Before we look at this year’s franchise trends, or how to make big bucks with the help of such trends, let us answer one basic question: What is a franchise? How to invest in franchise business?

A franchise business involves the owners of a company (franchisors) who grant rights to independent business owners (franchisees) to do business under their brand name. 

To generate sales of their products and services, the franchisor provides services such as training the staff, merchandising and marketing to the franchisee, in return for compensations and specified obligations as per the Franchise agreement. For example, most Subway outlets in India are franchises that are owned by entrepreneurs, with the permission of the Subway, to use their patented processes, sell their products, and advertise under their brand name.

Now, we understand that there is a lot of confusion as to how to go about figuring out the optimal franchise business trends, especially given the state of the global economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From organizations that require large investments upfront to companies that don't provide a good Return on Investment, it can be very frustrating to not know where to start. However, anyone who has done their fair share of research, be it online or offline (or both) will tell you that you can do it, and the good news is that it doesn’t cost a large sum of money, as one may presume. Additionally, in the aftermath of the outbreak, there are many promising ventures out there which are able to use the state of this worldwide lockdown to their advantage.

We have compiled a list of some promising franchise opportunities for you to explore when this lockdown will be over. Each and every franchise listed down is characterised by the following: 

• An affordable investment,
• Strong goodwill to provide stability
• High growth-potential

Let’s take a look at some viable franchise businesses which could potentially be successful during these trying times. 

Online Meetings/Video Call Franchises:

Online platforms such as Zoom have seen their businesses boom over the last month. During the time of a worldwide pandemic, when people are asked to mandatorily stay at home, interaction between colleagues, teachers and students, friends and family has become increasingly difficult. The services of such online meeting platforms are essential during such periods of social distancing. This is just the logic talking; let’s move on to the numbers of this success. Eric Yuan, founder of the online conferencing platform Zoom, had his net worth increase by 77% from $4.5 billion to $8 billion. Microsoft Teams saw a 500% increase in usage in China over a period of one and a half months since the end of January.

Such services will be indispensable not only during a lockdown, but also in the time period after it is over. The world will need some time to return to normalcy, and the practice of social distancing will still have to be maintained, and yet again, heroes like Zoom and Microsoft Teams will come to the rescue. 

Home Delivery/Courier Services:

This period of self-isolation has seen many households of bachelors/bachelorettes as well as the elderly, who are unable to cook food for themselves, or go out and buy groceries and other essential goods. Here, home delivery services are of prime importance as they establish a connection between the consumer and the supplier of these goods. Food Delivery services such as Swiggy provide food to those who are unable to cook on their own without the assistance of a domestic helper. At a time when people cannot step outside their homes to deliver certain items to their loved ones, companies such as Dunzo are of immense help in couriering these items for them. Very recently, Dunzo partnered with Britannia to sell the latter’s food product through their platform, that is, customers can access the Britannia store using the Dunzo application.

Online Home Fitness Services:

With people staying locked within the four walls of their homes, there is restricted physical activity one might take upon themselves. People are also facing another unprecedented issue: boredom. Staying at home 24x7, everyone is very confused as to what to do with so much time on their hands. Online fitness and physical exercise services such as Cult Fitness eliminate both these problems with a simple solution: have their trainers hold live video workout sessions for members at specific time slots, as per the customer’s convenience.   

These are but a few examples of multiple franchise opportunities that are viable for you to invest in. In the wake of a global crisis such as the COVID-19 outbreak that we are facing, the business world presents us with franchises that were once seemingly ordinary and commonplace, but now seem like angels sent down from up above. They initially would have a low-cost investment, and as the demand for their services and goods shoot up exponentially during these times, so does the return on your investment.

Not only would you be making personal gains, you would be making significant contributions to business as well as community too. By venturing through such franchise opportunities, you would be helping these businesses expand significantly while at the same time broadening the reach of these businesses to the consumers who are in need of their products and services.