This year brought an explosion of new brands and concepts to the franchising world, and there’s no doubt that trend will continue. But the profitability and longterm staying power of these companies is yet to be determined. “Hot” doesn’t always translate into satisfied, profitable franchise owners. For example, there has been an explosion of brands in the frozen yogurt segment, and yet only two brands (Yogurtland and Zinga!) made the list this year. Senior care, child services and education and food are all popular industries for 2014. The past year has also seen an increase in the popularity of franchise concepts selling real estate (Sotheby’s International Realty) offering home services (CertaPro Painters). Whatever the concept traditional or out of the box - it’s important to feel comfortable with the franchise’s ability to survive tough times and stand out from competitors. One concept that stands out as both unique and having high satisfaction is Pinot’s Palette, a Houston-based “sip and paint” franchise. Pinot’s debuted on the list in 2013 and has seen an explosion of competitors in the past year as the sip and paint industry has taken off. President Charles Willis says they are constantly expanding and improving their business offerings to stay on top, and ahead of their competition, in the industry. They’ve recently added a children’s program 8 | Business World Magazine | May 2023
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