Global Gobbling Restaurant franchises from all around the world could soon be just around the block from you.

Imagine sinking your teeth into a juicy hamburger topped withcrispy bacon and ripe pineapple slices. Wiping a glob of dressingfrom your lip, you eye dessert: peach mango pie.

The provider of these tropical treats, Philippines-basedfranchise Jollibee, has already opened five stores in California.Although Jollibee isn't franchising at the moment, itspopularity has attracted interest from several investment firms.Will ethnic foods offered by non-U.S.-based companies like Jollibeebecome the next big franchise trend? Ron Paul, president ofChicago-based research and consulting firm Technomic Inc., cautionspotential franchisees not to get caught up in all the buzz."The same rules you would tell anybody about a franchise applyhere," Paul says. "If you're the first to trysomething in a new market, it's always risky. The fact thatit's proven somewhere else doesn't prove it works [in theUnited States]."

While it's true nothing is a sure thing (you shouldinvestigate any new franchise before buying), we've spottedsome unique restaurants that have earned followings in othercountries and demonstrate true crossover potential. One centrallink between these concepts: they hit a nostalgic chord withdifferent cultures in the United States. For example, Marcel R.Portmann, International Franchise Association (IFA) vice presidentof emerging markets and global development, points out, "Witha lot of Hispanics [living] in states such as Florida, Texas andCalifornia, we're starting to see Latin American concepts setup shop and cater to the Hispanic population."

The Brazilian franchise Bob's may not have cracked the U.S.market, as it hasn't opened stores here yet, but it's afast-food success in its homeland. Opened by Wimbledon tennis champRobert Faulkenberg in Rio de Janeiro in 1952, Bob's had nearly30 million customers in Brazil last year, and the company plans toexpand to Portugal.

California has become a target area for Jollibee, which has morethan 340 stores in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,Saudi Arabia, the United States and Vietnam, among others. Jollibeeserves up honey beef rice, a tropical-flavored buko pandan icecream twist and the Palabok fiesta: thin Chinese noodles and meatsauce topped with smoked fish, deep-fried pork skin, bean curd,sliced boiled eggs and spring onions.

In the past, ethnic food was only to be found in shops set up byimmigrants in their own neighborhoods, but now foreignentrepreneurs have begun bringing their food to mainstream America.Apigent Solutions chair Jim Peterson has represented food-serviceinterests for more than 20 years as a board member of the IFA andthe National Restaurant Association, but only recently has he seenthese companies popping up in the United States. "I see a bitof a push on ethnic-food concepts either coming over on their ownas franchisors or being consolidated with American companies and[becoming] available for franchising here," Peterson says.

Popular European concepts have also exported ethnic foods to theUnited States. O'Brien's Irish Sandwich Bar has expandedthroughout Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom and has twostores in the Chicago area. Founded by Brody Sweeney,O'Brien's serves gourmet coffees, soups and sandwiches.Besides the traditional fixings, customers can choose fillings likeIrish Whiskey salami, beetroot, Ballymaloe relish or sweetcorn.

If you're looking for fresh franchise ideas, it might bewise to look globally. As director of the Institute for FranchiseManagement at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota,Cheryl Babcock has noticed increasing franchise development inother countries. "It doesn't matter if it's from Asia,Europe or wherever," she says. "A few years down theroad, some of these homegrown systems will start looking to theU.S. marketplace." That seems to be happening sooner thanexpected.

Contact Sources

• Apigent Solutions, (800) 664-8228, jgrosse@apigent.com
• Crest Foods Inc., fax: (214) 850-4491, zdalal@bychip.com
• International Franchise Association, 1350 New York Ave.N.W., #900, Washington, DC 20005-4709, Marcel@franchise.org
• University of St. Thomas, crbabcock@stthomas.edu,www.stthomas.edu/franchise