Better Together

The name Better Together appears in several franchise and business contexts, so buyers need to identify which organization they are evaluating. The most commercially significant franchise use belongs to Focus Brands, a multi brand franchisor operating Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon, and Jamba. Focus Brands uses Better Together as the framework for its co branding initiative. By August 2023, the program had produced approximately 550 co branded sites globally, representing more than 1,100 branded units operating under shared rooftops or in co located formats. Separately, organizations called Better Together operate in workforce development, corporate training, executive coaching, nonprofit family services, and civic engagement. Those organizations have different leaders and missions. This overview brings those distinctions together so buyers do not evaluate a franchise opportunity using incomplete or promotional information.

Franchising provides a broad market context for evaluating a Better Together opportunity. The global franchise market is projected to grow by USD 565.5 billion between 2025 and 2030, at an annual compound rate of 10.0%. A separate forecast projects USD 2.24 billion in growth between 2024 and 2029, with a CAGR of 10.8%. In the United States, more than 811,000 franchise establishments contribute an estimated $897 billion to the national economy. In Canada, franchising is the twelfth largest industry, generating over CAD 120 billion each year and employing nearly two million workers. Canadian franchise unit counts were predicted to reach 71,000 by the end of 2022. The quick service restaurant segment is especially relevant to the Focus Brands application of Better Together. Demand for convenient food continues to increase as urbanization, dual income households, and digital ordering expand. Franchises that adopted digital ordering platforms and omnichannel retailing early have reported an average 25% increase in off premise sales. Co branding can broaden the customer offering under one roof, increase visit frequency, and produce more sales from a fixed real estate cost. Consumers also tend to favor familiar, established models during economic uncertainty. Focus Brands' Better Together framework responds to that demand by offering franchisees more revenue producing uses per square foot and customers a wider selection from brands they already know.

No dedicated Franchise Disclosure Document has published or disclosed specific franchise fees, royalty rates, advertising fund contributions, total investment, liquid capital requirements, or net worth requirements for a standalone Better Together franchise. Buyers therefore need to use broader co branded quick service restaurant parameters and general franchise benchmarks when building an initial financial model. Across franchising, initial fees for established consumer brands commonly range from $10,000 to $50,000 or more. Competitive emerging brands generally charge between $35,000 and $45,000. Royalty rates most often range from 4% to 9% of gross sales, while professional services and specialized concepts can reach 8% to 12%. Advertising fund contributions generally run from 1% to 4% of net sales. Total investment for quick service restaurant and retail formats routinely exceeds $100,000 after accounting for real estate, construction, equipment, inventory, employee payroll, working capital, and technology fees. Premium locations and multi brand formats can require investment into seven figures. Focus Brands designed its co branding model to create savings in rent and shared operating expenses, which can improve the economics for franchisees running combined units. Kristen Hartman has nearly 25 years of quick service restaurant experience and became president of Cinnabon and Carvel in 2018. She has been a central figure in advancing the co branding strategy. Financing for franchises in this category commonly includes SBA loan programs, which are widely used in quick service restaurants because buildout investments are asset backed, as well as veteran incentive programs maintained by many franchisors to support franchisee recruitment.

A Better Together co branded unit follows the operating logic of the Focus Brands platform. It can use shared labor and real estate while filling different parts of the day with complementary demand. Auntie Anne's brings morning and afternoon snack traffic. Cinnabon serves breakfast and impulse dessert occasions. Jamba attracts customers seeking smoothies and juice, while Carvel addresses frozen dessert demand that peaks in the afternoon and evening. Combining these patterns can reduce the slower periods often found in single brand locations. As of August 2023, the four primary configurations were Auntie Anne's with Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's with Cinnabon and Carvel, Auntie Anne's with Jamba, and Cinnabon with Carvel. The Cinnabon and Carvel format operates under the Cinnabon Swirl identity, and its first fully integrated location was scheduled to open in late 2023. Cross training can allow employees to work at multiple brand stations, reducing staffing needs compared with two independently operated locations. Training generally covers brand standards, food safety, equipment operation, and customer experience procedures. Focus Brands uses geospatial mapping, demographic information, and market analysis in territory and site selection. Expansion is considered in non traditional settings such as travel centers, drive thrus, and urban storefronts.

Because a separately operating Better Together concept has not been formally established with a published FDD at the time of this analysis, buyers must assess possible revenue through the Focus Brands co branding platform and broader quick service restaurant comparisons. The financial case for co branding is that two or more established brands operating under one franchisee can produce more revenue in the same footprint than either brand could produce alone, while spreading fixed costs such as rent, utilities, and management overhead. Focus Brands had assembled 550 co branded sites globally by August 2023, creating a substantial operating base for further unit level analysis. None of those possibilities is automatically negative, but each calls for additional review.

Focus Brands has expanded the Better Together co branding initiative to 550 sites globally, representing more than 1,100 branded unit equivalents. That scale reflects a multi year commitment to improving franchisee economics and customer convenience. Cinnabon Swirl shows a move beyond placing two separate brand footprints together. The format integrates Cinnabon and Carvel into one purpose built concept. Combining complementary brands into a unified customer experience can create a format that independent operators and competing franchisors may have difficulty reproducing because it requires control of both brand systems and their supply chains. Focus Brands' presence across Auntie Anne's, Cinnabon, Carvel, and Jamba also gives individual franchisees access to the company's supply chain scale, especially in categories exposed to commodity costs such as dairy, flour, and fresh produce. The company is investing in digital tools that include artificial intelligence scheduling, automated order processing, advanced data analytics for personalized marketing, and inventory optimization. These tools are intended to help co branded units pursue the documented 25% average increase in off premise sales achieved by early omnichannel adopters. Multi unit franchising is a stated priority. Area Development Agreements can give franchisees protected territories while requiring them to follow predetermined development schedules, creating a path for buyers who want to build a portfolio instead of one location.

A suitable Better Together investment candidate may approach the opportunity through Focus Brands or through one of the Better Together organizations in corporate training, workforce development, or nonprofit services. Across those settings, the profile includes operational discipline, the ability to build relationships, and enough capital reserves to support the ramp period experienced by new franchise units. In the quick service restaurant co branding model, food service or retail management experience is useful because the operator must maintain multiple brand standards, supervise teams, and apply consistent systems. Existing multi unit quick service restaurant operators may be well placed to use Area Development Agreements, which provide protected territories in exchange for committed development timelines. The workforce development and corporate training context includes organizations such as Better Together Group. That organization was founded on Zig Ziglar's philosophy of helping others achieve their own goals and is led by Dave MacDonald. His interest in blue collar workers grew from managing his family's maple syrup farm in Canada. Michael Masih's Better Together corporate training entity draws on more than 20 years of training and facilitation experience across corporate, educational, and nonprofit sectors and serves buyers of leadership development services across Canada. Expansion geography differs by entity. For the quick service restaurant model, the most suitable settings are generally high traffic retail corridors, airports, transportation hubs, and dense urban markets where enough foot traffic can support several complementary brands under one roof.

The Better Together opportunity, viewed through its main franchise application at Focus Brands, warrants careful review because its co branding strategy has reached 550 global sites while the quick service restaurant market continues to see digital adoption and off premise demand. Consumers also continue to favor familiar brands during uncertain economic periods. The global franchise market is projected to grow at a 10.0% CAGR through 2030, and digital focused quick service restaurant operators that adopted omnichannel systems early have reported a 25% average increase in off premise sales. Those conditions may favor franchisees with enough capital and operating capacity to support a well established platform. Independent research and comparisons remain necessary. PeerSense is a commercial capital advisory firm that introduces franchise buyers to SBA and conventional lenders. It is not a lender and does not fund or approve loans. Its due diligence resources include SBA lending history, Loan Activity Score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side by side comparison tools. Buyers can use those resources to compare Better Together with competing franchise opportunities rather than relying only on franchisor marketing materials. Review the complete Better Together franchise profile on PeerSense before signing or committing capital.