Your logo isn't your brand.
One supplier's warning, Domino's $5 beta test and where franchise growth is moving next.
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Thursday, August 27, 2026
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Today at a glance: A branded product worth keeping, a $5 beta test, growth without a traditional storefront and a package customers may not want to throw away. Plus, Tropical Smoothie's next growth leader, Chick-fil-A's all-day twist and one question for franchisors who know the supplier market.
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| Franchise News & Articles |
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 If It Ends Up in the Trash, It Wasn't Branding Franchise brands sweat every detail customers see, then hand the products people actually take home to whoever can order them fastest. LR Paris CEO Francis Pierrel says that's backward, and his alternative starts with one deceptively hard question. What should customers want to keep? |
 Tim Hortons Made the Box Part of the Magic The Harry Potter menu gets attention. But the sharper move may be what happens before the first bite: a mystery reveal, temperature-activated cups and packaging designed to travel farther than the food. See what the packaging is built to do. |
 What If the Traffic's Already There? Airports, military bases, campuses, hospitals, supermarkets and travel centers can solve one of expansion's hardest problems before the doors open. But these formats come with their own operating trade-offs. See where brands are finding their next footprint. |
| Franchise Executive Brief |
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 Domino's Is Paying Customers to Find the Friction A $5 bounce-back offer looks like a promotion. Underneath it is a live test of the chain's redesigned digital ordering experience, with feedback, loyalty and another purchase folded into the same move. See what Domino's is really testing. |
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Which FSO Would You Put Your Name Behind?
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 Chick-fil-A Put Chicken & Waffles on the Clock The chain's fall menu takes a 2025 market test nationwide, with breakfast and entrée versions built for different parts of the day. The interesting part isn't only what's between the waffles. See how Chick-fil-A is using 'Newstalgia.' |
 Tropical Smoothie Just Hired for the Next 900 Joe Sieve steps into a new growth role as the brand reaches 1,750 cafes with more than 900 locations in its pipeline. His résumé tells you what Tropical Smoothie expects next. See why this hire matters now. |
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The easiest thing to scale is recognition. The harder thing is participation.
This week's stories keep circling that difference. LR Paris asks whether branded products are worth keeping. Tim Hortons turns packaging into an experience. Domino's uses a promotion to pull customers into the testing process. Non-traditional locations meet people where they already are. Tropical Smoothie puts a veteran growth operator behind a massive pipeline, and Chick-fil-A gives customers a new way into an old favorite.
A logo can identify the brand. It can't do the whole job. The strongest systems give customers, franchisees and partners a reason to take part.
If you've worked with an FSO you'd recommend, put a name forward here.
Tim Katsch
Founder, Franchise Brief
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