Bojangles’, the popular, fast-growing restaurant operator and franchisor renowned for its bold, Southern-inspired recipes, announced that it has been named to Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Bojangles’ has been listed number 57 overall out of the top 500.
The prestigious award validates the franchise development progress the company has made in the past year. The brand had 749 restaurants across 11 states and Washington, D.C. as of September 24, 2017.
“We are honored to receive this ranking,” says Randy Icard, Bojangles’ Vice President of Franchise Development. “We look forward to working alongside our new and existing franchise partners to share the Bojangles’ experience and our freshly-made food across the Southeast and into new markets.”
The key factors that go into Entrepreneur’s evaluation include costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. All franchises are given a cumulative score based on more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500 in ranking order.
“This year’s Franchise 500 ranking features both up-and-comers who bring fresh ideas to an ever-changing industry, as well as savvy stalwarts that have thrived for decades. We are proud to highlight and celebrate them all,” says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur. “Our results show that the industry is strong—and that the most enduring franchisors are those who learn to balance innovation with reliability. That’s how to attract new customers while keeping the old ones happy.”
For 40 years, fans have enjoyed Bojangles’ proprietary, made-from-scratch products that offer a flavor profile unlike anything in the market. The menu features southern classics with Bojangles’ one-of-a-kind flavors, including fresh, never frozen, hand-breaded bone-in chicken, buttermilk biscuits made from scratch every twenty minutes, salads, sandwiches, flavorful fixin’s like green beans and Bojangles’ Cajun Pintos, and Legendary Iced Tea steeped the old-fashioned way.
Over its 39 years in existence, the Franchise 500 has become both a dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. Bojangles’ position on the ranking is a testament to its strength as a franchise opportunity.
