Restaurant franchising is branching out! Until relatively recently, pizzas, burgers, curries, chips and fried chicken were the staple fare associated with restaurant franchises. Following on from this, themed food became the order of the day, with Chinese, Japanese and Italian menus topping the popularity charts. Then came specialist coffee shops, ice cream parlours, sushi bars, and bagel and donut kiosks. Now restaurant franchising has been taken one step further, as it seems that literally any food can now be franchised. Examples of recently launched food franchises include ice cream cupcakes, pretzels, cookies and crepes and the trend looks to increase further. To add to this, the health food business is the latest to join the franchise market, with sales on the up and outlets opening throughout the country.

So, should traditional restaurant franchise businesses be worried by this latest development? Is the consumer going to forego his or her burger and fries in favour of sushi and salad or (if not concerned about the waistline), cookies and cupcakes? Well, the latest research undertaken seems to indicate that, where restaurant franchising is concerned, everyone can have a slice of the pie. Despite the innovative healthy restaurant franchises that have been sprouting up in recent years, it appears that consumers have not moved significantly away from fast foods. The adage that old habits are hard to break may be true here, with surveys showing that one of the main reasons consumers visit fast food outlets is because they crave the taste of fried foods. In fact, it has long been argued that fried food is addictive. Other reasons given by consumers of fast food are value for money, generous and filling portions, convenience and impulse. On the other hand, consumers eating at healthy restaurant franchises are less likely to act on impulse or because they crave a particular food. Their purchase is likely to be premeditated and they are more inclined to be concerned about nutritional value than monetary value.