Hottest Businesses to Franchise in America

Supercuts, the nationwide chain of barbershops, operates in the United States as well as Puerto Rico and four Canadian provinces. Just five years ago, more than half of all Supercuts locations were company owned. Today, nearly than two thirds are franchised, thanks to a 55% increase in U.S. franchises.

Cinnabon, a guilty pleasure for millions of Americans on the go, is growing as a franchise. The number of U.S. franchised locations increased from 579 in 2013 to 897 in 2018. Nearly all Cinnabon locations in the United States are franchises. As of 2018, there was only one company-owned location.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Firehouse Subs was founded by two former firefighters in 1994. In a short time, the chain has expanded to well over 1,000 locations, almost all of which are U.S.-based franchises.

Carl’s Jr., known as Hardee’s in the eastern part of the United States, is a popular fast-food franchise with more than 1,000 locations nationwide. The company has consistently expanded its operations over the past five years and is now turning its attention overseas. In 2017, there were 38 Carl’s Jr. restaurants abroad. Now there are nearly 150.

There are about 2,800 Jimmy John’s locations, all but 56 are franchised locations, and all located in the United States. Jimmy John’s has exploded in popularity in a short time, adding nearly 1,000 U.S. locations in just five years.

Nearly all Smoothie King locations are franchised. Of its nearly 1,000 global locations, 831 are owned by franchisees in the United States, and just a handful are company owned. Smoothie King has worked recently to increase its brand awareness. In 2014, the company paid for the naming rights to New Orleans Arena, now called Smoothie King Center, where the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans play.

Sport Clips is a hair salon chain with a mostly male clientele. The first location was opened in Texas in 1993, and the company has since expanded to almost 1,800 locations, almost 1,800 locations, nearly doubling in size this decade alone.

Motel 6, the 10th largest hotel chain in the world, has grown its business by turning more control over to its individual franchise owners. Since 2010, the number of locations owned by Motel 6 decreased from 632 to 395, as the number of independently operated franchises increased from 359 to 882.

Despite its name, travel agency chain Cruise Planners does not limit its business to travel by boat but offers trip packages on many different modes of transportation. Of the 20 businesses with the largest percentage increase in U.S. franchises, Cruise Planners is the second largest based on the total number of locations, despite having no foreign locations.

Mac Tools, a subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker, manufactures and markets professional tools, from screwdrivers to air tools. The number of Mac Tools franchises has nearly doubled in the past five years, largely as a result of growth outside the United States. Mac Tools, which was named 2012’s Franchise of the Year by U.K. outlet Startups, has more than 100 U.K. franchises. In 2018, Mac Tools had more than 400 overseas franchises.

Founded in Point Pleasant, New Jersey in 1956, Jersey Mike’s has over 1,400 locations, almost all of which are franchise locations in the United States. Less than 100 of the sub shop locations are company-owned. While the company has been around for over six decades, it has only gone through explosive growth recently, going from less than 400 U.S. franchise locations in 2009 to nearly 1,400 U.S. franchise locations today.

The number of Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchises has nearly doubled. There is just one corporate-owned Tropical Smoothie Cafe location and no overseas franchises. In addition to smoothies, the cafe also offers sandwiches, wraps, breakfast, and other food options.

Buildingstars International, a commercial cleaning company, has one of the lowest costs of entry of any franchising opportunity. While it takes tens of thousands of dollars to buy a franchise from most companies, Buildingstars requires just a minimum investment of just $2,000 from its prospective franchise owners.

Math scores on the ACT test have fallen in recent years, hitting a 20-year low in 2018. These struggles may have helped tutoring center Mathnasium become a more attractive business, as parents look to give their kids an academic edge or help them keep pace with their classmates. The number of Mathnasium U.S. franchises has more than doubled in the past five years. The company has also added more than 100 franchises overseas.

Planet Fitness added over 100 new franchised locations in each of the past three years, expanding to more than 1,600 locations across the globe. The gym franchise is growing at one of the most rapid paces of any American franchise — despite the high cost of entry. It costs nearly $1 million at minimum to open a Planet Fitness.

Kona Ice, a snow cone truck business, is a relatively new franchise — it began franchising in 2007. Today, Kona already has over 1,000 trucks, and several locations are so popular that they reportedly bring in over $1 million in annual sales.

Though its growth has slowed somewhat over the past several years, Marco’s Pizza is the fastest growing restaurant franchising opportunity in the United States. The pizza place has hundreds of locations across the nation. It has had steady growth, adding roughly 100 new franchised locations during each of the past five years.

As you may have guessed from its name, HomeVestors of America Inc. has no franchises outside of the United States. It also has no corporately owned locations, meaning all 980 locations are independently run franchises. The total number of franchises opened has increased each year since 2014.

9Round, a kickboxing-inspired fitness training center, offers 30-minute workout programs for its clients. Opened in 2009, 9Round has experienced explosive growth since its founding. There were 552 U.S. franchise locations as of 2018, more than six times as many as there were five years previous. It is also taking off overseas. In 2017, there were 86 foreign locations. In 2018, there were over 150.

No American franchise business has had anywhere near the growth rate of Orangetheory Fitness. The gym first started franchising in 2010, and it had just 34 locations in 2013. After that, Orangetheory grew exponentially. In 2014, there were 100 franchises, then more than 300 in 2015. It now has 1,000 worldwide locations. The company is continuing to expand its footprint with pop-up gyms inside hotels.