Day in the Life: What It Takes to Run Your Own Fast Food Franchise

Consumers increasingly opt for eateries that feed into busy lifestyles, making now a great time to open your own fast-food franchise. In this article we’ll look at what you can expect from running a fast food franchise, the advantages and challenges of the industry and how you can overcome them, plus some of the freshest franchise opportunities you can invest in today.

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Consumers increasingly opt for eateries that feed into busy lifestyles, making now a great time to open your own fast-food franchise. In this article we’ll look at what you can expect from running a fast food franchise, the advantages and challenges of the industry and how you can overcome them, plus some of the freshest franchise opportunities you can invest in today.

But first, a quick snapshot of the industry:

The fast food industry is the most popular sector for self-employment and opening franchise branches of well-known brands. UK high streets currently have the highest concentration of fast-food outlets for more than a decade, and the fast food takeaway market in the UK amounts to a whopping £29.4 billion each year.

We’re probably all familiar with big names like McDonalds, KFC and Domino’s. But there are an enormous amount of other successful fast food franchises looking for business-minded franchisees in the UK. So, what would a typical day be like if you were running a fast food restaurant?

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A day in the life of a fast food franchisee – what’s involved?

Once you become a fast food franchisee, you’ll find the average day usually entails plenty of decision making, multi-tasking and project management. You’re in control of exactly how you plan your day, so you’re best set up to achieve your goals.

You’ll find some days mean getting more ‘hands on’ than others, but a day in the life of a franchisee won’t just be about handling finances and balancing the books. You’ll need to become a jack-of-all-trades and know how to do everyone's job. You might have to take on everything from customer service to assisting with cleaning.

Of course, you will depend on a reliable workforce for most of the tasks in the restaurant. An important part of the job is training staff to form a competent team that can run the fast food restaurant on your behalf and to the franchise’s standards.

Whether it’s staff uniforms, pricing or opening hours, you’ll still need to stick to the rules and regulations laid out in the franchise agreement once you’ve become a franchisee. Every day, you’ll be maintaining the consistency of the products, the services and the brand.

Each day is likely to be different from the next. You may work roughly the same hours as your standard 9-5, but there’s the added bonus of increased flexibility in how you structure your work. You’ll be your own boss and investing in franchise business means you can decide your own schedule and grow at a pace that you choose.

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Five advantages of becoming a fast food franchisee

1. Full training

When you become a franchisee, you will have access to a comprehensive training programme. This often includes staff training, creating your website and other marketing activities, as well as information covering everything from insurance to Health & Safety to food hygiene compliance.

2. Tried and tested model

When opening a franchise business, everything from expenses to your required stock level has already been analysed and calculated. Even important decisions like where to locate your restaurant can be a collaborative one between you and your franchisor.

3. Immediate brand recognition

By joining a recognised brand, you’ll gain a loyal customer base and generate profits quickly. The majority of franchisors have comprehensive marketing plans in place, which usually include advertising campaigns (both online and physical) public relations, and social media, which will help to keep a steady flow of customers coming through your doors.

4. Technology

With the UK embracing the digital era, more and more fast food lovers are opting to order online. Large franchise businesses often invest in technology to keep ahead of the game and apps like Just Eat or Deliveroo also provide a major source of marketing online. Online services let your food reach more and more locations and a wider customer base.

5. Growing market

Fast-food restaurants are popular all over the UK; the success of numerous franchise brands has demonstrated their impact on the consumer market. Paired with rising disposable income, consumers with busy lifestyles are more likely to eat at fast-food restaurants or order takeaways. With a growing range of fast-food options available, you can be fairly sure that your customers are ready and waiting to buy your products.

Challenges within a fast food franchise – and how to overcome them

• Reliable workforce - The staff turnover rate in the fast food industry is one of the highest of all job sectors. Most of your workforce will be made up of temporary, part-time servers. These jobs are viewed as a short-term option for workers, meaning employees can lack personal investment while working at the restaurant. To boost employee morale and effort, it’s worth considering significant investments in worker pay and benefits, such as team social activities and performance rewards. By making your business great to work for, you’ll be able to hold onto great staff.
• Food safety and hygiene - Anywhere there is food, there is risk of contamination. Ignoring the risks of vermin, dangerous food prep and poor kitchen hygiene could be catastrophic. As a restaurant owner you must have a strategy in place for ensuring your team have a sound knowledge of food safety and hygiene and make sure they stick to the rules to avoid closure and hefty fines.
• Public shift to healthier lifestyles - A more health-conscious public are increasingly veering away from the health dangers of takeaway food. With a growing demand for nutritious products and rising concern over environmental sustainability, the fast food industry is seen as damaging to the environment and our physical health. Leading fast-food franchises are responding to consumer demand and catering to this shift in tastes by adding healthier, lighter options to the menu. Many are now offering, and seeing major profits from, vegan versions of well-loved products. By keeping in touch with public concern, big franchises are tapping into changing attitudes and maintaining a loyal customer base.

Become a Franchisee

As the industry grows and grows, now seems like the ideal time to become a fast food franchisee, as you can get involved in the sometimes costly business of food for a much more affordable price. Here are some of the best opportunities on Point Franchise:

Papa John’s

As one of the UK’s leading pizza delivery franchise, Papa John’s offers thick crust pizza, dough-based snacks, drinks and desserts. This well-known American brand has grown at great speed since being introduced to the UK, with over 340 sites across the country. Focusing on fresh ingredients, this ambitious company has big plans to challenge Domino’s for UK pizza domination.

• Becoming a Papa John's franchisee: Investors looking for a slice of the action do not need previous experience with a food franchise, as long as they are business-oriented and possess good communication skills.
• How much you need to invest: A minimum investment of £100,000 (and £18,500 in franchise fees) will be required to get a Papa John’s store up and running.
• What you get for your investment: New franchisees will benefit from a six-week training scheme that includes marketing support, as well as a royalty reduction programme and a free oven.

Marugame Udon

Marugame Udon is an established Japanese restaurant concept that brings some of the best and most mouth-watering Asian dishes to people across the world. Serving freshly-made udon noodles, tempura and omusubi rice balls from an open kitchen and in a casual setting, this self-service food outlet attracts customers looking for their Asian food fix.

• Becoming a Marugame Udon franchisee: Now the successful restaurant franchise is on the lookout for qualified franchisees in the UK to expand its business to even more locations.
• How much you need to invest: The minimum investment is £250,000 to open your own Marugame Udon franchise, and the franchise is looking for area development franchisees able to commit to developing a cluster of at least 5 locations.
• What you get for your investment: Motivated partners will be allocated their own exclusive territory and gain access to the brand’s extensive training programme.

Have a look at our extensive list of more fast food franchising opportunities here.

Fast food, fast profits

With an ever-growing industry like fast food, you’ll always be able to cash in on convenience and customer satisfaction. It is therefore one of the easiest and most popular sectors for first-time franchisees to make the leap and start running their own fast food business.

The menu of choices in fast food franchises is extensive, so why not start your search for the ideal opportunity right here? Click here to get started.