Global chicken brand KFC, sushi franchises Go Sushi and Wasabi Warriors, burger and fries chain McDonald’s, gourmet potato brand Spudbar and Mexican franchise Zambrero prove the fast food market is bursting with opportunity.

KFC

Franchise recruitment manager Amanda Glossop says the brand’s most successful franchisees live and breathe its ethos of ‘How We Win Together.’

• Passion for the brand – Our franchisees are owner operators who live and breathe KFC. They sit on all our committees to work through innovations and brand standards.
• Leadership qualities – Our people are our pillar of strength. Our franchisees need to be collaborative, influential and have experience in recruiting, training and coaching people.
• Emotional resilience/positive outlook – It is important to remain positive and build great partnerships with the brand.
• Previous business ownership, preferably in the QSR industry – Individuals who have demonstrated successful ownership with strong business acumen and an ability to manage the P&L and execute LSM.
• Financial capacity – To grow to a three to five store operator within five years.

These qualities are valued incredibly highly, considering the success of the KFC brand very much depends on its people.

“Our formula for success is people capability first – satisfied customer and profitability follow. That’s why we believe our people are our greatest competitive advantage,” Glossop says.

“Every day we strive to exceed customer expectations whilst ensuring we have a restaurant support centre culture that lives and breathes operations.”

GO SUSHI AND WASABI WARRIORS

Sushi franchises Wasabi Warriors and Go Sushi prove fast food can be fresh and healthy, and Nicola Mills, the CEO of the brands’ umbrella company Pacific Retail Management, says the following five qualities separate the good franchisees from the great ones.

• Positive attitude – We look for franchise partners who have a really positive outlook on the success of their business and a ‘can-do’ attitude.
• Passion to succeed – A passionate business owner will have the drive to not only make their business succeed but to always strive to make it better.
• Support of family and friends – More often than not… having a strong support network will get most people through any tough times.
• Ability to see the big picture – Initially it’s important to work in store but gradually you need to take a step outside and work on everything else to help your business succeed, such as analysing  and acting on your KPI’s.
• Positive Attitude – We’ve put this in twice, as it’s the key differentiating factor from a successful franchisee and one that gives up when the going gets tough. Without a doubt our most positive franchisees are our most profitable.

MCDONALD’S

National franchising manager, Lilian Tartaglia says the success of a McDonald’s restaurant depends upon many factors, particularly the franchisee’s commitment to the brand.

“One of the key reasons behind our success is that we maintain the highest standards of operational excellence while still creating individual opportunities. It is essential that our franchisees agree to the philosophy of working within the framework of the McDonald’s system,” she adds.

Tartaglia says the brand posits the following five qualities as most important:

• You aspire to become an integral part of your community as an employer, service provider, and local business leader.
• You have had a successful business or career, demonstrated significant team leadership and know how to get the most out of people.
• You are able to make a significant financial investment.
• You are looking to make a 20 year commitment.
• You are open to the challenge of relocating to anywhere within Australia

SPUDBAR

At gourmet potato brand Spudbar, co-owner Ant Morell says people must prove they are able to deliver an exceptional customer experience to be considered for a franchise.

• Passion to operate your own business – This is a vital ingredient required to succeed in driving everything from customer service through to cost control and profitability.
• Flexibility – This is vital in terms of being able to adapt with changes and challenges such as customer preferences, food trends and embracing fresh ideas.
• Great with people – This is so important for being able to manage and motivate young staff to feel pride in the product as well as setting the tone in delivery of exceptional customer experience.
• Someone who values the franchising system – Understanding how the system drives predictability of the customer experience and consistency around the product offering [and] how this ultimately relates to elements such as brand loyalty and business profitability.
• Teamwork – Teamwork is critical at both the store level and across the network. The quality of the communication throughout the network promotes learning [that is] open to sharing experiences inside Spudbar.

“We believe that these qualities are critical to ultimate success of a franchise business. We have recognised the right balance of a combination of these qualities correlate directly with our most successful franchisees,” adds Morell.

ZAMBRERO

Stuart Cook, the CEO of Mexican franchise Zambrero looks for franchisees who are aligned with the brand’s key values and missions.

As such, it is vital potential franchisees possess the following five qualities:

• Passion and love of the product
• Enthusiasm for customer service
• Value for humanitarian and philanthropic missions
• Great leadership and team-oriented
• Ambitious

“Zambrero has seen tremendous growth because of our current franchise partners, all of whom embody the above characteristics, which stem from an extreme passion and enthusiasm for the Zambrero values and mission,” Cook says.

He adds a Zambrero franchisee will be particularly successful if they are skilled in areas including budget management, leadership and training.