With a strong presence nationwide, the kitchen sustainability franchise has supported growth to strengthen its existing reach while creating opportunities for both experienced and new franchise owners.
With 127 owners across 356 territories, Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions, the active fryer management franchise, has built a robust network of impactful entrepreneurs. After adding 16 new territories and achieving an over 17% year-over-year increase in systemwide revenue in 2023, the brand continues to grow. So far this year, the franchise has opened two new units and signed agreements for another two, including one of the highest resales in the brand’s history.
“The vast majority of territories across the U.S. have already sold, so our primary focus is on brand development and entrepreneurship through acquisition,” said Rob Totten, vice president of franchise development. “In Q1, we had one of our highest resales in the history of the brand at $1.343 million. As a mature brand, many of our franchisees are well-established and building to sell eventually. We’re proud to have a platform that empowers them to do that, reaping the rewards of their hard work while creating opportunities for new entrepreneurs to carry on the Filta mission.”
With a goal to reach $500 million in system-wide revenue by 2028, Filta is leveraging its existing relationships with major players in the food and hospitality industries to further solidify its foothold and drive ongoing revenue growth. This year, the franchise expanded its agreement with Whole Foods, the healthy food supermarket chain with hundreds of locations nationwide; added multiple Sonny’s BBQ restaurants to the portfolio; onboarded Margaritaville, a hospitality company that manages Jimmy Buffett-themed restaurants, retail stores and hotels; and began servicing Boeing manufacturing facilities.
Because interest rates are rising, Filta’s services are more popular than ever, and it is planning future growth accordingly.
“Value is always top of mind in uncertain economic landscapes, and the fact that we reduce consumption, which saves our clients money and speaks well to corporate responsibility, makes us an incredibly recession-resistant model,” Totten said. “The future is bright. We are exploring the possibility of additional service lines to support our owners in deepening their relationships with existing clients.”
In addition to resale opportunities, Totten said the team is working to backfill a few major markets, including Rochester and Buffalo, New York; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Madison, Wisconsin; and a large territory spanning from Atlanta to Macon, Georgia, with the goal of executing 15 total agreements this year.
Since its inception in 1996, Filta has positioned itself as the pioneering leader of active fryer management and environmental kitchen sustainability across the food and hospitality industries. Brought to North America in 2002 as a franchise concept, Filta is part of United Kingdom-based Franchise Brands (AIM: FRAN). The cornerstone of the company’s offering is FiltaFry, the complete fryer management service incorporating on-site micro-filtration as well as the removal, recycling, and replacement of cooking oil. Furthermore, the brand provides humidity control in cold storage devices through FiltaCool and prevents drain blockage through its grease-free drain foam brand FiltaDrain. Visit GoFilta.com for more information and GoFilta.com/franchise for franchise development opportunities.
