When Technomic released its 2007 Top 100 Emerging Chains Concept Report, it looked at the multiple, if smaller, footprints emerging concepts were planting around the country.

The report culled the top-100 chains and split them into operational categories ranging from full- and limited-service to quick-casual, fine dining, casual dining, and mid-scale. It broke them down by cuisine using 16 concept clusters, including Mexican, pizza, sandwich, beverage, specialty items, breakfast, and a category of foodservice that went beyond restaurants.

“You’re seeing growth where it’s more of an evolving palate,” Tristano says, indicating that the country’s fascination with ethnic dishes and the spread of regional specialties shows no sign of slowing.

The continued push of fast-casual, limited-service concepts is particularly steady, he says. Among emerging concepts, this category fielded 20 different concepts, and seven unique concept or taste clusters.

For instance, instead of emerging franchises billing themselves as Asian cuisine or Mexican, there were descriptors of Thai or, as in the case of Pollo Campero, Guatemalan cuisine. The European Union is also getting into the U.S. mix as Mediterranean gets split among Italian, Greek, and Spanish quick-serve and fast-casual.

As a whole, those taste clusters led the limited-service segment and posted a 35 percent increase in franchised units in just one year, according to the Technomic data.

Looking at full-service chains, seafood represents one of the largest and fastest-growing clusters, Technomic reports. Two emerging players in particular, Fish City Grill and The Oceanaire Seafood Room, account for most of the growth.

On the lower-maintenance side of franchising, beverage brands, including purveyors of coffee, tea, juice, and smoothies, saw 8 limited-service concepts showing total unit growth of 38 percent in 2006.

“The emergence of limited-service is amazing,” Tristano says. “You’re talking about $170 billion in sales and an 11 percent growth rate. There’s a continued boom.”

While Technomic looks at how many restaurants are opening, it’s also important to note how many might close, Tristano says. In the past, brands that accelerated from company-owned to ambitious franchising plans too quickly often over-estimated their chances for national success and fizzled.

“When it comes to franchising, you see a lot more regional growth,” he says. “It’s hard to go national right away.”

Emerging concepts have followed a trend to build themselves around experienced franchisees, says FRANDATA’S Johnson. Even if those franchisees have no experience in restaurants, if they’re successful franchisees in other areas, the emerging quick-serve and fast-casual brands say they can make a sound business model work.

“It used to be train franchisees in my likeness and build from scratch,” Johnson says. Not anymore. “They’re looking for people who know the business of franchising, whether they know anything about the restaurant business or not.”