
In franchising, pizza franchises are some of the most traditional and time-proven concepts that have great potential for success. Customers appreciate a quality product provided with convenience, and there are a lot of different franchises in which to invest. Let’s look at how Blaze Pizza® stacks up against Antioch Pizza.
Kneading the Dough
We’ll start with a simple table of financial requirement numbers, from market analyst Entrepreneur.com and the brands’ FDDs, so you can see how we and Blaze Pizza® look side by side.
Antioch Pizza | Blaze Pizza® | |
---|---|---|
Initial Investment | $218,000 – $696,500 (Dine-In or Take-Out/Delivery)
$101,500 – $324,000 (Express) $103,500 – $189,500 (Food Truck) |
$605,400 – $1,086,500 |
Franchise Fee | $40,000 (Dine-In or Take-Out/Delivery)
$35,000 (Express) $20,000 (Food Truck) |
$30,000 |
Royalty Fee | 5% | 5% |
Ad Royalty Fee | 1% | 2% |
Term of Agreement | 10 Years | 10 Years |
Minimum Cash-on-Hand Requirement | N/A | $300,000 |
Looking at our franchise cost and Blaze’s, there’s an obvious savings on opening with Antioch Pizza compared to Blaze Pizza’s® startup costs. You may also notice we don’t have a minimum net worth or cash-on-hand requirement for our applicants. While it’s a good practice for franchisees to be certain they have the financial security to open their franchises and keep them funded as they ramp up, we trust you and our other applicants to have this foresight yourselves.
Time in the Oven
Money is an obvious consideration when opening a franchise, but it’s not the only one. Another factor is the potential for success and growth since that affects how soon you may be able to make back your investment and start making profits. Looking at Blaze Pizza’s® franchise cost, the brand began franchising in 2012 and since then has opened over 300 locations.
It’s important you find a franchisor that has the same level of ambition and desire for growth that you do. An unambitious franchisor won’t be inclined to support your ambition, which can feel like they’re weighing you down or neglecting you. Conversely, an overeager franchisor can make you feel rushed, and stressed out. You want a franchisor that matches your energy level.
We began franchising in 2019. In the four years since then, we’ve built seven locations. Proportionally, this is a lot of growth in just a few years. In terms of the straight-up number of locations, it’s modest. But this reflects our company’s ambition as well as our restraint – we’re pacing ourselves to reach our growth goals. We not only want to grow, we want to focus on sustainable growth. We want to put down solid business roots that will last, instead of opening as many locations as fast as we can and seeing which ones make it and which ones don’t.
Passing the Taste Test
Another important element to a company’s franchise cost is how much its reputation’s worth. This can affect how much work it’s going to take you to build up a customer base. Franchises of brands with a good reputation will find success a bit easier thanks to brand loyalty, while those with less solid reputations will have to start out largely unknown or trying to counteract a bad reputation.
One way of measuring a company’s reputation is by outside evaluation. Entrepreneur conducts an annual evaluation known as the Franchise 500, where they rank the top 500 franchises in the U.S. In 2017, Blaze Pizza® was ranked No. 46. However, since then it’s dropped in rank to No. 318 in 2023, with a brief rise to No. 61 in 2019. The change in ranking could mean that despite the growth it experienced until recent years, its performance elsewhere wasn’t enough to help it maintain a higher ranking.
Our company, meanwhile, hasn’t grown enough to achieve a rank among Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500. However, our vision and mission show we’re a customer-focused company, which is the bedrock of a good reputation. We also make community service one of our founding principles, participating in 250 community fundraisers a year. Supporting local causes and having charity as a guiding principle makes our franchises more than just businesses, but pillars of their communities. That’s the kind of reputation every business should want.
Invest in Opportunity with Antioch Pizza
We’re thrilled to offer you the opportunity to open a pizza franchise with us. We believe our pizza franchise cost is worth every penny, and you’ll have every opportunity for success with our business plan and franchisor support. Contact us today and learn more about your franchising opportunity with Antioch Pizza.
*Blaze Pizza is a registered trademark of Blaze LLC
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