NEW YORK, NY (January 10, 2023/PR Newswire) – Entrepreneur, the media powerhouse at the forefront of the culture, mindset, and lifestyle of entrepreneurship, today unveiled its 44th annual Franchise 500 ranking. For the third consecutive year, Taco Bell tops the Franchise 500, becoming only the third company to secure the top ranking for three consecutive years. While Taco Bell remains in the top spot, their year’s top five saw Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (#2), Jersey Mike’s Subs (#3), and Dunkin’ (#5) all moving up and joining The UPS Store (#4) atop the rankings.

“This year’s Franchise 500 ranking not only highlights some of the trends emerging from the ever-changing business landscape, but also underscores that consistency matters as some of the most established, long-standing brands once again find their way to the top,” says Entrepreneur Editor in Chief Jason Feifer. “What is even more impressive is that despite a slowing economy for much of the past year, 7.1% of this year’s applicants just started franchising in the year 2022, with 27.8% having started franchising since 2018. That’s a lot of fresh ideas—and, in time, future Franchise 500 ranking holders.”

The top ten companies on the 2023 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list are:

1. Taco Bell

2.  Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

3. Jersey Mike’s Subs

4. The UPS Store

5. Dunkin’

6. Kumon

7. Ace Hardware

8. Culver’s

9. Hampton by Hilton

10. Wingstop

The 2023 rankings provide a lens into how the franchise industry is constantly shifting, in response to developing trends in our culture, economy, and consumer needs. Following a challenging few years through the pandemic, quick-service restaurants continue to recover. There are 101 ranked in this year’s top 500, versus 97 last year. (Not to mention, six of the top 10—and 29 of the top 100—are QSR brands). While older, larger brands are ranked highly, many newer brands are experiencing strong growth and moving up in the ranking as well, particularly in the subcategories of Coffee, Sandwiches, Smoothies/Juices, and Teas.

This year’s list also sees the Health & Wellness category establish itself as one to watch, especially in the subcategories of Assisted Stretching, Chiropractic Services, CBD, and Eye Care. The same is true of Maintenance — which contains subcategories like Drywall Repair, Electrical Services, and Pest Control — where 78 franchises ranked this year, versus 72 last year.

Pets also did very well, with 12 franchises ranked this year versus 8 last year, with the greatest growth showing up in the Dog Training and Pet Stores subcategories.

In Entrepreneur’s continuing effort to best understand and evaluate the ever-changing franchise marketplace, the company’s 44-year-old ranking formula continues to evolve as well. The editorial team researches and assesses several factors that go into the evaluation, including costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Each franchise is given a cumulative score based on an analysis of more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500® in ranking order. 

Over its 44 years in existence, the Franchise 500® has become both a dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. To view the full ranking, visit www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500. Results can also be seen in the January/February 2023 issue of Entrepreneur, available on newsstands this month.

About Entrepreneur Media Inc.:

Entrepreneur is the media powerhouse at the forefront of the culture, mindset, and lifestyle of entrepreneurship. For 44 years, Entrepreneur has helped business leaders start, run and grow their ventures. Today, the brand helps fuel creative ideas and strategize breakthrough growth plans with how-to content, books, podcasts, videos, consulting services, and more.

Entrepreneur magazine, Entrepreneur.com, GreenEntrepreneur.com and publishing imprint Entrepreneur Press provide solutions, information, inspiration and education read by millions of entrepreneurs and business owners worldwide.

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