Would you like to own a fast-food franchise in Nigeria? Well, a fast-food franchise also known as quick-service restaurants is a business with almost instant clients. It is one business opportunity which business visionaries can bounce into and make cool Returns On Investment (ROI) within a very short time.
Fast-food franchise business includes banding together with ready-made fast food brands like KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Mister Biggs, Chicken republic, Tastee Fried chicken, and other fast-food brands. Fast-food franchise owners pretend to be the real brands in the area they set up their business whereas they are just cover entities for the real brands they are franchising with.
Although setting up a franchise business is not cheap, it is rewarding and brings a lot of profits within a short period.
Fast-food joints also are known as eateries are patronized by almost all age-groups and ever-occupied workers like bankers and medical personnel often resort to eating at these joints.
How To Own A Fast-Food Franchise In Nigeria
As a fast-food entrepreneur, there are a ton of objectives you offer to your clients. One of such is the fast and efficient nature of the business. This means that food can be packaged for take-out at any time.
Another value that fast food entrepreneurs offer to their customers is the convenience and affordability of fast food. As such, many people prefer to buy ready-made foods at fast-food outlets thereby saving themselves the stress of making their meals.
Now, having established the background, what is a fast-food franchise business?
A fast-food franchise means your business will ride on the personality of an established food chain. You will be a retailer bearing that established chain’s name and operate as a branch of the company that you franchise with instead of being a solitary business trying to make your way in the gigantic fast-food industry.
So, what are the benefits of buying a fast-food franchise?
The Benefits of Buying a Fast-Food Franchise
The advantages of buying a franchise are many and huge when compared to starting your own fast-food business from scratch. Below are some of these benefits;
- You don’t have to stress yourself whether clients will like your product as the real brand has already spread their products.
- You don’t have to worry about designing a logo, copywriting, and advertisements as the real brand has already worked this out for you.
- You don’t have to stress over the amount you should charge for your services as this has been set and is already know to the public. All you have to do is sell, market and manage the business.
These advantages apply to other forms of Franchise and you can find more on the advantages and disadvantages of franchise business in Nigeria in this article.
Steps To Owning A Fast-Food Franchise In Nigeria
There are four steps you need to follow before starting a fast-food franchise in Nigeria. They are
- Research,
- Apply,
- Fund,
- Obtain the legal permits, and
- Operate.
1. Research
Just like any other business, you need to formally research the business before venturing into it. Exploring the fast-food industry in Nigeria will help you, to see how things work in the industry. It also outfits you with necessary and detailed information about the impositions of setting up a fast-food franchise in Nigeria.
Before setting up a fast-food franchise in Nigeria, you should know the Federal and State laws governing the industry and the policies and permits needed in setting up a fast-food franchise.
For a list of legal requirements and documents you need for establishing a business in Nigeria, please check this article.
Also, it is important that you study the franchisor’s brand to have an idea of the business and intellectual property rights you will be buying or inheriting and implementing in your franchise from your franchisor. This research also enables you the intending franchisee to know the help/assistance that you will receive from your franchisor.
Likewise, research helps in anticipating the expenses for setting up the business. These expenses include all the charges the franchisor will demand from you, the intending franchisee.
When doing this research, you should visit other fast-food franchises working with the franchisor you intend to work with to gather relevant information.
2. Application
After conducting deep and detailed research on your intending franchisor, the next thing to do is to apply to the prospective fast-food franchisor of your choice. The franchisor will provide an application form for you and provide you with information concerning the franchise.
The information which will be provided in the form of a brochure or videos will provide a guide to you, the intending franchisee in filling the application form.
In the application form, you the franchisee will be required to provide information like your bio-data, education, experience, and business interest. The franchisor will use this information to see if you deserve to be added to their brand.
After this, if the franchisor agrees to let you in, you will be given a Franchise disclosure document. This document gives detailed information about the role of the franchisor and the franchisee. You will also find the royalty-fee(s) and the manner of its payment in this document.
This document gives chance to you the intending franchisee to decide whether you are still interested in the franchise or not. If the two parties (i.e., the franchisor and you) agree to the terms of the application, then the both of you can enter into a franchising agreement. It is recommended that the franchisee should consult an advocate before signing the franchising agreement.
3. Funding a Franchise
After signing the Franchising agreement, the next thing to do is to fund the franchise. This is very important as you cannot start the business without funding the franchise.
More often, the franchisor helps the franchisee with the funding. This is later repaid in the form of royalties or percentage profit. Franchisors that do not provide funding usually guide the franchisee on how to obtain the funding.
This funding is used to cover all the working expenses require to start a franchise which includes buying inventory, buying machinery, staffing, and obtaining permits.
4. Obtaining Legal Permits
You cannot start a fast-food franchise in Nigeria without having the required legal permits to do so. Although there are no specific legal frameworks guiding franchise business in Nigeria, certain principles are applicable to fast-food franchises depending on their location in the country.
Some of these legal frameworks include obtaining a permit from the State’s Ministry of Health to ensure that you are complying with the basic health measures and also that you are working in a safe and clean environment. Also, the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) expects you to take a general hygiene practice before starting your fast-food franchise.
Other permits that you are required to have before commencing your business includes a tax clearance certificate, a business registration certificate, and an intellectual property transfer certifications. See a list of other certifications, legal documents and permits you should get for your Fast-food franchise here. In some cases, the franchisee may not obtain these permits because they have already been obtained by the franchisor.
5. Operate
Once you’ve put everything needed to be put in place, you may proceed to run the business.
Conclusion
Franchising a business has many advantages among which are that you will get support from your franchisor, you don’t have to market your brand or at least take full responsibility of the marketing, and it is a tested and trusted business model.
However, there are disadvantages with starting a fast-food franchise in Nigeria and some of these disadvantages are arguably the reason why many of these fast-food franchises don’t last in the country. You should know about these disadvantages by going through this article which explains the disadvantages of starting a franchise in Nigeria including fast-foods.
