Franchising in Ukraine has gone from being a fashionable trend to a tool that determines the pace of small business development.
After 2022, this model changed radically. Whereas franchising used to be associated with coffee shops or stores with a ready-made identity, it is now primarily a structured form of partnership where both parties act as co-investors in a joint process.
From copying to partnership
The traditional Ukrainian franchise of the past decade was a “turnkey template”: a brand, a technology map, marketing, short training, and launch.
The model worked when the market was growing and consumers had predictable purchasing power.
After the war, the situation changed. Entrepreneurs are no longer looking for a “ready-made business idea”; they are looking for a reliable partner who will share the risks with them.
A franchisor is no longer just a license seller, but a co-investor who helps open a facility, optimize costs, set up supplies, and negotiate with banks or communities.
It is this change in thinking — from “copying” to “participation” — that has made franchising a viable tool even in a crisis economy.
Ukrainian market: who stayed afloat
2025 showed that it was not the franchises with the most famous brands that survived, but those that were able to adapt their partner support structure.
Among the most resilient sectors are:
- food retail and coffee formats, which reduced their floor space and switched to a “to go” format;
- domestic services (cleaning, logistics, technical maintenance), which have stable demand regardless of the season;
- micro-franchises in manufacturing, where entrepreneurs receive technology rather than a brand: recipes, drawings, access to suppliers;
- IT and education franchises, which are growing the fastest thanks to digital models and remote launch processes.
The main trend is “small format + strong management system.” That is, the facility is small, but support is centralized: CRM, training, logistics, joint purchasing, marketing analytics.
How the logic of franchising has changed
Previously, the model was simple:
the franchisee pays an initial fee — the franchisor provides the brand and technology.
Now it is more like a risk syndicate:
the franchisor participates in the opening, helps find premises, sometimes finances part of the equipment, and the partner pays royalties only after reaching operating profit.
In other words, the contract has become flexible — with phased payments, profit sharing, franchise buyout terms, or joint entry into a new market.
Another important change is data transparency.
Franchisees have full access to management systems, can see expenses, and can forecast profits.
In turn, franchisors control quality not with fines, but with shared performance indicators.
How much will it cost to launch in 2025?
The market is no longer divided into “expensive” and “cheap” franchises. It is not the numbers that matter, but the structure of costs and returns.
The average launch model looks like this:
- investment — from $15,000 to $60,000 for a small format (coffee shop, service, educational center);
- payback period — 18–36 months depending on the sector;
- royalties — more often than not fixed, but as a percentage of net profit (5–10%).
But the main change is that in 2025, franchises without an initial fee appeared.
The brand earns not from the sale of “rights” but from long-term cooperation.
For the entrepreneur, this reduces the risk of entry, and for the franchisor, it creates a real incentive to support the partner.
How investors think
Investors looking at franchises today evaluate not the “brand” but the profit system: how clearly the processes are described, whether there is a financial model, how quality control is carried out, and whether there are plans for scaling.
Successful franchise networks offer not just a business model, but a risk management infrastructure: analytics, training, marketing support, flexible logistics.
It is these elements that distinguish growing franchises from those that sell a “folder with a logo.”
For an entrepreneur, franchising is a way to accelerate market entry, not to “buy stability.”
Therefore, the main question to ask before signing an agreement is: will I receive support in real processes, not just a brand book?
Forecast
In 2025–2026, several Ukrainian B2B franchises are expected to emerge in the construction, agricultural services, and logistics sectors.
There is also a growing trend toward social franchises: models where part of the profits are directed toward social or environmental initiatives.
Franchising is gradually becoming not just a format for scaling up, but a mechanism for sustainable business that brings together entrepreneurs, communities, and investors into a single development system.
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Ukrainian franchising is maturing.
It is moving away from the slogan “turnkey business” and towards partnership management.
Franchises are no longer sold — they are built together.
And that is why in 2025, the networks that survive are those that think not as brands but as ecosystems: transparent, adaptive, ready to work not with buyers but with partners.
