Earlier this year, Entrepreneur magazine recognized top food franchises among its annual Franchise 500 rankings. The Franchise 500 is the world’s most comprehensive and competitive franchise ranking, and placement in the Franchise 500 is a highly sought-after distinction with more than 1,000 applications for it this year.

Among the key factors in evaluation of the rankings include costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. Each franchise is given a cumulative score based on an analysis of more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500 in ranking order.

Entrepreneur named Cinnabon as the top franchise in the Baked Goods category, with an overall ranking of #74 among all franchises. It has a startup cost ranging from $185,200 - $330,700 and currently has over 1,400 franchised locations worldwide.

The top ten in the Baked Goods category for the Franchise 500 includes:

  1. Cinnabon
  2. Auntie Anne’s
  3. Great American Cookies
  4. Kolache Factory
  5. Duck Donuts
  6. Shipley Do-Nuts
  7. Wetzel’s Pretzels
  8. Ben’s Soft Pretzels
  9. Cinnaholic
  10. Great Harvest Bread