Duck Donuts® Named 2021 Best Buy in Exclusive Franchise Times Ranking

Designed to answer the question, “What’s the best franchise to buy?”, the Zor Awards is an industry-exclusive award program appearing in the March 2021 issue of Franchise Times. With a goal of introducing prospective franchisees to a few favored categories based on their individual preferences and style, the Zor Awards aids individuals exploring franchising by showing them how to make a selection using an astute business mindset.

“We are delighted to be a recipient of this year’s Zor Awards, as this recognition only further validates our growing franchise’s value proposition,” said Russ DiGilio, Duck Donuts founder and CEO. “We are always looking for our next great partner to join our franchise family, and we encourage those who are interested in delivering delicious donuts to those in their community to get in touch.”

The Franchise Times editorial staff selected 10 industry categories designed to reflect industry momentum and appealing segments within franchising. This year’s categories—intended as lively takes on hot industry segments—are Cluck, Cluck, Get Caffeinated, Spice Is Nice, Puppy Love, Clean Sweep, Lookin’ Good, Outside Pride, Guilt-free Eats, Indulge Me and Road Warriors.

Finalists were drawn from the Franchise Times Top 200+ database, which is a 22-year-old research tool covering more than 650 U.S.-based franchise systems.

After identifying contenders for each category, Franchise Times removed brands that did not publicly provide key information about profitability and overall financial performance, as well as brands that are not actively expanding within the United States. Beyond that, the research team examined six key financial metrics pulled from each brand’s franchise disclosure document, with a focus on profitability for the franchisee. That process also included editorial examination of management teams, product or service offerings, unit openings and closings, recent litigation and financial backing of the brand.

As the final component, Franchise Times hosted online voting during the month of December to reflect industry enthusiasm. This third metric received thousands of reader votes and was used to help determine the final winners.