Food Brands That Started Without Company-Operated Stores

These eight brands illustrate different routes to launching through franchising or licensing. Some opened their first outlet as a franchise; others signed franchise agreements before opening a company-operated shop.

Food brands: launch dates, outlet counts and founding models
Country	Brand	Year started	First franchised unit	Outlets	Count date / scope	Remarks
USA	Hot Stuff Pizza / Hot Stuff Kitchen [1]	1986	1986¹	655	FY2025 · USA	First outlet licensed.
USA	Champs Chicken [2]	1999	2013¹	400+	Website · October 2026 · USA	Licensed from 1999; franchised from 2013.
USA	Brooklyn Dumpling Shop [3]	2020²	2022	22	Company profile · October 2026 · USA & Canada	Franchises sold before first company shop opened.
USA	JARS by Fabio Viviani [4]	2021²	2023	5	2024 · USA³	Franchises sold before first company shop opened.
USA	Taffer’s Tavern [5]	2019²	2020	4	Website · October 2026 · USA⁴	First restaurant was franchised.
South Korea	bb.q Chicken / Genesis BBQ [6]	1995	1995	≈3,500	Website · October 2026 · Worldwide	First outlet was franchised.
Saudi Arabia	Burgy [7]	2011	2011	23	Historical CEO interview · Saudi Arabia	First store franchised, according to CEO.
South Africa	Casa Bella [8]	2016	2016	7	December 2025 · South Africa	First franchisee included parent-company executives.

¹ Hot Stuff began with a licensed outlet in 1986. Champs Chicken began licensing in 1999 and introduced formal franchising in 2013.

² Brand development preceded the first shop: Brooklyn Dumpling Shop opened in 2021, JARS in 2023 and Taffer’s Tavern in 2020.

³ JARS had five outlets reported in 2024; a subsequent closure was reported in 2026. Burgy’s 23 outlets are also a historical figure.

⁴ Taffer’s four locations comprise three full restaurants and a stadium location. Hot Stuff’s count combines Pizza and Kitchen.

Outlet counts refer to the dates and geographic scope shown. These examples do not all follow the same founding sequence.

Sources and supporting references