The Relationship Between the Food Sector and Franchising

Starting today, the first portal in Italy dedicated to franchising (Aprire in franchising) and Davide D’Andrea Ricchi are launching a new collaboration. The result is the creation of a digital column in which trending topics in the franchising world will be discussed, with particular reference to the food sector (restaurants, street food, fast food, food trucks, retail).

The first topic addressed, quite rightly, focuses on the reasons underlying the boom of food formats in the franchising world.

It all started with EXPO 2015, which launched Italian-made food worldwide and provided the visibility needed to spread Italian culinary culture. Since then, the sector has seen a real “boom!”

It can be confirmed that the positive trend is intrinsic to Italians’ consumption habits. There are 19 million people eating out every day, totaling 39 million Italians who often eat out (over 50% of the population!). And the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

The positive trend, therefore, involves restaurant chains that have seen a constant increase over the years (compared to other sectors, such as services and fashion, which have seen a decline). In the food franchising sector, there are 163 active chains in Italy, with a growth of 5.8% in 2018 compared to the previous year. These are data published by Assofranchising, which only include already developed chains; the reality of startups, food companies about to launch their own format, is even more dynamic.

Why this so-called “boom”? Certainly, our country has a solid and varied culinary tradition, allowing for unique restaurant and retail format solutions for each region. This leads to a lot of excitement in the business landscape. Furthermore, Italy’s food franchising landscape does not boast large restaurant chains, and therefore, there has been great emphasis on the fragmentation of almost artisanal realities that have put a lot of care into details, layout, and menu, making replication more difficult (and involving franchise consultants).

The world of Italian restaurant franchising is something solid, deeply rooted in our culture, which is unlikely to wane, and therefore, we cannot consider it merely a market “trend.”