchise sectors you can make money with. Here are two of them.
1. Senior Care
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), “The number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to nearly double from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group’s share of the total population will rise from 16 percent to 23 percent.”
More importantly, as they age, seniors want to remain at home.
That’s why franchisors like BrightStar Care, a top-tier senior care franchise, have very busy franchise development departments.
The bottom line?
If you’d like to own a business that’s capitalizing on the proven demographic changes going on right now, a senior care franchise is the way to go. The numbers don’t lie.
2. Coffee
A fair number of people I talk to ask me about food franchises. And some of them tell me “I think it would be cool to own a coffee franchise like Starbucks* or something similar.”
*As you’ll see in this article, Starbucks is not selling franchises at this time. Sorry.
That said, there are a few coffee shop franchises being offered.
So, should you look at a coffee shop franchise?
Well, to be sure, a large number of consumers drink coffee.
But does that mean you can make money selling coffee to them?
In short, yes.
But in order to do so, you need to do a lot of volume.
In addition, you need to have a lot of high-margin add-ons like freshly baked goods, sandwiches and more available for your customers.
(Infographic courtesy of squareup)
Another Way To Own A Coffee Shop In Your Community
Attention Entrepreneurs!
What if there was an opportunity for you to own your own local coffee shop, one in which once it’s set up, you pretty much have complete say in how it operates?
If that kind of freedom sounds attractive, I encourage you to take a look at this non-franchise coffee shop opportunity. One you can open in your own neighborhood, and name it whatever you want!
UK Franchise Trends For 2020
Before I share a few franchising trends taking shape in the UK, here are some statistics.
710,000.
That, according to the 2018 British Franchise Association (BFA) – NatWest Franchise Survey, is the number of jobs that the UK franchise industry is responsible for. That’s a lot of jobs. What is more, over 50% of those jobs are full-time.
Secondly, it’s been estimated that the number of franchised units has almost doubled during the last quarter century. Franchising isn’t going anywhere in the UK…except up.
The 2020 Trends
(Inforgraphic courtesy of the BFA)
Interestingly enough, one of the most important UK franchise trends has more to do with age than a specific franchise category.
Specifically, 18% of all new franchisees are now under 30 years old. And 52% of them are female. As a matter of fact, 37% of all new franchisees in the last 2 years have been female.
And speaking of females, franchises like Kids Collective, target Mums who want to own a business that suits their schedule.
Other franchise types that may be a good fit for Mums include businesses that offer after-school activities, like art, tutoring, swimming and more.
The second trend I’d like to talk about has to do with a change in how UK franchisees collect money from their customers.
According to Elite Franchise Magazine, a high volume of businesses are moving away from cash payments. Where are they going? To contactless or online payments.
That’s because in today’s world, it’s all about convenience.
With that said, if you’re serious about becoming the owner of a franchise in the UK, you need to familiarize yourself with all forms of cashless payments, as your customers aren’t carrying cash like they used to.
Another trend worth mentioning is the continued rise of coffee consumption.
The BFA says that recent research predicts that the total UK coffee shop market will comfortably exceed 30,000 outlets and £15 billion turnover within the next decade.
In view of that, if you’re thinking about opening a coffee shop, now may be the time, as more and more people are taking their coffee drinking seriously.
Finally, franchise businesses that offer services to the senior population.
Today’s seniors are focused on remaining mobile. As a result of that, franchises that offer senior fitness programs should prove to be quite popular in the years to come.
In addition, franchise businesses that provide home services, like lawn care, errand running, transportation and the like will flourish-as long as the services being provided are up to snuff.
All in all, franchising in the UK should prosper in 2020.
The only thing that could derail things is Brexit.
And nobody knows how that will play out in 2020.
Two Things That Could Turn The Tide In 2020
At the beginning of this 2020 franchise trends article, I told you that I’m pretty confident it will be a good year for franchising.
Unless, as part of The Trump Effect, one or both of the following things happen.
1. President Trump gets removed from office
As of this writing, Trump has been impeached.
And no, I’m not going to share my political views in this article-or share whether or not I think Trump is a good President.
With that being said, things can get volatile in a hurry, depending on if he gets removed from office or not. And franchising will feel the impact-either way.
Simply put, if he stays in office, things in our country will pretty much remain as they are now. We’ll continue to have a good economy-but we’ll still experience a lot of divisiveness. And when election time rolls around in November, it will be one of the ugliest slugfests in history.
Conversely, if Trump gets removed from office, the economy will probably tank for a while…if for no other reason than Trump is been seen as good for Wall Street. But that will be the least of our problems, as…
Misinformation Campaigns Will Quickly Launch
When that happens, I predict that things could get ugly, as dozens of “Deep State” conspiracy theories will get a serious shot in the arm. And that will translate into anger. The question is, will that anger spill out into the streets? I hope not.
In any case, if that does happen, my prediction of 2020 being a really good year for franchising will go right out the freaking window (along with television sets, furniture, and whatever else looters and other assorted miscreants manage to heave out of store windows).
And believe me, having a down year in franchising will be the least of our problems if stuff like that materializes.
Note: I could have “elected” to not add what you’re reading now in this franchising trends article. But I had to.
That’s because what goes on in Washington affects franchising. And it affects consumer (your customer’s) behavior.
Specifically, if consumers are on edge because our politicians are screwing things up, and affecting their everyday lives, they’ll curb their spending. That would be bad!
Politics Affects Small Business
Again, I’ve included a discussion of some of the things taking place in Washington is because they can greatly influence small business.
In the case of franchising, anything being done (or not being done) in Washington that creates doubt in the minds of prospective franchisees, can slow down the sale of new franchise business units. When that happens, new job creation goes down (new franchise business openings provide instant local job creation), the number of small business loans go down, and commercial space gets under-utilized or remains empty.
Now do you understand why I’m delving into this?
Let’s continue with the second thing that may impact the franchise industry.
2. The Presidential Election
If Trump does remain in office, but loses the 2020 Presidential Election to a Democrat, the stock market and the associated positive gains all of us have enjoyed will be tested. But as long as the economy remains strong…not the Wall Street economy…but the small business economy, things will work out just fine.
A Word of Caution
If Trump loses to a Democrat, a ton of misinformation will be spun out by never well-meaning pundits who will scare the nation into believing that Democrats are bad, and our taxes will go up because college will be free…as will healthcare, and blah, blah, blah.
Personally, I doubt if college will be free in the near future.
As to taxes, I doubt they’ll go up for most middle-class Americans. But they will go up for the wealthiest of the wealthy.
As to healthcare, that’s a crapshoot.
So What’s My Point?
My point is that there are always things that are out of our control. The political climate just happens to be one of them.
But, can you do anything about it?
In small ways, somewhat.
But unless you’re an elected official, you probably won’t be able to change the things you feel need changing.
In view of that, if you want to start a business, you need to make the best of whatever happens to be going on in our country when you pull the trigger. Like the political climate or the economy.
In other words, what it is…is what it is. You need to play the hand you’re dealt.
Because (in my opinion) owning a business sure beats the hell out of working for someone else.
Should You Take A Serious Look At Franchising?
I don’t know if you should look into becoming the owner of a franchise. We haven’t talked. I don’t know enough about your financial situation, your fit for a franchise-type of business, or your goals. But I do know this:
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
– George Eliot
A Few Questions To Ask Yourself
Now that you know what the hottest franchise trends for 2020 are, along with the possible impacts of The Trump Effect, what are you going to do with this new-found knowledge?
Are you going to take a deep dive into the franchise sectors and specific franchises I introduced you to?
Or, are you going to “think things through” before you learn more?
If that’s the case, if you still have a lot of thinking to do, you may not be ready to take a serious look at becoming your own boss. And that’s okay, as business ownership is not for everybody.
Fear is Normal
To be sure, the prospect of walking away from a “secure” job situation to start a business is scary stuff.
Conversely, if you were downsized, and the prospect of working for someone else (again) is becoming less attractive by the day, franchising may be starting to look interesting (it would be more interesting if there was no chance you’d lose your money).
But the ONLY way to “learn more” about franchise opportunities is to request information and have conversations with the franchisors and the franchisees. Otherwise you’re basing your decision on very limited knowledge.
For example, would you buy a shiny, new car based solely on a brochure you read-or would you take it for a test-drive, first?
I can’t emphasize this enough:
Don’t speed through the process of finding the right franchise to own.
If you find a franchise that looks even mildly interesting (as long as it’s within your budget), request information from the franchisor. That way you can find out what the franchise concept brings to the table.
Next, find out what your role would be as a franchisee.
The trick here is to ask good questions. Once you get the answers, decide if you think the opportunity you’re looking at is still a good fit. If it is, continue with the research process.
It’s your move.
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
– Mark Twain
