Best franchise categories for 2026: how to tell a fad from durable demand

• Google Trends measures relative search interest, scaled from 0 to 100 against the highest point in the period and place you choose. It is not a count of searches, customers or sales.
• In our check of five years of Australian Google Trends data to September 2026, interest in 'dubai chocolate' went from almost nothing to a peak in May 2025, then averaged about a fifth of that peak over the past 12 months.
• Over the same period, interest in 'car detailing' and 'laundromat' stayed broadly steady, while 'padel', 'matcha' and 'EV charger' rose sharply.
• When Griffith University updated its database of 1,214 franchise brands for its 2016 survey, 48 were no longer operating and 61 had stopped franchising, about 9% in roughly two years.
• FRANdata's 2015 report found 11% unit turnover across about 900 brands, and 18% in food. Its definition of turnover included business transfers.

• One product, one trend: the concept rests on a single item that became popular quickly, often through social media.
• A search spike: interest rises sharply over months rather than years, then falls back once the novelty passes.
• A brand rush: many new brands open in a short time, most with only a handful of outlets.
• An expensive fit-out for a narrow offer: a heavily themed store that would be hard to adapt if tastes change.
• Prices that depend on novelty: customers pay a premium now, but repeat visits aren't proven.
• A pitch built on growth, not earnings: the franchisor talks about how fast it is opening rather than what existing outlets earn.
• A short trading history: few outlets have traded through a full year, let alone a downturn.

• Need, not just want: the service solves a recurring problem, such as cleaning, maintenance, care or compliance.
• Repeat purchase: customers buy weekly, monthly or on a contract, not once.
• Steady search interest over several years, with seasonal ups and downs rather than one spike.
• Demand drivers you can check in official data, such as population growth in your area.
• Several established brands with long trading histories, and independent businesses doing well in the same space.
• A model that can change its products or services without a full refit.
• Outlets that have traded profitably through at least one downturn, with records you can see.

1. Search the category the way customers would, such as 'car detailing' rather than 'car detailing franchise'. In our checks, most franchise-specific searches were too rare to chart reliably.
2. Set the region to Australia, or your state, and the period to five years, so you see more than one seasonal cycle.
3. Read the shape, not the number. A steady line with seasonal bumps tells a different story from a single spike.
4. Compare terms with care. Each chart is scaled from 0 to 100 within the terms and period you choose, so 60 means 60% of the peak, not 60 searches.
5. Treat zeros with care. Google says low-volume terms appear as zero, which means too few searches to report, not no searches at all.
6. Remember what it doesn't measure: sales, margins, competition or whether customers come back.
7. Use it to generate questions for the franchisor and current franchisees, not to make the decision.

We checked each term separately in Google Trends for Australia, comparing average relative interest in the 12 months to September 2022 with the 12 months to September 2026. These are consumer searches about each product or service, not about franchises.

• Spike and fade: 'dubai chocolate' was near zero until 2024, peaked in the week of 4 to 10 May 2025, and averaged about a fifth of that peak over the past 12 months.
• Rise then fall: 'acai bowl' peaked in January 2024, and its average over the past year was about a quarter lower than in the year to September 2022.
• Gradual decline: 'bubble tea' averaged about 40% less over the past year than in the year to September 2022.
• Steady: 'car detailing' and 'laundromat' stayed broadly level, each within about 10% of its earlier average.
• Strong rises: 'padel' was about 12 times higher, 'EV charger' about 10 times, 'matcha' about 5 times and 'reformer pilates' about 60% higher.
• Rising doesn't mean durable. 'matcha' peaked in June 2025 and 'reformer pilates' in March 2024, so both were below their highs in the latest data.
• None of this says whether a franchise in these categories will be profitable. It tells you which questions to ask.

• Brands come and go. Of the 1,214 brands on Griffith University's database before its 2016 survey, 48 were no longer operating and 61 had stopped franchising.
• Outlets change hands too. FRANdata's 2015 report put unit turnover at 11% overall and 18% in food, counting transfers as well as closures. The report is paywalled and now dated.
• No official data tracks franchise failures or closures by category in Australia, so you have to gather the evidence system by system.
• Small systems are common. In FranchiseScope's Register analysis, the median system reported 9 franchisees, and the median quick-service food system 5 (196 profiles).
• Read the disclosure document's three-year history of transfers, closures, terminations and buy-backs for the system you're considering.
• Ask how many outlets opened and closed in the last three years, and why each closure happened.

• Refits: a franchisor can require significant capital expenditure only if it was disclosed before you signed, it applies to all or most franchisees and a majority of them approve it, the law requires it, or you agree.
• Disclosure documents created from 1 November 2025 must say whether significant capital expenditure will be required during the term, with details such as the amount, timing and reasons.
• For agreements entered into from 1 November 2025, the agreement must provide compensation if the franchisor ends it early because it withdraws from Australia, reduces its network or changes how it distributes.
• Check whether you can adapt products or the menu, and who pays when the franchisor changes them.
• Keep your costs flexible where you can: a shorter lease with options and a modest fit-out reduce what you lose if demand falls.
• Read the franchisor's solvency statement and financial reports in the disclosure document before you commit.

• Is this a need or a want, and do customers buy repeatedly?
• What does five years of Google Trends data show: a steady line or a single spike?
• How many established brands and independents trade successfully in this space?
• Have outlets in this system traded through a full year and a downturn?
• How many outlets opened and closed in the last three years?
• What refits could I be asked to pay for, and when?
• What happens to my agreement if the franchisor shrinks or leaves Australia?