Global Franchise 10.2

The smart appeal of non-trad spaces • Lower overheads: Smaller footprints and shared utilities with host venues reduce rent and energy costs, helping operators achieve profitability faster. • Simplified operations: Streamlined menus, reduced equipment, and centralised supply chains make training easier and service more consistent. • Faster setup: Pre- approved sites and modular layouts mean units can be built and openedwithinweeks, not months. • Flexible investment: Options such as revenue- share agreements or shorter leases help franchisees manage capital efficiently and test newmarkets. • Built-in audiences: Partneringwith transport hubs, universities, and service plazas guarantees consistent daily trade and strong brand visibility. •Work-life balance: Compact units often operate on fixed schedules with fewer late nights, attractive for experienced and first- time franchisees alike. integral parts of student life. Focus Brands recognizes this opportunity too. The group, whose portfolio includes Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, and Jamba, is investing heavily in modular, co-branded ‘express outlets’ for university campuses. These compact units bring multiple brands under one counter, maximizing return per square foot while catering to the variety-seeking, time-pressed student market. Meanwhile, Experiential Brands’ 2024 rollout of new university openings across the U.S. reinforces this approach, highlighting how higher-education environments have become vital testing grounds for emerging food concepts. Compact layouts, streamlined digital ordering, and minimal prep kitchens make these venues ideal for pilot programs and limited- menu launches before wider rollouts. Adapting to smaller footprints Operating in a non-traditional venue isn’t as simple as cutting square footage. It requires a full rethink of equipment, supply chains, and staffing models. That’s why brands like Little Caesars have focused heavily on innovation in footprint and format. The company’s 2024 announcement of new campus locations across the U.S. highlighted the operational efficiency of its ‘Pizza Portal’ technology – a digital locker system that lets customers retrieve pre-paid orders without staff intervention. These smaller, semi-autonomous formats not only reduce labor but also allow franchises to open in constrained environments like student centers, hospitals, airports, or stadiums, where traditional buildouts would be impossible. For investors, this convergence of technological agility and operational simplicity signals an industry- wide evolution. As consumer convenience takes precedence over traditional dining, QSRs are becoming more portable, efficient, and experiential than ever before. New era of flexibility While global brands like Subway and Pepper Lunch are expanding into travel hubs and campuses, others are finding success by reimagining howQSR can fit within existing retail ecosystems. Chicken Cottage, a UK-based franchise with a 30-year legacy and a strong position in the international QSR sector, brings another dimension to the conversation around flexibility. The brand has successfully translated its appeal into a variety of non-traditional formats, from compact kiosks to store-in-store models across gas forecourts and premium retail locations. “Our format is highly adaptable,” explains Sadaf Kazi, head of franchise development at Chicken Cottage. “We offer compact, concession-style units that fit neatly within retail spaces such as forecourts, premium shops, or petrol stations. Even in smaller footprints, our operational systems ensure consistent quality and fast service.” That adaptability, she adds, has proven itself commercially. “Across all these locations, from shop-in-shop formats to kiosks and drive-thrus, our model has consistently delivered strong sales and positive customer feedback, showing that Chicken Cottage is flexible, adaptable, and well-suited to a range of retail environments.” As non-traditional expansion accelerates, the competitive advantage will belong to brands that balance flexibility with consistency. “Pepper Lunch is a very simple concept to execute, allowing for any operator of any experience level to produce excellent results,” Hooper notes. This simplicity comes from automation and supply-chain ownership, allowing uniformity across hundreds of sites with minimal staff. A similar philosophy is driving Subway’s tech-driven evolution. “We continue to enhance our menu and provide an elevated in- restaurant and online experience that delivers added convenience and value for guests,” Kehoe states. “Last year, we shared the rollout of an integrated digital experience in key European markets, including interactive self-serve kiosks and a refreshed app and loyalty program that ensures a consistent experience across platforms.” The result is an emerging generation of QSRs that can thrive anywhere without compromising the core brand experience. For franchisors, the challenge is not just in finding space but in adapting to its constraints, mastering the art of compact design, and meeting consumer demand wherever it appears. For investors, it’s a reminder that the future of franchising won’t be confined to the main street – it will be wherever people gather, travel, study, and serve their nations. In that sense, the QSR industry’s next phase of expansion is not simply about geography. It’s about mindset – a willingness to look beyond the obvious, to meet consumers in the spaces where life already happens. And in doing so, the sector may yet discover its most dynamic growth frontier yet. 31 GLOBAL-FRANCHISE.COM Ins ight | FEATURE