The international franchising community came out in support of their industry after a year of disruption for physical franchise events.
The International Franchise Show London was held on October 1-2, 2021 at ExCeL London, and Global Franchise was present to chronicle the event at booth 212.
We saw a great number of brands, both established and new, staking their claim in the franchising space. Both days were abuzz with interested franchisees and enthusiastic exhibitors explaining their concepts.
As the first London franchising expo since the 2019 show, the event was well attended with bright and energetic professionals, happy to get back together in person after so long.
Children’s franchising is growing
The pandemic was difficult on school-age children. It was a struggle for parents to home tutor their little ones with no experience at all, creating an environment nobody was happy in. Franchisors have spotted an opportunity and a market to serve with numerous children-based franchises. These stalls were always busy, visited by parents who used these services during the lockdown and can now see the commercial value.
The value created by these franchises for children and parents means that they won’t be passing fads that will slide into the background once normalcy returns. These franchises are here to stay and will likely only attract more parents as they see the benefits of tutoring and coaching for others.
Home care franchises are on the rise
So many business models suffered greatly during the pandemic, but others grew. Home care franchising served a growing demographic of elderly people who were increasingly suffering during the pandemic, both physically and mentally. Home care providers were able to provide both the physical and mental respite needed all in the comfort of their customers’ homes.
Home care franchise booths were well frequented and even turned up some novel concepts, like one of Seniors Helping Seniors, which utilizes more healthy and physically robust seniors to assist other, like-minded seniors. It’s a field worth keeping an eye on as it continues to grow and innovate.
The industry was pleased to meet again
It’s been a long time since we were all able to meet again in London, and it was a pleasure to see the community in full force, picking up where it left off in 2019. While everyone has been in touch throughout the pandemic, there can be no replacement for meeting and making connections in person. There were plenty of laughs at all the booths, with interesting new brands pitching their ideas and old friends reconnecting after some time apart.
We had a fantastic time at the expo and were even able to hand out our Global Franchise Awards 2021 in person to two recipients. Little Caesars Pizza was awarded the best food and drink franchise and BELFOR Franchise Group was awarded the best property maintenance franchise award. It was great to commemorate these two fantastic brands in person and celebrate their achievements.
Bring on 2022
The International Franchise Show London was a great success, and demonstrated the vibrancy of international franchising, with a huge number of brands in the midst of global expansion. There was strong footfall across the two days and we were inundated with interested readers and enquirers at our Global Franchise booth.
We can’t wait for the show next year to be even bigger and better than it was this year; when businesses are able to completely shake off the effects of the global pandemic and really show off their true potential.
We also attended the Paris Franchise Expo last week, read our wrap-up of the event here.
