Claromentis in Foodservice Equipment Journal: Franchises of the Future

Key Takeaways

Our CEO, Nigel Davies, was recently featured in Foodservice Equipment Journal (Page 28) with an analysis piece on how franchise organisations are reshaping their operations for 2026. Drawing on new Claromentis research, the article explores why consistency and AI are emerging as twin priorities for franchise leaders and why the real gains come from consolidation, not just automation.

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Consistency and AI: two priorities, one foundation

The latest Claromentis research paints a clear picture of where franchise leaders are focusing their attention in 2026. Improving operational efficiency and consistency across the network came out as the top priority, cited by 23% of respondents, with AI integration close behind at 22%.

What's telling is how closely these two goals are linked. You can't deploy AI effectively across a distributed network if every location runs slightly differently. AI needs reliable processes, standardised information, and clear governance to deliver value. Without that foundation, your ‘intelligent’ AI doesn’t help, it adds to and amplifies complexity.

The research also highlights strong interest in employee engagement and collaboration (17%) and compliance and audit readiness (17%). These all point towards the same underlying need: getting the operational basics right across every site, so that everything else — from AI adoption to audit preparation — has something solid to build on.

AI shouldn’t mean giving up control

As Nigel points out in the article, franchise leaders aren't resisting AI. They want it. But they want it on their terms.

That means AI that is secure, measurable, and aligned with the policies, processes and training the business already relies on. Not AI that introduces new complexity into an already distributed operating model.

In a franchise environment, the risk isn't that the network will reject AI. It's that individual franchisees will adopt it in their own way, with their own tools, and without any central oversight. Multiply that across dozens or even hundreds of locations and you've got a serious governance challenge on your hands.

The solution is to channel AI adoption through a single platform with clear guardrails. This means you retain control, but your franchisees can also trust that everything they’re doing is approved, compliant, and consistent with your network’s best practices.

The gains from consolidation go beyond automation

One of the most important points Nigel makes in the piece is about the less obvious benefits of bringing tools together. Streamlining workflows matters, but so does the everyday operational friction that consolidation removes.

Think about what happens when a franchise network runs on multiple disconnected systems.

• Finding the documents takes longer than it should. And even when you do find it, is it the right one? Is it the latest version?
• Changes get communicated through some channels but not others, meaning people miss vital updates from HQ.
• Duplication across all your documents, processes and policies starts to creep in as people can’t find what they need.
• Frontline teams spend their time getting frustrated switching between platforms instead of getting on with their work.

When you consolidate communications, training, policies and processes into a single digital workplace, those small daily inefficiencies start to disappear. And teams across the network can work consistently without being told to because the system makes consistency the path of least resistance.

For hospitality franchises in particular, where teams are dispersed, turnover is high, and people often work irregular hours, this simplicity is how you protect standards at scale.

Compliance as a byproduct, not a burden

The research also underlines a growing emphasis on compliance and audit readiness across the franchise sector. But as Nigel argues, compliance in franchising shouldn't be treated as a standalone initiative. It works best when it's a natural outcome of consistent operations.

When every location follows the same process, uses the same templates, and records the same information in the same way, compliance evidence generates itself. People can access the right information and follow the right steps quickly. Meaning that your compliance stays consistent and correct even in busy franchises where employees are not compliance specialists.

Improving audit readiness, then, is less about adding more rules and more about making the existing rules easy to follow. Provide franchisees with clear documentation and simple processes with reliable ways of showing what's been shared, read, and completed.

Read the full article in the March 2026 issue of Foodservice Equipment Journal (Page 28).

You can also explore the findings from our franchise digital workplace research here.

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