A classic hamburger or steakburger is about as good as it gets for comfort food here in the U.S. Because of this, a hamburger franchise investment is a savvy move for entrepreneurs everywhere. As you’re well aware, there are a lot of hamburger franchises to choose from.
So, how do you go about making the right choice for you? In this post, we’ll be breaking down some of the key questions to ask as you start your search. But first, let’s go over some common, general FAQs on burger franchise opportunities.
Frequently Asked Burger Franchise Questions
How Much is a Burger Franchise?
A burger franchise’s cost will depend on a few different variables. For example, different brands will have different costs associated with them, and the market you’re in and the size of the location also can impact cost. With a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers franchise, owners can expect an initial investment in the $640,000-$2,077,000 range.
Read more about Freddy’s franchise requirements here.
How Many Burger Franchises Are There and Which Are the Best?
There are a lot of burger franchises across the United States, with more and more popping up each year. This also means there are a lot of burger franchise brands, each unique from one another. As you may have guessed, McDonald’s is the current leader in terms of the number of franchise locations with a little over 22,000. Currently, Freddy’s has more than 400 and growing! For a full list of the top fast-casual burger franchises by location, check out this recent blog.
When it comes to which franchise is the best, that depends on your personal preferences. But, steakburger lovers will no doubt enjoy what Freddy’s has to offer.
What is the Average Profit for Owning a Burger Franchise?
Once again, there are a lot of different variables that will go into how successful any given burger franchise is. Also, there is never a guarantee that your franchise will be profitable. But, relatively speaking, burger franchises can be quite profitable. For example, even during the pandemic, Freddy’s saw an increase in our average AUV, up from $1.53M to $1.68M*.
How to Choose the Right Burger Franchise
To help you make an educated decision and set yourself up for success with your burger franchise investment, here are four more questions to consider while researching prospective franchise opportunities.
Does Their Menu Differentiate Them from the Competition?
Due to the large number of burger franchises, it’s important to choose one that has a menu that can separate it from the competition. For example, Freddy’s makes for a compelling choice due to our menu having steakburgers as opposed to regular hamburgers. Because obviously steakburgers are the superior option (yes, we’re a little biased, but we’re also right!). In addition, we offer frozen custard, not ice cream, as a dessert option.
Do They Have Values That You Believe in?
Investigate their About Us page to ensure that the values they stand for are similar to your own. Because you’ll be joining their franchise family, it’s important that you align with their way of business. This will not only make it more enjoyable to work with them, but you can also be proud of your franchise ownership too.
Is Their Brand Recognizable in Your Market and is There Demand For it?
Joining a recognizable franchise will make marketing your new location easier. If there is demand for their franchise, you can be confident that there will be folks lining up on day one, helping you improve your ROI faster.
For a full list of in-demand Freddy’s markets, check out our Available Territories page.
Is There an Opportunity to Own Multiple Units?
If you have multi-unit aspirations, make sure that the franchises you’re considering have growth in your market or territory to own more than one unit. At Freddy’s, we highly encourage multi-unit ownership with a 4-unit minimum as a requirement.
Hear from own Freddy’s multi-unit Franchise Owner Dave Dreiling on how owning more than one location is made easy with our wide appeal:
“Out of the four different franchises that I’ve had, Freddy’s is the only remaining one that I’m with, and we’ve grown from 1 to 33 locations for Freddy’s. What I love about Freddy’s compared to other franchises or even other restaurant concepts, I like the simple menu because execution is everything. I also love the fact that it appeals to such a wide audience. Everybody in between loves Freddy’s probably for different reasons, but it’s got a very, very wide mass appeal.”
And for more suggestions on how to choose the right burger franchise for you, head over to our Burger Franchise Investment Guide.
If Freddy’s sounds like the best burger franchise opportunity for you, fill out the form below to get the conversation started!
*Average Annual Gross Receipts of 29 company-owned and 330 franchised restaurants that were open for the entire 2020 fiscal year. This information appears in Item 19 of our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Your individual results may differ. There is no assurance that you’ll earn as much.