Originally posted on Franchisetimes.com 

Urban Air Adventure Park, the world's largest indoor adventure park operator, has been ranked No. 135 on the Franchise Times' prestigious Franchise 400 List. This recognition highlights its remarkable growth and success within the franchise industry, underscoring the company's commitment to providing exciting and innovative adventure experiences for families and individuals.

Franchise Times Top 400 ranks the country’s biggest brands

Annual ranking shows major sales gains across leading franchise segments

Top 400 sales grew 3.7 percent in 2023, to $740 billion, as franchise brands pushed sales in a year marked by inflation concerns and shifting consumer spending. Sales at the 10 largest franchises increased 7.2 percent, as those brands collectively gained more than $25 billion over the prior year. The Top 400 online database launches today at franchisetimes.com, listing the largest franchise brands by worldwide sales.

MINNEAPOLIS—Combined annual sales at the largest U.S.-based franchisors increased by $26.5 billion or 3.7 percent last year, to $740 billion, according to the newly released Franchise Times Top 400, an exclusive ranking of the largest franchises.

The 10 largest franchised brands gained $27.3 billion in sales in 2023, a 7.2 percent increase over the prior year. The top 10 now account for more than $400 billion in annual sales. No. 1 McDonald’s remains by far the largest franchise on the list, growing systemwide sales to $129.5 billion.

The Franchise Times Top 400 is an exclusive annual ranking of the largest U.S.-based franchise systems by global systemwide sales. The project is the result of a five-month research and reporting effort that leads to the most credible and objective franchise ranking available, said Franchise Times Editor in Chief Laura Michaels.

The collection of systemwide sales data also provides useful insight into the franchise industry’s performance as the economic and consumer demand shakeout continues. Out of the 10 major franchise categories analyzed, just two—Business Services and Real Estate—saw an overall decline in sales. Notably, within the Restaurant category, total sales for chicken-focused concepts grew 12 percent, to $76 billion, as the segment remained hot.

“Major restaurant brands including McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell all experienced sizable sales gains in 2023 as Domino’s and Pizza Hut, dominate players in the value pizza space, reversed their systemwide sales declines from 2022,” said Michaels. “Restaurants collectively grew sales 8.3 percent last year, with challenger QSR concepts such as Culver’s and Freddy’s emerging as the sales growth leaders in the burger segment.”

The personal services, health & medical, automotive and cleaning franchise industries all saw percentage sales growth in the double digits last year. Retailers as a category posted a 3.9 percent sales gain overall.

Among the four exclusive interviews included in this year’s ranking, Crunch Fitness President Chequan Lewis shares how the gym brand is attracting a growing share of members in the highvalue, low-price fitness segment and driving new unit growth to the tune of 16.8 percent in 2023. Executives from Potbelly, Ford’s Garage and HTeaO also detail their impressive growth stories and the underlying economic and consumer trends contributing to that performance.

Franchise Times Fastest-Growing Industry Sectors

1. Cleaning Services +15.8%

Franchise Times Top 10 Franchises by Worldwide Sales

1. McDonald’s; $129.5 billion sales, +9.6% from prior year; 41,822 units, +3.8%
2. 7-Eleven; $97.8 billion sales, +4.7% from prior year; 82,755 units, -1.6%
3. KFC; $33.8 billion sales, +8.8% from prior year; 29,900 units, +7.7%
4. Burger King; $27 billion sales, +6% from prior year; 19,384 units, -2%
5. Ace Hardware; $23.3 billion sales, +0.6% from prior year; 5,870 units, +2.2%
6. Chick-fil-A; $22.3 billion* sales, +15.1% from prior year; 2,981 units, +5.9%
7. Subway; $20.5 billion* sales, +7.3% from prior year; 37,133 units, +1.5%
8. Domino’s; $18.3 billion sales, +4.2% from prior year; 20,591 units, +3.6%
9. Circle K; $17.7 billion sales, +5.2% from prior year; 13,734 units, +12.8%
10. Taco Bell; $15.9 billion sales, +8.6% from prior year; 8,564 units, +4.2%

*Franchise Times estimate

Franchise Times Top 10 Fastest Growers by Sales Percentage

1. Vital Care Infusion: 64.2 increase from prior year
2. PuroClean: 44.4%
3. Scooter’s Coffee: 41.4%
4. Dave’s Hot Chicken: 40.1%
5. Club Pilates: 40%*
6. Wingstop: 27.1%
7. TEGG Service: 26.4%
8. Rainbow International: 26.2%
9. Keystone Insurers: 25.9%
10. ServPro: 24.9

*Franchise Times estimate

Franchise Times Top 10 Fastest Growers by Unit Percentage

1. Dave’s Hot Chicken: 76.5% increase from prior year
2. Wireless Zone: 61.1%
3. Crumbl: 41.9%
4. Scooter’s Coffee: 35.1%
5. Slim Chickens: 33.1%
6. American Family Care: 24.1%
7. Charley’s Philly Steaks: 21.6%
8. Club Pilates: 20.6%
9. Gong Cha: 20.1%
10. Senior Helpers: 19.9%

ABOUT THE FRANCHISE TIMES TOP 400

The Franchise Times Top 400 is the only ranking by systemwide sales and units of the largest 500 U.S.-based franchise brands. Published in the October issue and available in a searchable database online, the Franchise Times Top 400 also analyzes industry sectors based on percentage change in sales growth, reports the 10 fastest-growing franchises by four different measures, and includes exclusive news stories about the biggest names in franchising. The rankings and full report, and the searchable online database, are available at www.franchisetimes.com/top-400-2024.