Nothing stays the same in franchising, and that’s true for the Franchise 500 list too. Every year, companies move up or down depending on their previous year’s performance. Some have giant tumbles; others have triumphant rises.
This year, five brands did something particularly interesting: They all landed squarely in the middle of our list, despite having not even ranked the year before. That’s an impressive leap. So what happened? The answers tell a story about the many ways franchises can get ahead: Some were acquired, some made a pivotal partnership, and some just saw a great opportunity and evolved to meet it.
On the following pages, we talk to an executive from each of these five biggest movers and gain insights to help next year’s hopefuls make their own massive strides.
1/Quickly Scaling to Meet the Moment
How Koala Insulation jumped to #242 on our list.
When people were stuck at home during the height of the pandemic, their new home-renovation activities famously drove demand for a wide range of at-home services. But it also meant people’s energy bills went up—and as they began looking for ways to cut costs while staying cozy, the Melbourne, Florida-based Koala Insulation saw opportunity.
Despite starting its franchise-development efforts a month and a half before national shutdowns, Koala Insulation surpassed its goal of expanding to 200 territories in a year and is well on its way to 300. That helped it go from
