What is a pizza franchise?

A pizza franchise allows entrepreneurs to operate a branch of an established brand under a proven business model. Instead of starting a pizzeria from scratch, franchisees benefit from brand recognition, operational support and an established customer base, by paying an initial franchise fee and ongoing royalties in return.

While Domino’s and Pizza Hut are often the first to come to mind, pizza franchises can operate in a variety of formats, including dine-in restaurants, collection-only kiosks, gourmet options, takeaway stores, and shadow kitchens.

This diversity of choice increases the chances of finding a business opportunity that suits your lifestyle and location, compared to other industries.

Why choose franchising?

According to research by Statistica (published in April 2024), the revenue of the pizza delivery and takeaway sector in the United Kingdom was estimated to be worth a whopping £3.8 billion in 2024.

Meanwhile, the number of employees in the sector was estimated to amount to over 54,000. This figure is only set to rise as the pizza sector continues to explode in popularity, amplified by the voices of 50% of British survey respondents choosing pizza as their favourite takeaway dish (as reported by Statistica in 2023).

With pizza chains now dominating the UK’s fast-food industry, franchises in this sector offer a relatively lower-risk entry into the competitive food market. However, the benefits of franchising go beyond economic advantages and lower risk — buying a pizza franchise also allows you to step into a proven business model with built-in support and success.

"You’re capitalising on a proven formula. You've got full support, full marketing support, and you've got the backing of an expert team", Ajmal Mushtaq, CEO of Boss Pizza, tells What Franchise when asked about why franchising trumps independent pizza business opportunities.

Navigating the challenges of pizza franchising

As the food industry continues to evolve at lightning speed, new challenges are emerging for pizza franchises across the UK.

"We've got new regulations coming, like calorie counts on menus, sustainability requirements and packaging standards," says Sunny Chhina, founder of Essex-based pizza franchise, The Fat Pizza.

"Challenges won’t necessarily be around product innovation anymore; they’ll be about managing these other aspects. Is your product clean, or are you using cheese with palm oil in it, for example? How do you make your dough, and what preservatives are in there? All these things will come to the surface pretty quickly, and that’s where franchisees will need to be careful."

And it’s not just these obstacles that are materialising. The delivery sector is becoming crowded, with Greek, Mexican and Japanese cuisines dominating the food industry and food ordering services like Deliveroo and JustEat posing increased competition.

Franchising benefits

However, Sunny offers a different perspective on this challenge, suggesting that it’s easier to thrive in this crowded space as a franchisee with solid backing, rather than as an independent business.

"As an independent, it’s very difficult unless you have expert marketing or a knack for virality in the digital space. From my point of view, it will always be a struggle and you'll end up relying on the aggregators, which serve their purpose, but it’s tough to be profitable when you depend on them."

From this perspective, pizza franchisees can benefit from unparalleled support when it comes to digital marketing, branding and visibility in a saturated space.

Property acquisition

In a similar vein, Boss Pizza is on a mission to redefine the fast-food dining experience, and its growth strategy is nothing short of ambitious.

With 70 stores currently in the pipeline, the brand has meticulously designed a system to launch one store per week, ensuring steady and scalable expansion. But as with any fast-growing franchise, challenges arise – and for Boss Pizza, the biggest hurdle isn’t operations or demand; it’s property acquisition.

"Finding the shop is the longest timeline in the whole project," explains Ajmal. "You could find a shop within a week, or it could take you a year. And the key thing is that it’s out of your hands – there’s nothing you can do about it."

"But having said that, we have got a network of agents up and down the country, as well as our own in-house property expert who cross checks every single available property against our 20-point checklist." Again, this highlights the backing that franchises can provide.

Choosing the right pizza franchise

If you’re thinking about investing in a pizza franchise, doing your homework is the key to long-term success. Ajmal notes the importance of researching any prospective franchises before making a move.

"The most important thing aspiring franchisees should look for is a track record of the franchise, or how long they have been in business", he says. "Look at their finances, their media profile and their public reputation".

But numbers alone aren’t enough. Great franchisors prioritise their franchisees, providing strong support through training, financial guidance and a focus on increasing profitability.

Ajmal shares how his experience running Boss Pizza has shown that both franchisors and franchisees can thrive under such a business model. "We're absolutely obsessive about ensuring that the franchisee wins.

"The way we do that is we keep our head office overheads as low as possible, meaning that the royalties that we charge the franchisees are very low. By making sure their shops are as profitable as possible, that's how we're going to grow the business and support franchisees fully. That's how you're going to win long term."

Sunny from The Fat Pizza also emphasises the importance of genuinely loving the product you embark on selling when joining a franchise. "If you don't believe you've got the best product out there, then what are you doing? That’s the first thing I would say to any prospective franchisee; taste the food!"

In such a competitive market, with new cuisines and delicacies constantly emerging, staying ahead of trends and understanding your franchise’s unique selling point is undoubtedly key.

What makes a pizza franchise successful?

Showing that industry experience pays off in the long run, Ajmal at Boss Pizza reflects on both past and present successes in the rapidly changing market.

"I previously built and ran the biggest takeaway operation in Britain," Ajmal remarks. "Our output was one meal every 15 seconds. I also ran a 29-minute home delivery guarantee for five years that was featured on the news and the radio hundreds upon hundreds of times over the years. Now, I've taken the exact same operating model and I'm implementing that into Boss Pizza."

Sunny also highlights the global reach of his venture with The Fat Pizza, noting the success of not only the franchise itself but the business model that it was founded on.

"We’re running our Dubai operation from the UK – there are no boots on the ground. It’s literally guys we’ve trained to be managers over four days. That system is our biggest success.

"It’s robust enough that we can manage everything from [the UK] and essentially do what we would do in the store, all from a very remote level. We now have a model that can be replicated anywhere in the world."

Combined, these inspiring success stories speak to the power of the scalable, hands-off franchising model that allows franchises like Boss Pizza and The Fat Pizza to thrive domestically and internationally, with minimal intervention.

Are pizza franchises profitable?

As made clear by the attractive economic statistics behind the UK pizza market, investing in a pizza franchise can be a highly advantageous venture. "On average, pizza franchise owners in the UK can earn between £50,000 and £150,000 annually, with top-performing locations generating even higher profits", said the Boss Pizza CEO.

However, success in the sector depends on several key factors. Location, brand strength and operational efficiency all play a role in determining how much an owner can earn. These are factors that aspiring franchisees should research before investing.

It’s crucial to note that profitability in this competitive market isn’t guaranteed – a successful franchise requires strategic cost management, efficient staffing and effective marketing.

Despite these risks, there are also clear draws for this particular market. "Factors such as low food costs, strong consumer demand and high-margin menu items like drinks and sides make the pizza sector a hugely profitable choice for franchisees", Ajmal explains.

If you're interested in buying a pizza franchise, browse our wide range of franchise opportunities. You can also browse fast food franchises, restaurant franchises and food franchises in general.