--- title: "5 Reasons to Buy a Wing Zone Franchise in 2019" url: https://burnaze.com/article/7781b1ba-8384-4ae3-a5cc-f6f4a1951b01 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/5-reasons-to-buy-a-wing-zone-franchise-in-2019-2711373 category: "Chicken" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Chicken" published: 2019-10-24T15:10:44.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:43:51.161Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/0b417cd6f8f2a168cf4c8b22286632529522.jpg --- # 5 Reasons to Buy a Wing Zone Franchise in 2019 **TL;DR:** Wing Zone, a global franchise with nearly 100 restaurants, is seeking franchisees to expand its brand, highlighting its unique flavors, digital marketing efforts, and commitment to customer satisfaction. The brand offers a low investment of approximately $250,000 and provides comprehensive support to its franchisees. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-10-24. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/5-reasons-to-buy-a-wing-zone-franchise-in-2019-2711373).* ## Key facts - Wing Zone has nearly 100 restaurants - Total investment is approximately $250,000 - Wing Zone offers 17 unique wing flavors ## Story Wing Zone has been gifting the world with its tasty chicken wings since 1993, when founders Matt Friedman and Adam Scott started concocting wings and flavors in their fraternity house at the University of Florida. Fast forward to the present day, and Wing Zone is a global franchise with nearly 100 restaurants and 17 unique and delicious wing flavors that are beloved by the brand’s enthusiasts, who are lovingly referred to as “Flavorholics.” The brand is actively seeking franchisees that have a passion for spreading the wing love, especially in mid-tier markets close to major universities. Here are five reasons why Wing Zone is on its game: ## Digital marketing efforts 1. Wing Zone has revamped its digital marketing efforts with the goal of improving the guest experience. Wing Zone has launched a 360-degree digital marketing campaign to get an all-encompassing view of the consumer journey. The goal is to engage with consumers and provide a unique guest experience, focusing on everything from text messaging to email blasts. As the brand has several restaurants located close to major universities, this includes doing a Basketball Bracket Challenge and taking advantage of other big moments during the college and professional sports seasons. To that end, the brand is utilizing the services of the digital marketing agency Scorpion , which is providing Wing Zone with “a bevy of digital marketing” tools, according to Michael Vaughn, Director of Field Marketing, including search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), digital advertising and online review management. “Wing Zone is on a full plane when it comes to embracing the digital aspects of marketing and the stuff we’re doing now is the best we’ve ever done,” said Vaughn. “We’re embracing social media and being very active and engaging on all of our social media platforms.” ## Menu innovations 2. Menu, delivery and packaging innovations mean that the brand is staying modern without losing its customer focus. Wing Zone has been a food delivery trailblazer since its founding, as the brand offered delivery at a time when that option was rarely available outside of the pizza category. The brand continued to push the envelope in 2019. For one, Wing Zone implemented third-party integration, allowing customers to get their flavor fix through third-party delivery providers such as GrubHub and DoorDash, which are now automatically integrated into the brand’s POS system. “We don’t have to have tablets,” said Matt Friedman, CEO. “Orders are automatically processed and printed in our kitchen. This has been hugely beneficial in terms of order accuracy and labor savings.” In terms of packaging, Wing Zone has exhibited environmental awareness by switching from plastic to paper bags and testing cardboard takeout containers. The brand also expanded its menu with the addition of Thigh Wings, Pretzel sticks and funnel cake fries, thereby giving guests even more options to enjoy—not to mention additional revenue streams for franchisees. “Menu innovation was instrumental in 2019,” Friedman said. “We launched our Zesty Breaded Wings and our Thigh Wings . We also introduced new desserts and appetizers.” ## Investment and support 3. Wing Zone’s low investment widens the prospective franchisee pool and helps the brand stay competitive in the mid-tier markets it favors. With an all-in investment of approximately $250,000 including equipment, build out, signage and POS, Wing Zone’s total cost of entry is well below other food franchises, Friedman said. “This can open the brand’s franchising opportunity to more prospective franchisees who might be a good fit. Most franchisees are injecting about $75,000 in cash and borrowing the rest,” Friedman said. “We partner with people that have a passion to be a Wing Zone franchisee. It’s truly about finding the right franchise candidate in the right market and helping them be successful.” Establishing a presence in mid-tier markets ensures that real estate and labor costs remain moderate. “It’s not that Wing Zone is avoiding bigger cities like Nashville and Orlando, it’s just that we like the idea of going into markets with 50,000 to 75,000 people where we can really own the market with one to two restaurants,” Friedman said. And on that note, the brand is only looking to expand into markets that are geographically close to the Wing Zone headquarters in Atlanta. Wing Zone support is just a short drive or flight away. “This allows us to support and visit franchisees more often,” Friedman said. 4. Wing Zone offers incomparable franchisee support that starts with discovery and extends beyond a store opening. “Wing Zone prides itself on doing a phenomenal job when it comes to prospective and new franchisee support,” Friedman said. “We take prospective franchisees through the entire discovery process, from the first call to the application process to inviting them to Atlanta. We only meet with prospects one-on-one. We don’t do group franchise days. We want to get a feel for them.” Once a franchisee signs on with Wing Zone, the brand provides real estate site selection support to help them find the right location. New franchisees also go through Wing Zone University, a 21-day training program held in the brand’s training restaurant in Atlanta. “We are onsite for 12 days—five days prior to opening and seven days after opening—to provide training, marketing, and onboarding support,” Friedman said. Ultimately, Wing Zone is very much operating in a space all its own. Never mind that the brand already focuses on markets that tend to be ignored by other brands. Its focus on wings—and making sure those wings are the best gosh darn wings anyone has ever eaten—means the brand has carved out a very special niche for itself. “We are not in a crowded segment,” Friedman said. “Not many brands can say that, especially if you look at pizza or subs or burritos. We are one of a few national brands that focuses on the fast casual chicken category and we are specifically centered around wings. When Wing Zone opens up in a new market, it’s something new and innovative, and that allows us to come out of the gates with very strong sales.” With so many brand innovations taking place, not to mention low investment costs, Wing Zone is clearly a franchise worth pursuing in 2019. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Restaurants (sector) - franchise expansion (topic) - menu innovation (topic) - franchisee support (topic) - DoorDash (company) - digital marketing (topic) - Grubhub (company) - Wing Zone (company) - Scorpion (company) - investment and support (topic) - Wing Zone investment in Scorpion (deal) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/5-reasons-to-buy-a-wing-zone-franchise-in-2019-2711373). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/7781b1ba-8384-4ae3-a5cc-f6f4a1951b01).