5 minute read
Doug Downer
the four best franchIse sector opportunItIes
Doug Downer is The Franchise Guy ™ with over 30 years’ experience in Franchising and having helped launch and support over 70 franchise brands in Australia and New Zealand, has operated at every level in franchising – Master Franchisee, Franchisor & Multi unit franchisee.
There are so many opportunities to choose from but there are Four sectors that are showing the most significant growth but it’s not just the sectors, it’s the brands within those sectors that are revolutionising their sector by reinventing the way their sector is performing.
The sectors showing the most growth is Fitness & Health, Fast Casual dining, Home Services, and Personal Care. At Franchise Ready we have launched over 30 franchise brands in 2021 across each of these four sectors and this has given us the opportunity to observe firsthand the growth of these sectors and the need for brands to be differentiated and reinvent their sector.
FItnESS & hEaLth
There are over 8000 gyms in Australia and New Zealand with over 32% of the population having a gym membership and nearly 50% of the population participating in regular exercise, we know there’s a demand to fitness and health related offerings. We have seen the meteoric rise of functional fitness and 24/7 gyms, so to get cut through in this sector, operators need to differentiate themselves and take this sector to a new level. Fitillion is Australia’s newest and most innovative gym franchise, Fitillion introduces personalised team training to both the studio and the home gym environments. Each member receives customised workouts for their skill level and fitness goal, as well as a tailored meal
plan, with recipes & shopping lists, or home-delivered meals. To stay on track with their fitness goal and body transformation journey, each member receives a Fitillion home smart scale, which provides industry-leading accuracy for body fat and muscle mass readings.
“Four gruelling years of software design, industrial engineering and sports science have made all of this possible. To Fitillion franchisees the automation means less admin, lower running costs and higher profitability than other gym brands, so that they can focus on the most important stuff, like hiring great instructors and growing a community of motivated members.”
Mike Kunitz (Founder – Fitillion)
FaSt caSUaL dInIng
Fast casual restaurant concepts offer the convenience of fast food without the full service of fine dining. ... Fast casual dining
consists of a more inviting sit-down ambiance. The menu consists of better-quality ingredients than can be found at most fast-food establishments. The fast Casual sector has long been the darling of the food sector because it takes the best elements of both fast food and fine dining. Customers want speed and convenience, but they don’t want to give up quality. Bao Brothers is cutting a swathe through the fast casual dining sector by competing directly with the burger boys through an Asian inspired menu of exceptional quality products. Bao Brothers was founded by brothers Dave Griffin and Nathan Martin. Starting at festivals and market stalls, graduating to food trucks and now through an ever-growing portfolio of bricks & mortar locations. The inspiration for the menu was created by Dave Griffin through his experience in Hatted restaurants where he saw the need for quality food and experiences to be brought to the Fast casual dining sector.
“Our mission has always been to the shake up the QSR Fast Casual Space, from the very beginning we have always focused on the product, we wanted to take elements that you would normally see in a restaurant with the same quality and innovation put it into the Fast Casual Food giving us banging menu items and condiments think Black Garlic Mayo, Kaffir lime Chilli Jam, peanut praline, Tom yum mayo”
(Dave Griffin – Co-Founder)
hOME SErVIcES
With many of us locked down at home for the past eighteen months through the pandemic, the inability to travel or venture out of our homes has brought about two situations that have positively impacted the home services sector. Many households have more disposable income and because we have been spending more time at home, we are seeing all the things that need to be done around the home. Who Who Home Services is a great example of this, Who Who founded by Michael and Katrina Rantall had a hugely successful business in the carpet cleaning sector with over 200,000 customers. The pandemic meant they could no longer enter people’s homes, and this required them to pivot and focus on the other home services they had in their portfolio. They created a new business focussed on Rug Cleaning through a hub and spoke model with mobile vans on the road picking up rugs and completing a range of 15 additional home services like tile & grout, carpet cleaning, upholstery and pest services.
“Out of adversity comes opportunity, we’ve created a model with flexibility for our franchise partners to scale and grow a business to suit how large they want their business to be.” (Michael Rantall - Founder)
With the continued rise of social media, image is important, but more importantly we all deserve a little pampering, the ability to take some time out and do something for ourselves. Google Search Trends shows a 250% increase in self-care related searches. Men and women of all age ranges believe that self-care is an important part of making healthier lifestyle choices and many of them believe that self-care practices have an impact on their overall well-being. Whether it’s a mobile nail salon like Nail Call founded by Heidi Powrie who brings the experience to homes and workplaces, or the self-tanning phenomenon of Tan Lounge founded by Charley Costin, where they offer a subscription model where you can get an affordable and amazing tan whenever you want, that’s right 24/7 for one low subscription monthly cost. “In a country where one of the leading cancers is skin cancer, providing a space for people to get their bronze on without the life damaging affects is one of the things I’m incredibly passionate about. At Tan Lounge, we pride ourselves on being inclusive for all body types, all genders, and all occupations. We see people from all walks of life come through our doors whether they’re a mum, working in corporate, modelling and acting or even a tradie – each one finds something important in their tanning routine each one feels better walking out than when they did walking in. and it is so much more than a tan.” v
