Al Sultan Sweets: Establishing a Franchise Department and Planning Expansion from Lebanon

A project page published by Hodema details its work on franchise development for Al Sultan Sweets in Lebanon, describing a business comprising five bakeries and two factories. The work includes establishing a franchise department, preparing a development strategy and geographical expansion plan for Lebanon and overseas, and producing financial analysis and franchise and training manuals. For Lebanon’s franchise sector, these steps represent work on the organisational foundations for expansion, rather than an announcement of a new opening or a signed franchise agreement.

A dedicated department to manage franchising

In its project overview, Hodema states that it established a franchise department at Al Sultan Sweets. This is the central point of the report: the documented work concerns building a dedicated franchise management function within the brand, rather than simply expressing a general ambition to expand or find additional sites.

The page provides no details about the department’s organisational structure, staffing or authority. Nor does it specify when the department began operating. The project description therefore confirms that establishing the department was part of Hodema’s work, but does not establish the scale of its current activity or the number of franchise enquiries it handles.

For readers following Lebanese brands, this places the story at a different stage from news of store openings. The available material documents the preparation of tools for managing franchising, while the outcomes of that preparation—in terms of any resulting contracts or outlets—remain outside the published information. This distinction is essential to understanding what the project reportedly achieved and what would still require a separate announcement.

Geographical planning in Lebanon and overseas

The source states that Hodema prepared the brand’s development strategy and geographical expansion plan for Lebanon and overseas. The stated scope of planning therefore extends beyond the Lebanese market, but no target countries, potential cities or expansion timetable are identified.

The operating base described in the concept overview consists of five bakeries and two factories in Lebanon. The overview does not explain whether the bakeries are directly owned by the brand or operate under other arrangements, nor does it give their locations or the factories’ production capacity. These sites should therefore not be counted as franchised outlets, or the stated total treated as a tally of recent openings.

The combination of bakeries and factories provides context for the business covered by the project, without revealing details of its supply chain or how it might support future expansion. The geographical plan raises practical questions: how will sites be selected? What will the supply requirements be? Will the operating model differ between Lebanon and overseas markets? These are questions for further enquiry, not matters answered by the published page.

Financial analysis and franchise and training manuals

Hodema’s scope of work includes financial analysis based on the performance of a model outlet. This should be distinguished from the publication of financial results: the source confirms that the analysis was carried out, but provides no figures for sales, costs, profits or the investment required to open an outlet.

The material also contains no information on franchise fees, ongoing payments or the investment payback period. It cannot therefore be used to estimate a prospective franchisee’s expected return or to make financial comparisons between Al Sultan Sweets and other brands. The model outlet’s performance is the basis of the stated analysis, not a published promise of future performance at any location.

The page also mentions the preparation of franchise and training manuals for the brand. This adds a documentation element to the project, alongside management, planning and financial analysis. However, the contents of these manuals are not available, so the source alone cannot establish which training programmes they cover, how long training lasts or how staff are assessed.

Taken together, the stated elements show that the project addressed several aspects of preparing a franchise model. However, the existence of manuals, analysis and a plan does not, in itself, demonstrate that franchises have begun to be awarded or that overseas expansion has taken place. Those steps would require additional information about specific agreements, sites or partners.

What does this mean for Lebanon’s franchise sector?

The Al Sultan Sweets case highlights the organisational preparation behind franchising in Lebanon, rather than focusing solely on the number of openings. The stated work comprises establishing a department, planning geographical development, analysing the finances of a model outlet, and preparing franchise and training manuals. That is the extent of the story supported by the available source material.

The project page does not specify when this work was carried out or completed. It should therefore be read as an overview of a documented project, not as an announcement that a franchise programme launched on a particular date. Similarly, planning beyond Lebanon is not the same as having entered an overseas market.

Practical takeaway: Anyone considering a franchise opportunity with the brand can use these elements as a starting point for enquiries. Before basing an investment decision on the project description alone, they should seek confirmation that franchises are currently available and obtain details of the financial terms, support and training provided, and available territories.