Bangalore is behind Mumbai in the race to be franchisee capital of India.

After being the start up capital of India, Bangalore seems to be in a close race with Mumbai to be the franchisee capital of the country. According to statistics shared by Franchise Experts.

According to experts in the market, the concept of franchising is growing at an impressive rate of 55-60% since 2008 as risk-averse entrepreneurs in the city consider it the most viable option to tap the large consumer market.

The key industries that possess high prospects for the successful franchise opportunities in the city are food and beverage, retail franchising, health, beauty and wellness, consumer services and education.

“In Bangalore, franchising a food outlet in very popular. Franchising model is also gaining popularity in the education space,” says Sachin Marya, president, Franchise India. Planet Kids set up its first preschool in 2005 in Bangalore. In the 2007, it started the franchise model.

“The adoption of franchise is a lot more in Bangalore compared to other major cities in the country,” says Chandu Jain, co-founder, Planet Kids, a pre-school chain.

According to a KPMG report, the franchising industry is expected to employ 1.4 crore people by 2017, which is almost 10% of the total estimated workforce in that year. Of this, more than half is expected to be out of Bangalore.

The franchise model is also gaining popularity among some niche segments like entertainment, gaming, and personalized services like home cleaning, packing etc.

According to Nandita, founder and CEO of beauty salon Nandita’s, franchise is the easier way to grow.

“In Bangalore, people are ready to take risk and try out something new. I started my first boutique in Mysore. However, when it came to franchising, I chose Bangalore as the city has many young people aspiring to be entrepreneurs. Not everybody likes to start a brand of their own. There are many who want to piggyback on a brand name and start out their first venture,” she says.