More and more, those who have a desire to open a small business of their own have found that opening a restaurant franchise is very profitable. It really is predicted that restaurant sales will reach $577 billion in sales by 2010. The restaurant business industry now employs 8% of most workers employed in the United States. That comes to about 11 million people, and makes them the biggest employer next to the government.

Restaurants have been satisfying the hunger of individuals for a long time, and restaurant franchising is just about to increase the growth of the industry. In 1950, Colonel Harlan Sanders introduced his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise and built a chain of over 600 restaurants by 1960. McDonalds was franchised in 1955, therefore were House of Pancakes, Tastee Freeze, Dairy Queen, and Dunkin Donuts.

Baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) tend to be the folks opening new restaurants and junk food establishments. They will have sophisticated tastes and the amount of money to make their ideas a reality. They demand fresher ingredients, healthier dishes, and vegetarian options. Seniors are credited with setting the pace for what does and doesn?t work when it comes to successful restaurants. If they dine out they want high quality, no matter where they are eating.

Increasing numbers of people are holding regular jobs, leaving little time to get ready meals at home. Quick serve restaurants continue to be fueled by the buyer?s ever increasing dependence on convenience. More than half of all adults say they are busy, and convenience is a critical part of their lives.

While older consumers demand quality, younger customers want convenience. 55% of consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 admit they’re usually in a rush and want fast service. This sparks the growing dependence on quick service restaurants. Takeout restaurants may also be a growing trend. 78% of all households in the United States use take out or delivery service at least once a month. These folks consider themselves very value conscious.

Many investors are buying into co-branded franchises. Co-branding refers to franchising two or more different brands in one location (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, & Kentucky Fried Chicken). All three are housed in one building, instead of building three different restaurants. These restaurants have the effect of more than 29,000 restaurants, and more are popping up on a regular basis. Additionally, there are multiple franchising concepts with Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins in exactly the same building.

Livraison take their products overseas. Subway has nearly 800 international franchises (not counting Canada). If you add Canada they number around 2,000. How big is the company has helped with their popularity in other countries.

Whether you are selling sandwiches across the sea, or have an upscale dining establishment uptown. The outlook looks strong for food franchising in the next ten years. As long as consumers continue steadily to eat at restaurants, the franchise opportunity will be a gainful one.