Hospitality franchising: more brands, fewer outlets in 2025

Dutch hospitality franchising presented a mixed picture in 2025. The number of franchise brands increased, while the number of outlets fell. Meanwhile, their combined turnover rose from €4.8 billion to €5.2 billion. These figures come from the Dutch Franchise Association (NFV), as reported by trade publication Frituurwereld on 6 November.

Five more brands, 42 fewer outlets

At the end of 2025, the Netherlands had a total of 157 hospitality franchise brands. That was five more than in December 2024. The figures cover a wide range of concepts, from restaurants, fast-food outlets and hotels to lunch cafés, coffee shops, ice cream parlours and Dutch snack bars. They therefore represent a broad cross-section of franchising, rather than only chains with similar menus or business models.

The growth in the number of brands was accompanied by a decline in outlet numbers, from 4,270 to 4,228. That represents a net loss of 42 outlets, or a fall of around 1 per cent.

This combination matters when interpreting the figures. More brands do not automatically mean more franchised businesses. The range of concepts expanded, but their combined outlet network became smaller. These totals do not show which brands accounted for the decline, or how many individual openings and closures lay behind it.

Frituurwereld contrasts this decline with the longer-term trend: over a longer period, the number of franchised hospitality businesses has grown. The year 2025 therefore marked an interruption to that growth. A single year of falling outlet numbers is not, in itself, enough to establish a lasting reversal.

Turnover rises despite a smaller network

According to the report, combined franchise turnover in hospitality grew by just over 8 per cent. The total rose from €4.8 billion to €5.2 billion, a difference of €400 million based on the published, rounded figures.

The outlet network and turnover therefore moved in different directions. There were fewer outlets at the end of the year, but total annual turnover was higher. For anyone tracking developments in franchising, this illustrates why counting new locations alone gives an incomplete picture.

However, the rise in turnover says nothing directly about the profitability of individual operators. The figures provide no breakdown of costs, margins, customer numbers or average spending. Nor do they show how much of the turnover growth came from prices, higher sales volumes or changes in the mix of businesses within the network.

Assessing a particular franchise brand therefore still requires additional information. Higher national turnover cannot simply be taken to mean better results for every franchisee. Equally, fewer outlets do not automatically mean that the remaining businesses are performing less well.

Fast-food chains and Dutch snack bars also show signs of stagnation

American fast-food franchise brands account for a substantial share of the total. According to the report, twelve of these brands together generate around €2 billion in turnover. Their performance is therefore relevant to the wider picture of hospitality franchising in the Netherlands.

Figures from Foodservice Watcher also show that the number of restaurants operated by American fast-food brands fell for the first time in years. Frituurwereld describes the decline as minimal. The number of KFC outlets in the Netherlands remained unchanged in 2025.

Dutch snack bar franchises also experienced stagnation. Frituurwereld refers to an earlier count covering more than 25 large and small brands. Together, they had 817 outlets at the start of 2026, compared with 851 at the start of 2025: a reduction of 34 outlets.

These figures provide additional context, but do not fully explain the national decline. The report does not include a complete breakdown of the net loss of 42 outlets across all types of hospitality business. The different counts should therefore be considered alongside one another, rather than treated as figures that reconcile exactly.

How prospective franchisees can use these figures

For prospective franchisees, the figures chiefly highlight the need to assess three developments separately: the number of brands, the number of outlets and turnover. In 2025, these did not all move in the same direction. A wider choice of concepts coincided with a smaller network and higher combined turnover.

When speaking to a franchisor, it is therefore worth supplementing national figures with brand-specific information: how many locations opened and closed, how existing outlets performed and what profit remained after costs. These are questions for further investigation, not conclusions that can be drawn from the overall totals.

Practical takeaway: use turnover growth as a starting point for questions, not as proof of returns. Always assess a franchise opportunity on the results and development of the specific brand and location.