More and more, those who have a desire to open a small business of their own have found that opening a restaurant franchise is very profitable. It really is predicted that restaurant sales will reach $577 billion in sales by 2010. The restaurant business industry now employs 8% of all workers employed in america. That involves about 11 million people, and makes them the largest employer next to the federal government.

Restaurants have been satisfying the hunger of people for ages, and restaurant franchising is just about to increase the growth of the. In 1950, Colonel Harlan Sanders introduced his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise and built a chain of over 600 restaurants by 1960. McDonalds was franchised in 1955, therefore were House of Pancakes, Tastee Freeze, Dairy Queen, and Dunkin Donuts.

Seniors (people born between 1946 and 1964) are often the folks opening new restaurants and junk food establishments. Restaurant végétarien will have sophisticated tastes and the amount of money to make their ideas a reality. They demand fresher ingredients, healthier dishes, and vegetarian options. Seniors are credited with setting the pace for what does and doesn?t work in terms of successful restaurants. If they dine out they want high quality, no matter where they’re eating.

More and more people are holding full time jobs, leaving little time to prepare meals in the home. Quick serve restaurants continue to be fueled by the consumer?s ever increasing dependence on convenience. More than half of all adults say they are busy, and convenience is really a critical part of their lives.

While older consumers demand quality, younger customers want convenience. 55% of consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 admit they are usually in a hurry and want fast service. This sparks the growing need for quick service restaurants. Takeout restaurants are also a growing trend. 78% of most households in the United States use take out or delivery service at least once a month. These people consider themselves very value conscious.

Many investors are buying into co-branded franchises. Co-branding identifies franchising several different brands in one location (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, & Kentucky Fried Chicken). All three are housed in one building, instead of building three different restaurants. These restaurants have the effect of more than 29,000 restaurants, and much more are popping up all the time. There are also multiple franchising concepts with Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins in the same building.

Some franchisors take their products overseas. Subway has nearly 800 international franchises (not counting Canada). If you add Canada they number around 2,000. The size of the company has helped with their popularity in other countries.

Whether you’re selling sandwiches over the sea, or have an upscale dining establishment uptown. The outlook looks strong for food franchising within the next ten years. As long as consumers continue steadily to eat at restaurants, the franchise opportunity is a gainful one.