Article created for the digital issue of the NATSO Foundation’s magazine.
Despite challenges, such as inflation and higher labor costs, franchised businesses have demonstrated resilience and franchise growth is expected to continue outpacing the growth of the broader economy.
“Franchising continues to demonstrate strengths and adaptability,” said Christina Niu, research director at FRANdata and a speaker at NATSO Connect.
That growth presents opportunities for truck stop and travel center operators.
Franchises by the Numbers
During her address during NATSO Connect’s Great Ideas! Workshop, Niu said there are an estimated 800,000+ franchised businesses in the U.S. with more than 8,000 franchise brands across 30 industries and 234 subsectors. “We find 400 new brands every year. Before the pandemic there were about 300 new brands entering the market,” she said.
The Southeast region has the highest number of establishments hiring the most employees, followed by Southwest, then Northeast and Midwest. Niu added that the top states for franchise growth include Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Attracting a Franchise
Franchisors are interested in modernized travel centers and truck stops that:
- Emphasize cleanliness;
- Have comfortable seating;
- Have a sophisticated design and aesthetic appeal; and are
- Evolving amenities to meet changing consumer needs.
“Think about EV stations and the like. Customers are staying longer at travel centers or truck stops to charge. Brands see these as new opportunities,” Niu said.
According to Niu, potential partners will want support on:
- Real estate;
- Marketing;
- Technology;
- Finances; and
- Human resources.
“If you show franchisor you can attract and retain talent, you can have an advantage,” Niu added.
Sharing Critical Information
Before moving forward, franchisors want to ensure they’re a good fit with any partner. “They want to partner with centers that are primed for growth. They want the potential for more customers and to drive sales,” she said.
Data is important to franchisors. “They want to see initial information about your center before diving in,” Niu said. “They want to see your center aligns well with their brand.”
They typically want to know about:
- Consumer demographics, including age and gender;
- Consumer behavior;
- The average spend amount;
- The number of consumers traveling along versus traveling with family; and
- The ratio of truck drivers vs. travelers vs. local residents.
Niu said they also want to know about the number of brands visited during a consumer’s stay, consumer interaction with technology, consumer loyalty and frequency of visits. She also advised operators to emphasize how they can give brands access to new customers.
If discussions turn negative, Niu recommends operators leave the door open.
// This article was created for Stop Watch magazine, the magazine of the NATSO Foundation. Foundation is the research, education and public outreach subsidiary of NATSO, Inc. The NATSO Foundation provides programs and products to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the traveling public’s needs through improved operational performance and business planning. Visit www.natsofoundation.org for more information.
More on Fueling Growth: Finding the Right Food Franchise Partnerships Webinar
NATSO is offering a webinar on Fueling Growth: Finding the Right Food Franchise Partnerships on July 23 at 4 ET. The US has more than 8,000 franchise brands across 30 industries – and plenty of them are looking at “non-traditional” locations like travel centers for growth. How does a travel center seize this opportunity to grow non-fuel revenue streams? Find out two powerhouse franchise brand executives – Shannon Iverson, CFE from Taco John’s International, Inc. and Catie Trent from Chester’s Chicken– talk with NATSO COO Christine Schoessler.
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