If you’re looking for franchises for sale in Ontario, you should consider investing in a food franchise. Restaurant franchising has gained a lot of popularity in Canada lately. If you look around in your city, you will find Tim Horton’s, Montana’s, Second Cup, Pizza Pizza among the many successful franchise restaurants out there.
Restaurant franchises are among the fastest growing businesses in Canada. According to the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) , around 40% of the franchise systems in Canada belong in the food industry.
In addition, the popularity of franchising is no longer limited to just quick-service restaurants. Other restaurant models like (fast) casual dining restaurants, full-service establishments, and sandwich shops have started rolling out their network of franchises all around the nation.
Business Opportunities In Franchising
No doubt franchising can be the gateway for new entrepreneurs to start their own business and allow those who are not yet comfortable taking that first step into entrepreneurship to finally take the leap.
There are so many food franchises in Ontario, from burger joints to family-style restaurants. Major segments of food franchises include:
- QSR
- Dine-in Restaurants
- Bakery & donut franchises
- Coffee shop franchises
- Ice cream and frozen yogurt franchises
- Vegetarian & vegan food franchises
- Pizza franchises
- Healthy snack vending machine franchises
- Pubs and bars
- Whether you’re looking to buy a coffee shop business or a fast food restaurant, you’re bound to find one that fulfills your particular kind of product or service.
However, not all franchise restaurants are created equal. Just because a franchise is popular, it doesn’t always mean that it’s a good business opportunity to invest in.
4 Steps Before Purchasing Any Franchise Opportunity
Perhaps the most important stage in the process of choosing franchises for sale in Ontario is background research. The research is pivotal to success because it will show whether there is sufficient demand to support your prospective franchise.
1 – Study the industry
Before researching specific brands, you need to identify the markets with the greatest opportunities. This is what experts call industry analysis, and it’s one crucial step in the research process because it will help you understand how fast the growth is in a particular industry and how long it’s expected to thrive.
Take for instance, the Canadian fast food industry. According to industry analysis, the market is expected to grow substantially throughout 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.7% and reach US$ 41.9 Billion by 2027, with quick-service restaurants and full-service restaurants growing at high rates. From this research, you are then able to confirm that you’re about to join an industry that’s robust and will perform well in the long term, and not one whose prospects are dwindling.
2 – Research franchise brands
Now you know the type of business you are getting into has a market opportunity, you can start to nail down the franchise brands that best connect to you. Make a list of all of the best restaurant franchises to buy, and spend some time researching each one.
In this stage of your research, you’re basically doing investigative work on potential franchisors as you narrow down your “best franchises to buy” list.
To help you with a detailed investigation and analysis of the franchisor:
- Request information from the franchisor websites. You’ll typically be asked to fill up a contact form and you will get a follow-up phone call from a franchise development representative — someone who works for the franchisor.
- Some franchisors offer informational seminars you can attend in a city near you or online.
- Get published information such as census data, surveys and government statistics and even audited financial statements of the franchisor.
- Check out feedback and reviews from customers.
Once you have your short list of picks, it’s time to apply to those franchises for sale in Ontario. When you fill out the application, the franchisor will then need to “qualify” you as a potential franchisee. You’ll be asked to provide your net worth and they’ll do a background check and credit check to complete their assessment.
3 – Examine the Franchise Disclosure Document
Once you commit to a franchise brand, you will receive a Franchise Disclosure Document or FDD from the franchisor. It’s a legal document that contains pages of information outlining the franchise system and covers everything from initial fees, royalties, costs, training, marketing, products, technology, support, competition and more.
One of the most important components of this document that you must particularly scrutinize are the financials, it’s the part that tells you what you would need to know from a financial perspective which includes current standings of existing units and how the franchise is expected to perform into the future.
It will help if you enlist some legal help with a franchise attorney to make sure you understand and cover all the legal details to minimize your risk, and also to help you negotiate what you can.
4 – Get to know the franchisees
Another crucial part of your research when choosing franchises for sale in Ontario will be on the actual existing franchisees themselves. What they have to say might be the thing to get you on board with choosing a franchise brand.
- Talk directly to current franchisees in different areas of the country as well as franchisees who have left the system.
- Talk to as many as you can to get a clear picture of where the brand stands.
- Make an in-person visit to at least one or two franchise owners, and spend an entire day if possible to get insights on how the system operates.
- Ask open-ended questions about what problems they’ve experienced that will lead you to determine how strong the support network is.
- Talk to suppliers and other providers and determine how reliable the work relationship can be.
Best Franchises to Buy
When you’re evaluating franchises for sale in Ontario, it’s important to know if the opportunity is worth the money and the time commitment you’ll be putting in. How you decide which brand to go for will always connect in some way to what’s a good fit for you, your values and lifestyle. However, its profitability, how the brand is expected to produce financial gain over the long term, that will ultimately seal the deal.
Iron Skillet has the perfect franchise opportunity for a successful roadhouse. An established, recognized brand with over 30 years in the industry, it’s one of the best franchises for sale in Ontario. Contact us today and become an Iron Skillet franchise owner.
