Jamba Juice is coming to the Emirates, and so are up to 100 other new brands this year.

The California-based juice company said yesterday it would open 80 stores in the Middle East over the coming decade.

Experts say the franchise model is taking root in the region as part of a global shift of wealth towards the East. In essence, the brands are going where the money is.

Mana Al Suwaidi, the chief executive of Franchise Middle East Consultancy, which organises the Franchise UAE Expo, expects around 100 brands to open franchises in the Emirates this year.

“We will look at further expansion and growth and a huge relocation of franchise industry from the West coming to East to be closer to their markets,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.

He also expects more home-grown brands to become franchising prospects once they achieve international standards.

Yesterday, Foodmark, a subsidiary of Landmark Group, said it would bring the Nasdaq-listed Jamba Juice to the UAE. In all, the American juice firm’s plan for the next 10 years is to open 80 stores in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Of Jamba Juice’s 849 stores, more than 500 are operated as franchises.

The UAE’s Landmark operates stores that include Splash, Babyshop, Home Centre and eMax.

Landmark’s other hospitality brand, Candelite, has around 60 food and beverage brands under its umbrella. In September, Candelite acquired the Middle East franchise rights for the British cupcake brand Candy Cakes, with plans to open 14 stores in the UAE by the middle of this year.

Separately, the American-based chain The Cheesecake Factory opened in Dubai in 2012 in partnership with MH Alshaya Company. That same year, another American chain, the International House of Pancakes, or Ihop, opened its first Middle East restaurant in Dubai, also with Alshaya.

Food and beverage is a major franchising sector in the UAE, along with services such as travel, tourism and real estate brokerage, as well as hospitality, education and health care.

Overall, Mr Al Suwaidi said, more than 1,000 local and foreign brands were operating in the UAE through big and small franchise owners.

“Malls in the UAE are accepting more franchises because its is sustainable, operational and profitable, and mall management cannot survive with concepts that open and close the next year,” he said.

On average, he added, 95 per cent of the outlets in a mall were franchises.

While North American and European brands dominate the UAE’s franchise landscape, numbers are increasing from Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia.

And besides the traditional large groups such as Landmark, Alshaya, Rivoli, Al Futtaim, Al Ghurair, Chalhoub, Al Tayer and BinHendi, smaller entrepreneurs are venturing into the sector.

“The franchise model is less risky than a start-up because it has been tested and implemented elsewhere, and moreover, there are new funds such as Khalifa Fund that help the entrepreneurs,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.

ssahoo@thenational.ae