The climb up the annual Franchise Times ranking starts now for these five franchises, which generated noteworthy sales growth in 2024. Angry Chickz, Blue Kangaroo Packoutz, Houston TX Hot Chicken, Randy’s Donuts and Image Studios each turned in strong system growth performances last year, showing consumer and franchisee interest in restaurant, restoration and salon suite brands.
No. 410: In hot segment, Angry Chickz finds success by keeping it simple
Angry Chickz aims to cut down on menu complexity by focusing on one protein.
Repeating and scaling has been the name of the game for Angry Chickz in recent years as its franchise expansion got underway.
Brand leadership has focused on making sure the chicken chain’s model is simple to execute, with seven menu items and six spice levels. The approach has paid off, with systemwide sales jumping 35.4 percent in 2024 alongside unit growth of 16.7 percent.
The concept began as a Mediterranean restaurant, with founder David Mkhitaryan looking to follow in his father’s footsteps by serving the same cuisine. That attempt didn’t turn out how Mkhitaryan hoped. One night, though, he discovered Nashville hot chicken and decided to incorporate it on the menu in the form of tenders.
Peter Tremblay, chief operating officer of California-based Angry Chickz, said in a few weeks, 75 percent of the restaurant’s sales were the tenders alone. Seeing the potential, Mkhitaryan rebranded the restaurant into Angry Chickz, and sales continued to climb.
In 2024, the brand hit $55.5 million in systemwide sales, an increase of $15 million. It also ended the year at 28 locations, three of them franchised. Today, the Angry Chickz has more than 30 locations.
Tremblay said the brand has managed to turn out positive results thanks to market demand, efficient operations and a good value for customers.
“First and foremost, the chicken category is the most popular protein in QSRs right now by far,” Tremblay said of the crowded quick-service restaurant space. “That has really helped us. We also have a menu that reduces complexity and allows us to make the food repeatable, while maintaining high quality. Our portions are also large. It’s a good value at $15 for the size, and in the past five years, we’ve done just one price increase.”
To keep up the momentum, Tremblay said the brand developed a five-part strategy. The points include expanding into existing markets, growth in new markets with a target on the Midwest, opening in non-traditional spaces, increasing catering capabilities and creating an app.
—Matthew Liedke
Blue Kangaroo Packoutz is one of several restoration brands under Belfor Franchise Group.
No. 446: Blue Kangaroo Packoutz fills gap in disaster restoration
Floods, fires and other disaster events inevitably result in damage, and with most of the industry focused on the cleanup and structural property restoration, Belfor Franchise Group saw a gap in the market. The company, a multi-brand franchisor of home services and restoration brands such as Chem-Dry, 1-800-Water Damage and The Patch Boys, launched Blue Kangaroo Packoutz in 2019 to handle and restore the contents inside homes and businesses that experience a water, fire or other type of loss.
The creatively named Blue Kangaroo ended 2024 with 130 units and systemwide sales of $41 million to land on this ranking for the first time. President Tim Fagan said the brand fills a niche in the contents restoration industry.
“In the early days, the carpenter would just turn his belt sideways so his hammer doesn’t hit the china hutch as he’s packing out Mrs. Jones’ china into boxes,” said Fagan. It became apparent there was a need for a more professional approach to the pack-out process and for services to restore artwork, electronics, textiles and other items after a disaster.
“We weren’t the first to the market … but we can train it better, we have better facilities for hands-on training and we can attract the best talent for training, both the business practice and the practical end of doing an effective pack out,” he said, as Blue Kangaroo benefits from the scale and expertise across the Belfor platform.
Blue Kangaroo has national accounts with third-party administrators who handle claims for insurance companies, and franchisees also generate business by establishing relationships with general contractors and property management groups in their territories. Owners, said Fagan, continue to see “massive revenue growth,” and a regional coach model is proving effective as franchisees manage larger businesses.
“Over a third of our franchisees who’ve been with us for a minimum of three years are at over $1 million in revenue,” he noted. Average gross sales in 2024 were $753,014.
—Laura Michaels
No. 450: Houston TX Hot Chicken stays true to its roots as it grows
With backing from Savory Fund, Houston TX Hot Chicken is growing in multiple markets.
Hot chicken is all the rage, with more players joining in on the fun—and consumer spending—each year. Las Vegas-based Houston TX Hot Chicken believes it’s here to stay in the ever-competitive segment.
“A lot of brands, as they grow, they start to cut corners and find different ways of doing things,” President Brian Simowitz said. “One of the values we have is that if we make any changes, it has to improve quality. It’s really about staying true to who we are.”
Houston TX Hot Chicken makes its debut on the ranking this year, coming in at No. 450 and in the breakout brand portion of the list of 500 companies. The fast-casual concept ended 2024 with $40 million in total sales from its 22 units.
Racecar driver and social media influencer Edmond Barseghian founded the company, along with Houston Crosta, in Las Vegas in 2020. Its first location opened there a year later and by November 2023 it attracted investment firm Savory Fund, which bought a majority stake in the brand.
Though its unit count still sits under 30, the brand has dominated the marketing game with a strong social media presence out of the gate. As of September, the brand had 145,000 followers on Instagram and another 235,000 followers on TikTok.
Simowitz tied some of the brand’s social media flair to Barseghian’s own social media following, as he has hundreds of thousands of followers across his accounts.
Menu items include the brand’s original hot chicken sandwich, tenders, nuggets and loaded fries. As promised in the name, HHC prides itself on its spice level spectrum, ranging from honey butter to “Houston, We have a problem!” which requires customers to sign a waiver before consuming.
“I’m excited about our growth,” Simowitz said. “What really excites me is providing opportunities for the people that work for us … We’re seeing our team develop and seeing the future leaders that we’re going to have in this company.”
—Alyssa Huglen
California-based Randy’s Donuts is working to extend its presence beyond West Coast states.
No. 463: International growth gives Randy’s Donuts a sales and unit boost
The 35-foot donut sculpture on top of the Randy Donut’s in Inglewood, California, is visible from the 405 Freeway and to approaching aircraft at nearby Los Angeles International Airport. The 74-year-old brand that quickly caught on with the locals before becoming a tourist destination now wants to become a global name and has a development pipeline in place to make that happen.
With franchise agreements to open 75 stores in Mexico, 50 locations in Japan and dozens more in the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Malaysia, Randy’s Donuts is expanding its international reach. It already has units in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, and, in the United States, signed a 75-store deal in New York City with the first location scheduled to open in October.
“There’s less barriers to opening stores overseas in terms of permitting, building costs and labor laws. It’s far easier in a lot of countries and that’s why we’re focusing a lot of our attention on it at this time,” said CEO Mark Kelegian, who acquired Randy’s in 2015. “At the same time, we’re also searching for new markets here in the U.S.”
The brand finished 2024 with 43 units and $36.7 million in systemwide sales to make its debut on this ranking. “It’s only been in the last really 18 months or so that we have made the effort to really expand, and that’s OK. We’re not going anywhere, right? We’re not owned by a private equity firm. There’s no investor group here,” Kelegian said. “It’s just us and that’s we want to keep it that way, for now at least.”
Kelegian is betting on the company’s cult-like following in Hollywood and brand placements in box office films such as “Iron Man 2,” “Get Shorty” and “Crocodile Dundee,” and in TV shows such as “Arrested Development” to bolster expansion. The average unit volume is $1.4 million, and the top-performing franchise stores do more than $2 million in sales.
—Joe Halpern
No. 477: Diverse salon spaces help drive sales at emerging Image Studios
Image Studios is expanding in the fast-growing salon suite segment.
Customers demand convenience and Image Studios is trying to bring that to them. The salon studio franchise, No. 477, offers studio space to more than just hair stylists. At Image, space is available to tattoo artists, lash specialists, waxers, nail artists and more, so customers can visit one building for multiple beauty appointments.
“We build and engineer our spaces to be very flexible in how they function,” said CEO and co-founder Jason Olsen. Last year, Image Studios posted $32 million in system sales with 96 units. Sales were up more than 77 percent, while unit count increased by 39 percent.
The beauty and wellness industries are robust and consumers are willing to spend a lot to look and feel good. Hair stylists and other beauty professionals often come to a point where they feel ready to open their own salon, Olsen said.
“Going the traditional route, where you’re building out a location, is very expensive as a beauty pro,” he said. “That’s why salon suites are such a great fit because it gives them this turnkey platform to open up a business as a solopreneur.”
Image provides franchisees with resources to recruit beauty professionals to lease salon space and encourages renting to a diverse group of business owners. “You build this community of all sorts of beauty pros—and not just hair stylists—because then they can all start doing business with each other and sharing clientele,” Olsen said. “That just helps grow each of their businesses.”
In March 2024, MPK Equity Partners invested in Image Studios to grow the Salt Lake City-based brand. MPK is a former investor in Sola Salons, one of Image’s biggest competitors.
“They had really deep knowledge of our business model,” Olsen said. “They know how this works. … They really help us look at what are the hidden opportunities we can continually focus on to get some big objectives and growth over the next several years.”
—Emilee Wentland