The Future 50: Growth brands slowed their roll last year

This year’s Future 50 ranking of the country’s up-and-coming growth brands is more caffeinated than in past years. But its growth certainly wasn’t.

A year in which overall chain sector growth was muted, at best, can also be seen in the results from the industry’s growth brands. Median sales growth among the Future 50 chains was 22.8%. That was just over half the rate of the previous year, when median growth was 40.4%.

Unit count, too, was more muted. The median Future 50 chain in 2025 grew unit count by 19.1%, compared with 32% the previous year.

The more muted growth comes as the chain sector slowed overall last year. Sales among the Top 500 chains last year grew at their slowest, non-pandemic rate since the Great Recession. Consumers slowed restaurant spending, and that slowdown did not leave alone the nation’s growth brands.

That said, the chains that did generate strong growth last year included a lot of brands that specialize in breakfast.

Coffee chains, family-dining chains and a spare bagel or donut brand represented nearly a third of the chains in the ranking, continuing a strong period of development in the morning daypart.

The ranking, compiled by Restaurant Business sibling company Technomic, features restaurant chains on the very bottom of the Top 500 ranking, plus many chains just outside that list. They generated less than $50 million in sales last year, and the brands had between five and 88 locations.

As has been common in recent years, coffee chains held several spots on this year’s ranking.

Six chains on the ranking are quick-service coffee chains, including the 44-unit Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Company, which grew sales at nearly 80%, Just Love Coffee (13.4% sales growth), Qahwah House (56.5%), Alfred Coffee (13.2%), Bad Ass Coffee Company (22.2%), and 787 Coffee Co. (14%).

Coffee chains have taken off in recent years amid the growing success of cold, caffeinated beverages. Brands like Dutch Bros, 7 Brew, Scooters, and others have helped fuel the development of numerous other chains hoping to take advantage of consumer demand for more beverage variety.

Yet even those chains grew more slowly than the previous year. The median coffee chain on the ranking grew 33.2%, compared with 48.1% last year.

There are two fast-casual coffee brands on the ranking, too, including Sweet Paris Creperie & Café (27.4% growth) and LaLa Land Kind Café (47.2%).

One of the industry’s more under-appreciated segments is the family-dining segment, and in particular the breakfast-and-lunch segment, which has continued to generate growth within the family-dining business.

There are six family-dining chains on the ranking, making them more prevalent than traditional casual-dining brands. None of them are open past lunch.

They include chains like the 27-unit Egg Harbor Café (11.5% growth), The Big Biscuit (11.4%), the 19-unit Over Easy (17%), Hash Kitchen (14.1%), Scramblers (10.3%), and Wild Eggs (13%).

The fastest-growing chain in the U.S. last year was a bagel concept. PopUp Bagels, based in Westport, Connecticut, has been opening locations at a breakneck pace in recent years. System sales grew 189% last year, when the chain finished with 23 locations after opening another 14 shops.

PopUp Bagels was founded in 2020 and grew fast enough to attract an investment from the investment firm Stripes. It started franchising in 2024, paving the way for ultra-fast growth.

There are fewer chicken chains on this year’s ranking, but there are still a few of them. Four Future 50 chains specialize in chicken, including fast-casuals Waldo’s Chicken & Beer (43.8% growth), Birdcall (16%), and Alpaca Chicken (16.4%), along with the quick-service chain Wing Snob (38.5%).

That’s fewer than the seven chicken chains last year. But chicken, much like coffee and other beverages, remains a target for growth-minded restaurant operators.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.