Raising franchise standards in Belgium

Belgium’s franchise story sits within the wider international development of branded business networks, rather than a clearly established single starting date. An important Belgian milestone came on 1 February 2006, when legislation on pre-contractual information for commercial cooperation agreements entered into force. These disclosure requirements later became part of Book X of the Code of Economic Law, giving prospective franchisees a formal information framework before entering a commercial partnership.

Today, Belgium has an established franchise community spanning food retail, restaurants, services, specialist shops and DIY. Its national association is the Belgian Franchise Federation, known as BFF in Dutch and FBF in French. Its 2022 market assessment identified 362 networks practising franchising and 9,460 outlets, with turnover of €19.6 billion including services. These dated figures offer a useful benchmark for understanding franchising’s place in Belgium’s retail and hospitality economy.