6 Franchise Umbrella Brands That Franchisees Should Know About These big franchise groups represent key categories.
By Jeff Cheatham •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
There are thousands of franchise concepts to choose from, which means the perfect match for prospective franchisees is out there somewhere. And while a majority of franchise concepts are standalone brands, there are a few umbrella brands that maintain ownership of an entire family of brands under one name.
For your browsing entertainment, here are six umbrella brands and their respective family of franchise categories and brands:
1. Propelled Brands
One of the newest franchise umbrella groups, Propelled Brands was formed when prominent franchisor FASTSIGNS International acquired NerdsToGo, an IT service franchise. They merged in April of 2021 under the leadership of Catherine Monson, whose aim is to "…operate and grow a portfolio of service-oriented franchise brands."
Since forming, the organization has added another franchise, My Salon Suite. The philosophy of Propelled Brands is to provide a supportive business model to put franchise owners on a path to success.
Related: 10 Ways the Pandemic Transformed Franchising
2. Authority Brands
If you're interested in the red-hot home service franchising category, look no further than Authority Brands. This parent company owns a dozen brands in this category, but each offers a distinctive service from the others – no direct competition under this roof. All combined, these franchise brands — including the popular Monster Tree Service and Homewatch CareGivers — have more than 1,900 locations across the U.S.
3. Unleashed Brands
If you're looking for the authority on children's franchises, Unleashed Brands is dedicated to representing individual brands that help kids learn, play and grow. Included under its umbrella are brands like Urban Air Adventure Parks, Snapology, The Little Gym and Premier Martial Arts franchise concepts. These business models are capable of entertaining kids and giving them a lifetime of memorable moments.
Related: Interested in a Children's Franchise? Here Are the Top 15.
4. Inspire Brands
If reading this article is making you feel hungry all of the sudden, you'll want to know more about Inspire Brands. The group was founded in 2018, but already ranks as the No. 2 largest restaurant company in the U.S. Under the Inspire Brands umbrella, you'll find well-known franchises such as Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins, Sonic, Arby's and Jimmy John's. To date, that amounts to more than 32,000 restaurants in 60 different countries. Their mission statement is to "ignite and nourish flavorful experiences." Well, mission accomplished.
5. United Franchise Group
United Franchise Group is your business-to-business (B2B) franchise brand specialist. They've been in business for over three decades and represent the interests of more than 1,600 franchise locations around the world. With 11 total brands that include Signarama and Network Lead Exchange, United Franchise Group has become a business-to-business franchising leader in categories from consultancies to retail and food brands.
6. Neighborly Brands
What began as a single-brand shop in 1981 has since grown to become a home services franchise conglomerate. Neighborly Brands includes 29 different brands, including the well-known concepts of Mr. Handyman and Molly Maid. To date, they've established 4,800 franchise operations in nine different countries. Not only does Neighborly Brands have a mission statement, but this group also takes it a step further with their own established code of values, where they live by the ideals of respect, integrity and customer focus.
