Franchising is a popular business, and it began in the US, with sewing machine pioneer Isaac Singer credited with inventing the modern franchise concept in the mid-19^th century.

Now the country has more than 785,000 franchise establishments, together generating around $788 billion in revenue, statistics show.

There are thousands of systems to choose from, ranging from global powerhouses like McDonald’s to recent entrants with just a handful of outlets.

‘Top franchises’ offer a potentially helpful way to filter this daunting choice other than by sector.

This category includes the dozen franchise systems that generated the biggest number of enquiries over the previous seven days, submitted by aspiring franchisees through this website.

Top franchise analysis

So why might a franchise seeker find one franchise opportunity more compelling than another?

Sometimes it’s by brand recognition, or someone may have had an encouraging experience as a customer.

Alternatively, it could operate in a hugely popular sector. For instance, those with an online business model can attract significant interest because the online economy is growing inexorably, and they can usually be operated from home without premises or additional employees.

Such factors tend to put franchises in the ‘low cost’ category – which also makes them affordable to a greater number of prospective franchisees.

Whatever the reasons, just because a franchise is generating a lot of interest among franchise hunters, doesn’t mean it’s going to align with your needs and preferences.

So you should still be exhaustive in researching the brand and conducting wider market research, speaking not just to the franchisor but also existing franchisees and independent experts such as franchise consultants.

Assess the brand’s track record in terms of profits, growth, and innovation; the broader industry trends and industry growth rate; your potential earnings, fees and royalties; and the training and support provided.