The fast food franchise market is pretty cutthroat, and I thought insiders would be fascinated to read about the one city in America that QSR franchises turn to when they're trying to get a true grasp of the market.
It's not New York. Not LA. Not Miami. No, QSR franchises turn to the heartland of America – Columbus, Ohio – when trying to gauge exactly what Americans want from a food franchise. As Business Insider has documented, everything from the McRib to entire food franchise brands have been launched in Columbus. So what is it that makes the small Ohio city so relevant to food franchises?
"Columbus is very representative of American food demographics," Denny Lynch of Wendy's told NRN, and with mean wages and racial demographics quite similar to the broader American makeup, Columbus, it seems is a micro version of America.
It helps too that Columbus has a huge youth population, thanks to Ohio State University. Franchises love the opinions influential young customers when launching new meals and deals. Also, advertising is quite cheap in the city and easy to track which means that franchises have a great sense of exactly how far their money is going.
The next time you're traveling through Columbus, remember that many food franchises are plotting the future of the industry in that very city.