Paris Baguette has clinched the 29th spot overall and secured the top position in the bakery café category in the 2026 Franchise 500 list, as reported by the U.S. business publication Entrepreneur on Monday.
The company has shown remarkable progress, advancing from 61st place in 2024 to 42nd in 2025, and now breaking into the top 30 at 29th this year. Paris Baguette stands alone as the sole South Korean brand to crack the top 30 in this year’s Franchise 500 rankings. This achievement underscores both its growth trajectory and operational stability in the fiercely competitive U.S. franchise landscape.
The Franchise 500, an annual ranking published by Entrepreneur since 1980, is widely recognized as a key indicator of competitiveness in the U.S. franchise market, alongside other prestigious business publications such as Forbes and Fortune.
The Franchise 500 evaluates North American franchise businesses across more than 150 data points, including franchise size and growth, infrastructure, marketing support, brand strength, and financial stability. This year’s assessment encompassed 1,354 brands with at least 10 locations in North America.
In the past year alone, Paris Baguette launched 77 new outlets in North America, bringing its total to 285 locations. Leveraging over 100 lease agreements and roughly 300 development contracts signed last year, the company aims to open more than 150 additional stores across North America this year, with plans to surpass 400 total locations.
A consistent revenue stream bolsters this expansion. Paris Baguette has posted 20 straight quarters of revenue growth from Q1 2019 through Q4 of last year, with U.S. sales in 2025 jumping approximately 30% compared to the previous year.
To accelerate its U.S. expansion, the company broke ground last September on a massive 300,000-square-foot (approximately 28,000 square meters) bakery facility in Texas. Slated for completion in 2029, this state-of-the-art complex is designed to boost production and logistics efficiency in the North American market while enhancing local quality competitiveness.
Darren Tipton, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Paris Baguette’s U.S. subsidiary, remarked that the Franchise 500 is considered the gold standard in franchise industry rankings. This recognition validates the competitiveness and growth potential of Paris Baguette’s global franchise business model.