I’m not suggesting you pick a concept with the lowest fees, but what you receive in exchange for your royalty is important – brand recognition, supply chain discounts, location assistance, quality control of brand, human support, menu development, marketing assistance.

One of my favorite fast casual restaurants is Nando’s who is famous for their marinated Peri Peri Chicken cooked over an open flame.  I ate at their London, England locations multiple times and it has quickly become my go-to restaurant when I’m there.   One Nando’s opened in the USA last year in Washington D.C., and I believe it is a corporate owned location. They do franchise in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Namibia, and Australia, but not the USA. Their mix of food is clever. While it is a sit down restaurant, ordering takes place at a central counter and the food is brought out to your table.

For appetizers that are served immediately, the offering is Peri Peri nuts, spicy mixed olives, and humus with Peri Peri drizzle…all healthy, all tasty detours from the typical high-fat fried appetizers.  See their menu below:Nandosusa Main Menu

Nando’s includes elements that would make it a strong franchise contender in my book (it doesn’t have brand recognition yet in the USA, however).
– Great Tasting Food
– Unique Customer Experience
– Improves on an already familiar taste – chicken
– Casual and fun environment
– Employees seem happy
– Branding is authentic….Portuguese presented in a fun way

On the down side,
– it doesn’t have brand recognition yet
– food preparation is based on human judgment rather than fool proof systems. For example, the chicken is pulled from the open flames based upon a human’s judgment that the chicken is sufficiently cooked.

I like Burger King’s new 20/20 design. It’s this kind of change in customer experience that can reinvent the brand. Concept stores that have been rebuilt with the new design have seen 30% increase in sales compared to the old style.

Burger King’s new broiler, Duke’s Flexible Batch Broiler, is a great piece of equipment too. It will allow more innovation and adaptability by franchisees. The price tag at $6,000 is reasonable.

Whether it be Angus beef or chicken, the Flexible Batch Broiler turns frozen products into char flavored, tender and juicy pieces of meat. A single cook in the kitchen can deliver eight Whoppers or 12 regular burgers in two minutes or less. This would give a production rate of 240 Whoppers and 360 regular burgers per hour. Also, the Flexible Batch Broiler can flame broil products that haven’t been thawed out. Ranging from $5,400-6,900, the Flexible Batch Broiler will save energy, time and money.

For more insight on Burger King’s strategy, see this presentation from an investor conference:

I’ve been noticing a new crop of high-end fast casual franchise concepts that are the size and atmosphere of a traditional sit down restaurant, but orders are taken at the walk-up counter.  Ingredient in Kansas City comes to mind.  They follow the recent trend of hearth oven baked pizza, homemade pastas, salads and sandwiches.

Vapiano is also an interesting urban-only concept started in Germany and now here in the USA.

It is a very modern, high-end Italian fast casual concept.  The chefs are stationed around the dining room, and customers walk up to the chefs who prepare their order right there.  A customer’s food and drink totals are tracked using a chip card similar to one you’d see on cruise boats.  As the customer leaves the card is scanned and the customer pays. It sounds a bit like a modern cafeteria but the architecture is sleek and hip.  The average check ranges from $14.50 to $22, depending on whether it’s lunch or dinner, claims the owner.