Franchises Over $1M

26 brands with a minimum initial investment of $1M or more, ranked by startup cost.

#	Brand	Min. Investment	Max. Investment	Royalty	Health
1	KFC (Traditional) QSR	$1.1M	$3.8M	5%	58
2	Sola Salon Studios Personal Services	$1.2M	$1.9M	—	89
3	Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen QSR	$1.2M	$3.9M	5%	89
4	Panera Bread Food	$1.3M	$4.7M	5%	74
5	Steak 'n Shake QSR	$1.3M	$2.3M	5%	58
6	Hardee's QSR	$1.4M	$2.6M	4%	72
7	Zaxby's QSR	$1.4M	$3.8M	6%	84
8	Circle K Retail	$1.5M	$2.7M	5.5%	62
9	McDonald's QSR	$1.5M	$2.7M	5%	79
10	The Woodhouse Day Spa Personal Services	$1.5M	$2.7M	6%	79
11	Del Taco QSR	$1.5M	$3.3M	5%	74
12	Wendy's QSR	$1.5M	$3.0M	—	77
13	Wendy's QSR	$1.5M	$3.0M	4%	70
14	Planet Fitness Fitness	$1.5M	$5.2M	7%	89
15	Denny's Food	$1.6M	$3.1M	4.5%	69
16	Dairy Queen QSR	$1.7M	$2.8M	4%	69
17	Sonic Drive-In QSR	$1.7M	$3.1M	5%	72
18	Gold's Gym Fitness	$1.8M	$4.5M	5%	74
19	Jack in the Box QSR	$1.9M	$4.0M	5%	24
20	Burger King QSR	$2.0M	$4.7M	4.5%	72
21	Culver's QSR	$2.6M	$8.6M	4%	94
22	Bojangles QSR	$2.8M	$3.7M	4%	79
23	Applebee's Food	$2.9M	$4.7M	4%	64
24	Red Roof Inn Hospitality	$6.0M	$8.9M	5%	65
25	Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy Hospitality	$7.8M	$10.6M	5%	69
26	Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Hospitality	$51.9M	$94.6M	5%	62

The $1M+ tier is dominated by major QSR chains (McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Wendy's) and hotel concepts — brands with the strongest unit economics but also the most demanding financial requirements. Most require $500K-1M+ in liquid capital and a net worth of $1.5M+.

At this level, the franchise fee itself is almost irrelevant — real estate, build-out, and equipment drive 80%+ of the total investment. The real question is whether the Item 19 revenue data justifies the capital deployment. A McDonald's averaging $3.7M in annual revenue on a $2.2M build-out is a fundamentally different risk profile than a concept with no disclosed financials at the same price point.