After selling Mosquito Squad to Authority Brands, the backyard bug control franchise’s former parent Outdoor Living Brands is now a management-owned enterprise and is refocusing its attention to growing its four remaining backyard-focused brands.

Viddl-It, Wayback Burgers' new electric vehicle initiative, combines the on-site cooking of food trucks with on-demand delivery technology to, the company says, ultimately bring consumers a better product.

With its made-to-order donuts and array of toppings, franchisee Marcial Dieguez-Acuna says the “superior donut” offering of Duck Donuts will stand out to Chilean consumers and the experience of watching each donut get dipped and topped is unique to the market.

The “robust” job market will be a challenge in 2019 for people charged with selling franchises, says Jania Bailey, CEO of FranNet, in a new survey of International Franchise Association board members sharing their outlooks for 2019.

Two items are noteworthy in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last week by Mr. Gatti’s Pizza, Sovrano and Gigi’s Cupcakes: a $20.2 million term loan from Equity Bank to Mr. Gatti’s and Sovrano, its parent company, and a $9.2-million term loan from Equity Bank to Gigi’s Cupcakes, both made last June. Jeffrey Cohen of Cohen Law, the attorney representing 18 Gigi’s Cupcakes franchisees in ongoing litigation, wants to know, "What happened to the cash?"

Historically, shutdowns don’t affect the economy drastically. But there are plenty of headaches for business owners.

A year and a half after hanging with Raymond Griffin, founder of The Lost Cajun, the Cajun restaurant brand is celebrating the fruits of an impressive growth streak during the past 12 months. The brand opened 13 new restaurants during 2018.

Nominations closed this week for the annual Franchise Times Dealmakers project, so we’re knee-deep poring through the deals to select finalists to present to our judges in January. As usual, we’ve got a complex, ambitious and fascinating group of deals.

“Somebody was going to get there, and it was a real privilege to be the first one to hit that milestone,” says Trey Owen, speaking about United PF Partners surpassing the 100-club mark this past fall and becoming the first Planet Fitness franchisee to break that barrier.

The franchising model can take many forms, but the leader behind Panera says there are some key factors that enabled the brand’s incredible franchise growth over the last 26 years.

Consumers have been trained to be wary of health challenges, as there always seems to be some fine print or a big price tag. But CoreLife Eatery is doing everything it can to keep the brand’s healthy lifestyle challenge “pure.”