Florida’s called the Sunshine State for a reason, and it’s a great place to visit. However, it can also be a great place to live and do business.
Multi-unit franchise opportunities are great in the state that offers a range of other benefits over places like California or Texas.
Florida’s great for surfing, and it’s very rewarding when you catch the right wave, but if you can avoid the hurricanes and HOA drama, you could also become a successful entrepreneur in the state.
With that said, Florida offers a very franchise-friendly space for small business owners to pursue the American dream and make a name for themselves. If you read through FDDs, understand territory rights, and are fine with the royalty structures, multi-unit franchise ownership can be a great thing here.
Needless to say, the companies listed below are a number of the best multi-unit franchise opportunities in Florida I like. However, they may not be right for you. When you’re ready to move ahead, reach out and schedule a call so I can help you find the right one.
Nothing Bundt Cakes
Nothing Bundt Cakes comes out at the top of my list of the best multi-unit franchise opportunities in Florida. It’s not just a dessert brand, but rather a continuously running machine of joy.
For a company to be a good multi-unit franchise opportunity, several factors need to be present to start off with. I think a lot of those are present with Nothing Bundt Cakes.
Birthdays, retirements, and Tuesday brunches are all great opportunities for someone to go in and buy a bundt cake. What’s typically great about dessert places is they’re not just great because of their impressive margins. They also tend to create raging fans that keep coming back.
I personally love franchise concepts with lots of returning customers. It means you’ll be able to spend the money getting the word out once, and then you’ll reap the benefit for a long time afterwards.
There’s a strong gifting culture in the state, which is advantageous for you opening this business. Florida’s humidity is no joke, and you’ll need to know how to get customers through the doors during the stickiest of times. There’s also a certain degree of ebbs and flows because of the nature of what Florida offers.
While you won’t have to worry about winters in the same way you would in Wisconsin, there’s still a lot of seasonality in terms of tourists coming through the state. It’s particularly the situation on the coasts!
If I was opening up a Nothing Bundt Cakes myself in Florida, I would look at Tampa, Orlando, and the outskirts of Miami as the most ideal places for your multi-unit franchise venture. Shopping centers and other places that see a lot of foot traffic (and tourists) are places where you’ll sell just from customers seeing your location.
On top of that, shopping centers usually offers enough parking that regulars can drive there to get their cake cravings satisfied as well.
Checkers
Checkers kinda feels right in Florida. It’s a very affordable burger concept with double drive-thru offerings. And their burgers are packed with tons of flavors.
It’s just what you want after a long day on I-95, and hopefully there are others that think the same as well.
| Founded | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida |
| Franchise Fee | $30,000 |
| Total Investment | $800,000 – $1.5M |
| Training Program | 4 weeks of classroom and restaurant-based operations training + new restaurant opening support |
| Ideal Locations in Florida | Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Kissimmee — high-traffic intersections near grocery anchors or gas stations |
| Important Factors to Consider | Two-lane drive-thru accessibility, visibility from major roads, and access to hourly labor pool |
| Creative Way to Get the Word Out | Partner with a local car show in Tampa for a “Rev & Rally” pop-up — feature food trucks, free fries, and branded swag giveaways |
Floridians are used to putting miles on their cars, and a drive-thru concept is not a foreign thing in the state. Commuting to work or going to the grocery store of choice, Florida’s residents are used to driving. The drive-thru convenience of Checkers is just a plus.
With the existing brand awareness, your location won’t have to do much to keep customers flooding your way! Having a steady supply of customers is what helps scale to multiple units successfully.
There’s only one place a Big Buford is ordered by a person wearing a bathing suit at 9:30AM, and that’s in Florida.
Yogurtland
Some people don’t believe demand for frozen yogurt will continue to stay strong, but they haven’t been to the frozen yogurt place in my backyard. If you go to Florida in the summer, particularly near the beach, you will see the same thing.
Yogurt land provides a concept that’s loved by many because of the DIY ability to customize flavors exactly the way you want them.
Floridians are known for doing things their way, and it’s no different when it comes to what they’re choosing to do for desserts.
They’re a great treat when it’s hot outside, and if you can secure a decent spot where there are many tourists, you’ll have a line. If you can secure several of these spots with good foot traffic, you now have a multi-unit franchise opportunity in Florida.
Quality toppings, bold flavors, and low-fat. I am sold already!
The reality is you’re not competing alone in the frozen dessert space. In fact, you’ll be surrounded by other places that sell other refreshing desserts like custard. For that reason, your location is particularly important.
The staff you get will need to be trained and be able to handle the high-volume sales required to pay for those premium storefront locations by the beach.
Hydrate IV Bar
Hydrate IV Bar is part of a booming concept with wellness popping up on the list of priorities of many Americans, Floridians included. However, when it comes Florida, this state has things going for it that other places don’t.
Money and people that like to party. Yes, the affluent market will go to Hydrate IV Bar and get their various IVs on a regular basis, but there’s so much money flooding into places like Miami because of its party scene.
| Founded | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Katie Wafer |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado |
| Franchise Fee | $50,000 |
| Total Investment | $300,000 – $450,000 |
| Training Program | 5-day in-person onboarding in Denver + ongoing support and grand opening guidance |
| Ideal Locations in Florida | Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, Winter Park — walkable, affluent neighborhoods near boutique gyms and med spas |
| Important Factors to Consider | Seasonal traffic peaks, local regulations for medical staffing, proximity to tourism and high-income zip codes |
| Creative Way to Get the Word Out | Host a “Sun, Sweat & Saline” hydration cabana on South Beach with IV therapy demos, wellness freebies, and cold eucalyptus towels |
And in the morning when those people are done partying, they’ll feel considerably less hungover after having visited your Hydrate IV Bar.
It’s not just a place that offers true, productized wellness, but it’s also a very appealing experience for people that have money to drop.
The party hubs of Miami Beach is not the only place where this concept will thrive. Naples is an upscale neighborhood where I could see the concept doing well as well.
If you need a chaser after a round of tequila, the IV drips is your chaser after a night in town.
However, I love how there’s a multitude of people who could benefit from Hydrate IV Bar. If you can tap into an affluent retiree population, those people may also appreciate how the product makes them feel.
The healthcare regulations in Florida could, however, be difficult to deal with. Trust and professionalism is at the heart of you creating an environment people will want to come back to and continue to spend money at.
Factors to consider
Florida is no different in the sense that is has a range of factors to consider when choosing a franchise that are more state-specific. You won’t have to deal with the same cold a franchisee would in Wisconsin, but Wisconsin residents won’t have to deal with the stickiness outside.
Tourism is arguably the biggest state-specific factor to consider. Some concepts, like Nothing Bundt Cakes, can thrive year-round in suburban neighborhoods. Yogurtland, on the other hand, will be particularly busy when tourists are coming in.
Real estate’s also a bit more challenging in Florida than Wisconsin as the state has already been built out quite a bit more. Choosing Checkers as your franchise requires a very specific location, whereas Yogurtland can fit into more average locations.
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