Pizza Franchise

Twirling the dough on a pizza franchise

There are literally hundreds of pizza franchise opportunities. They range from mom'n'pop style pizzerias through extensive home delivery businesses to gourmet oven-baked pizzerias.

It's true; pizza is profitable. Parade Magazine says that 94 percent of Americans eat pizza. The National Association of Pizza Operators claims they eat almost 100 acres of pizza a day, or 350 slices of pizza per second.

Take certain considerations into account when deciding whether or not to pursue a pizza franchise of your own. Do you want a large, well-known brand name or are you willing to try something a little smaller and perhaps less recognized? Do you plan to sell a slice of cheese pizza on a paper plate for a buck or an herbal-infused flatbread pizza topped with crab and shiitake?

The determining factor in this decision might be as simple as cost. The amount of money required for a pizza franchise depends not only on the brand name you choose to partner up with, but the size of the operation. You can own anything from a full service restaurant to a simple take out operation, depending on how much money (and time) you want to spend.

Because of this variety, prices for a pizza franchise fluctuate dramatically. For example, expect to invest $48,900 to $284,200 in development costs for a Pizza Inn, while a full service Pizza Hut restaurant will run you around $268,000 to $1.4 million!

The total investment, royalty fee, franchise fee, terms, availability of financing and franchisee qualifications all depend on each individual brand's franchise policy. The time required get your pizza franchise running also depends on the individual brand and size of the franchise.

There are benefits to opening a pizza franchise:

Pizza is a popular, marketable and traditional product with a proven history of franchise success
Low investment options such as express stands and kiosks are usually available, allowing franchisees to own major brand names for moderate prices
Relatively low franchise fees, from $3,000 to $5,000 and up

And, as usual, there are the negatives:

Competition can be fierce in urban and suburban areas
American taste buds are changing and accepting new food ethnicities. For example, the popularity of Mexican fast food has exploded within the past decade
Health trends, especially the low-carb lifestyle, are taking a slice out of the pizza industry
America 's population is aging, creating a shift away from in the primarily youth-driven love of pizza