Top Franchise Business Opportunities in the Philippines

The franchise business is booming like never before in the Philippines. In a study conducted by the Philippine Franchising Association or PFA (the premier association of franchises in the country), the number of franchising concepts increased from merely 20 in the 1980s to more than 1,000 by 2008 (source). This is only the number of concepts, we’re not even discussing the number of franchised business.

Franchised businesses are everywhere, from something as small and as mobile as food carts to fast food restaurants and to dine in, ‘classier’ restaurants; from spa and beauty centers, to salons; from ready – to – wear clothing stores, to fashion stores and to specialty retail stores, the list can go on and on.

I have already written two hubs about franchising, in general. This hub now focuses on franchising in the Philippines. It is not all – encompassing as I could not hope to include everything in just one hub. Rather I concentrated on the popular franchise concepts in this hub. If you are looking to enter into franchising in the Philippines, I hope you will find the right franchise concept for you through my hub. Enjoy!

Food – Food Carts and Kiosks

It’s no secret – Filipinos love food. In good times and in bad times, food is our constant companion. The cheaper it is, the better. The more accessible it is, the better. And the cheapest and the most accessible food can be found in these food carts and kiosks, making them one of the most popular, if not the most popular, franchise concept in the country. Food carts and kiosks franchises have the advantage over other franchise concepts because (1) they are relatively inexpensive to put up (low franchise fees, low capital requirement); (2) their location can be very easily established and (3) they are easy to maintain.

Food – Fast – Food Restaurants

Filipinos love eating in fast – food restaurants. In fact, one of the top companies in the Philippines, Jollibee (which happens to be open to franchising), is a fast – food restaurant. Fast – food restaurants have much higher franchise fees than food carts and kiosks, require a lot more capital and have more stringent rules before a potential franchisee is accepted. Their advantage lies in their popularity as most of the fast – food restaurants open to franchising are more well – known and more recognizable. They are also more aggressively promoted than your regular food cart.

Food – Coffee Shops

Filipinos have an ongoing love affair with coffee. We have a coffee – drinking culture. And nothing provides evidence of this than the fast – growing, ever – expanding coffee shops around the country. These coffee shops are not just for coffee drinking, they are also meeting places for businessmen, students and their study groups, friends and family. A lot of these coffee shops have free Wi – Fi, making them an ideal place for a blogger (or a hubber) to write his or her blogs (or hubs) in relative peace and quiet.

Food – Bakeshops

The Philippines is a rice country. Almost all of our major meals have rice in them. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love our bread. Bread, cakes, pastries, etc. have become staples in our daily diet. And there’s no doubt that bakeshops and their branches have rapidly spread around the country. Almost everywhere you go, you will see either a Pan de Pugon franchise or a Julie’s Bakeshop franchise or a Goldilocks Bakeshop franchise or a Red Ribbon Bakeshop franchise. What makes these bakeshops more interesting is that they are like fast – food restaurants – you can also buy ready meals from them plus a lot of them offer either coffee, soft drinks, juices or iced tea or all of these drinks.

Clothing Stores

Go ahead, go and enter any mall in the Philippines. What do you see? Clothing stores everywhere, featuring ready – to – wear clothes (or what is commonly called RTW) for both men and women, young and old alike. A lot of these clothing stores, such as Bench, Folded and Hung, Penshoppe, Bayo, Plains and Prints, Kamiseta and Maldita, are open to franchising. Due to the fashion consciousness of a lot of Filipinos and the endorsement of known personalities from the local (and sometimes even foreign) entertainment personalities, these clothing stores and their brands have become well – known and successful in their business. And some of them had started going global too.

Specialty Retail Stores

Same with food carts and kiosks, these specialty retail stores can also be found in carts and kiosks, usually around a mall. They are specialized around a specific product like perfumes (i.e., Aficionado), refillable inks (i.e., Inkrite) and t – shirt printing (i.e., Transfer It!). They basically have the same advantages as food carts, however, the demand for their products are not quite as high as these food carts.

Personal Care

The need to relax and have a soothing massage or to have one’s face, body, hand or feet pampered have led to the growth of personal care franchises around the country. These personal care businesses take the form of spas, beauty centers or beauty salons. These franchises can be very easy to promote as some famous local entertainment personalities are already talking about them. It doesn’t hurt that Filipinos are becoming more and more fascinated with personal relaxation, a soothing massage and the concept of being pampered.

Gasoline Stations

Oil companies such as Seaoil and Unioil have also jumped into the franchising business. Their availability for franchising enabled these companies to compete with the big three oil firms in the country. What more, the demand for oil and its related products is still as steady as it goes, regardless of the economic situation in the country. A gasoline station franchise is, however, quite expensive but then again, it enables one to engage in this lucrative business without shelling out the very high costs of putting up and running your own oil company.

Water Refilling Stations

There’s no doubt about it, water refilling stations are everywhere. Water is, after all, a basic necessity in our lives. Add to this is the growing population of the country, the need to ensure that we are drinking clean and safe water, and the fact that they deliver this clean drinking water right to your doorstep, and you have the ingredients for an ever – growing water refilling franchise business concept.

So there you have it, the top franchise business opportunities in the Philippines. They have different products, different costs (in terms of franchise fees and initial capital) and different markets but one thing’s for sure – they are the leading franchise business opportunities in the country.