When Kugan Suppiah was 24, he wasn't thinking about climbing the corporate ladder. He was thinking about cookies.

The University of Oklahoma graduate spent months persuading his parents to invest with him in a Bang Cookies franchise in Oklahoma City after becoming convinced the gourmet cookie chain could succeed there.

Now 25, Suppiah is already scouting locations for a second store, though he doesn't necessarily see baked goods as his end goal.

"I've always been business-minded, so this was something that I've always wanted to get into," Suppiah said. "I'm definitely interested, down the line, in opening something of my own."

For now, he sees franchising as a way to get there.

He's part of a growing group of young entrepreneurs turning to restaurant franchising as a middle ground between traditional corporate careers and the risks of launching an independent startup.

Franchise brands say they're seeing increased interest from millennials and Gen Z buyers who want the freedom and ownership that come with running a business but value the training, support, and established customer base that the corporate connection provides.

Young entrepreneurs are buying into franchising

"A lot of Gen Z is less focused on following one traditional path and more interested in creating opportunities for themselves," said Ashleigh Ewald, a 23-year-old public policy graduate student and entrepreneur. "The appeal is really about independence and ownership."

At the sandwich and salad chain Chicken Salad Chick, executives say it's seeing a surge in younger franchise candidates, who frequently cite stability, structure, and built-in support as key reasons for exploring ownership. Gong Cha, a bubble tea franchise, said it has also seen growing interest from younger prospects. At 16 Handles, executives for the frozen yogurt chain say more than half of current and incoming franchisees are millennials, including two 30-year-old finance professionals in Brooklyn who opened a location last summer while keeping their day jobs and are already preparing to open a second store.

Andrew Titus, president of United Franchise Group, said the shift is noticeable. Historically, many franchisees were in their 40s or 50s. These days, Titus said he increasingly encounters owners closer to his own age, 29.

"I've definitely seen more and more millennials, Gen Zs getting into business ownership," Titus said. He underscored that franchising offers a level of certainty many younger entrepreneurs find appealing because franchisees receive support, training, and a proven playbook for operating the business.

A lower-risk path to business ownership

For many younger entrepreneurs, franchising is less about avoiding work than avoiding unnecessary risk.

The model offers the opportunity to own a business, build equity, and make independent decisions without having to build a brand, operating system, and customer base from the ground up. For some, franchising is the next step in an entrepreneurial journey that started long before they signed a franchise agreement.

Amaan Bhanji, now 22, began planning his Graze Craze franchise during his senior year of high school. After two years spent finding a location, coordinating a buildout, and completing franchise training, he opened the Arlington, Virginia, business in 2024.

"I knew in my gut that I needed to build something of my own," Bhanji said. "Attending university and working for someone else just did not appeal to me."

Bhanji said franchise ownership offered something he felt he lacked at the time: structure.

"I had no experience with building, opening, and launching a successful business," Bhanji said, adding that collaborating with United Franchise Group, which owns and manages the charcuterie board franchise Graze Craze, offered him the tools and hands-on training to support his venture.

That desire for guidance and support is a recurring theme among younger franchisees. For many, the appeal of franchising is not simply ownership — it's learning how to operate a business while still having the opportunity to shape it.

Suppiah said he was drawn to Bang Cookies not only because he liked the product but because the brand was still young enough for franchisees to influence its direction. He pitched adding a curbside pickup window to his Oklahoma City store; the executives loved it, and Suppiah worked with them to refine its design and marketing strategy.

That kind of involvement can also benefit franchisors. Several executives told Business Insider that younger operators often bring fresh ideas around social media, community engagement, and customer engagement. At 16 Handles, executives said millennial and Gen Z franchisees have been particularly effective at turning online buzz and viral menu items into store traffic.

The next generation of franchise owners

Industry executives say younger franchise candidates are also gravitating toward brands that feel authentic, community-driven, and culturally relevant. Still, there are significant barriers to entry.

Ewald said many of her peers are interested in entrepreneurship, but startup costs remain a major obstacle.

Titus said the high startup costs associated with larger, household-name chains such as McDonald's often put them out of reach for first-time operators, instead pushing many younger entrepreneurs toward smaller, faster-growing concepts with lower barriers to entry and more opportunities to help shape the business.

Bhanji used savings from jobs he'd held since middle school, support from family members, and financing to launch his Graze Craze franchise. It was worth the risk, he said, to have a proven framework to follow while learning how to run a business.

Suppiah sees franchising similarly. Running his Bang Cookies location has given him a crash course in operations, marketing, site selection, hiring, and securing an SBA loan — skills he hopes to apply to future ventures, including potentially launching a Malaysian-inspired concept rooted in his family's background.

Like Suppiah, Bhanji sees franchise ownership as a beginning rather than an endpoint.

"I have many aspirations and am open to continuing with franchise ownership as well as other ventures," Bhanji said. "I'm not closing any doors."

In a generation often associated with side hustles, creator businesses, and multiple income streams, franchising is increasingly being viewed not as a retirement plan or a fallback career, but as an entry point into entrepreneurship.