While the makeup of the Franchise Times Top 400 Health & Medical category is changing, with regenerative therapy, mental health and infusion concepts all experiencing growth, senior care brands still drive the lion’s share of sales.
The 12 senior care franchises on this year’s Top 400 list generated $7.1 billion in total sales for 2023, an increase of 11.5 percent. The largest player, Home Instead, closed out 2023 with $2.6 billion in systemwide sales, a 9.8 percent gain.
Franchise Times recently released its annual Top 400 list, a ranking of the largest franchises based in the United States by total systemwide sales. The Health & Medical category overall grew 11 percent, to $10.9 billion in total sales.
FirstLight Home Care saw a double-digit percentage increase as its sales hit $232 million, up 23.1 percent. The company introduced a new memory care program to its franchise network last year, and CEO Glee McAnanly said the need for those services is rising.
FirstLight CEO Glee McAnanly says connections between franchisees and referral sources in their communities are vital for growth.
“Two out of three people over 80 die with some form of dementia, so we’re looking at how do we make sure we’re taking care of those people,” she said.
Franchisees are focused on enhanced caregiver training and solidifying relationships with client referral sources, McAnanly continued, and the brand last year emphasized a “deep instead of wide” strategy with owners to help them maximize their territories. Thirty-six territories grew sales by $500,000 last year, she noted, and 13 grew by more than $1 million.
“A focus last year was getting franchisees back out and talking to referral sources in their communities,” she said. “The aim is to really blend our marketing in the digital space with making those community connections.”
Margaret Haynes, CEO of Right at Home, said last year brought an increased focus on business fundamentals and working with franchisees to leverage best practices in caregiver recruitment and retention. Right at Home hit $877 million in sales from 729 units last year, up 12.7 percent.
“We’re on the cusp of so much demand out there,” Haynes said. “And we need equal numbers of caregivers to take care of those individuals.”
Right at Home CEO Margaret Haynes says the brand is testing different tech tools that can work alongside caregivers.
An applicant tracking tool helps owners effectively engage with prospective caregivers, and through its innovation team formed in 2023 the brand is testing client monitoring tools and other technology “that works alongside the caregiver,” she said.
“We’re doing testing of passive and active monitoring in the home. It’s about how can we help people feel safe and give their families piece of mind,” Haynes said. “We don’t see technology taking the caregivers’ place … it’s maybe being that extra set of eyes or ears, while also not wanting it to feel intrusive.”
Elsewhere in the category, Minnesota-based Ellie Mental Health grew its unit count by 151 in 2023 to finish the year with 206 clinics and $65.3 million in sales.
“The destigmatization of mental health all around has gotten franchisees really excited to get their clinics open,” said CEO Erin Pash, a licensed clinician. A differentiator for Ellie Mental Health is its personalized therapist matching, which Pash said means there’s a “warm handoff versus a cold click on a website.”
In the chiropractic care space, the three franchises on the Top 400 did $628 million in total sales last year, led by The Joint Chiropractic with $488 million. By far the largest player with 935 units, The Joint’s sales were up 12.1 percent.
New on the list is 100% Chiropractic, which did $74 million in systemwide sales from 118 units. Healthsource Chiropractic finished 2023 with sales of $66 million from 130 units.