Highlights and Takeaways from the 2025 MUFC

Last month, Franchise Update Media hosted the 25th annual Multi-Unit Franchising Conference (MUFC) at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. The event drew a record of more than 2,600 attendees, which included more than 1,000 franchisees and 390 exhibitors and sponsors. The conference featured numerous education sessions that covered important industry topics, such as growth, planning, leadership, and logistics along with plentiful opportunities for peer-to-peer networking.

The day prior to the opening of the event featured an annual golf tournament at the Siena Gold Club and an evening welcome mixer for first-time MUFC attendees. The conference formally kicked off the next morning with opening remarks from Franchise Update Media's Chairman Gary Gardner and CEO Therese Thilgen, followed by MUFC Chair David Ostrowe.

Keynote speaker Daymond John, the founder and CEO of global lifestyle brand FUBU, then discussed some of the lessons he learned on his way to building his successful clothing brand. As an investor on the TV show "Shark Tank," John shared his "5 Shark Points" for success: set goals, do your homework, find "amor," remember you are the brand, and keep swimming.

The opening day's first round of breakout sessions included timely topics, such as "Scaling Up: Expanding to 10 Locations," "Building Bench Strength To Support Infrastructure To Grow," "Customer Experience & Changing Buyer Behaviors," and "Discovering Your Next Brand: A Guide to Effective Research."

The general session that afternoon featured the topic of "Navigating the Path to Future Growth–Choosing the Right Brand Growth Options, Overcoming Challenges and Preparing for Obstacles in Turbulent Times."  The panelists shared insights about how they chose their brands and built their businesses over the years. They also talked about operating during challenging times, dealing with underperforming units, and other obstacles they faced in their journeys.

The second day of the conference featured another round of breakout sessions that included "Scaling Up: Expanding from 25 to 50 Locations," "Labor Management and Retention Tools & Strategies," "Key Insights for a Profitable Franchisee Sale," "Thriving Through Innovation," and "Essential Steps for Launching Your Next Brand."

The breakout sessions were followed by Day 2 keynote speaker Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow, a global innovation consultancy, who brought his futurist views and predictions for emerging technology and consumer innovation and suggested ways for businesses to thrive in this new era.

"We are at the dawn of a new industrial revolution," he said, adding that AI will change the scale, speed, sustainability, and security of our world while also transforming the roles of business leaders.

Following lunch, the 2025 Most Valuable Performer (MVP) Award winners were recognized. FRANdata CEO Darrell Johnson then presented his annual overview of the "State of the Economy" and the "State of Franchising." He predicted that franchising would add more than 20,000 units and more than 210,000 jobs and see output increase by 4.4% during 2025.

The afternoon brought another round of breakout sessions, and topics included "Scaling Up: Growing Beyond 50 Locations," "Media Training for Franchisees," "Funding Diversification & Management," and "Optimizing Real Estate Investments for Future Wealth." At the conclusion of each day, attendees adjourned to the exhibit hall, where they enjoyed cocktails, networking and dealmaking opportunities.

The final morning of MUFC featured two workshop sessions, "Key Business and Legal Issues for International Franchise Agreements and Supply Chain Agreements" and "Strategies to Address Underperforming Units."

Next year's Multi-Unit Franchising Conference will be at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, March 24 to 27, 2026. For more information, visit www.multiunitfranchisingconference.com in the coming months.

MUFC BY THE NUMBERS

Aggregated statistics from the 2025 MUFC