By Maliesa Cadogan, Franchise Leadership Coach, HOT Perspectives
Walk into just about any food court in Canada and you’ll see something beautiful: diversity on display.
From Caribbean patties to Korean barbecue and butter chicken to banh mi, our palates reflect who we are: multicultural, global, and proud. But for all the flavours represented on the menu, when we zoom out and look behind the counters—at ownership, leadership, and supply chains—the picture can look very different.
As much as we celebrate Canada’s diversity and the way it fuels franchise growth, true inclusion in franchising goes beyond what’s on the plate. It’s about who’s being served, who’s invited to the table, and who gets to make decisions.
What does DEI actually mean in franchising?
Let’s break it down:
- Diversity is about who’s in the room, spanning franchisees, franchisors, suppliers, team members, and leadership. It includes a wide range of lived experiences: race, gender, ability, culture, age, identity, and more.
- Equity means recognizing the barriers some people face when accessing opportunities and working intentionally to remove them. This can show up in how franchise opportunities are awarded, how capital is accessed, or how training and mentorship are delivered.
- Inclusion asks: does everyone feel like they belong? Do franchisees and team members feel supported, respected, and empowered to lead, or are they just expected to fit in and follow along?
When we apply these lenses to food franchising in a country as diverse as Canada, we start to see the gaps. But we also see the massive opportunity.
Food franchising goes beyond the menu
There’s often a disconnect between the communities a franchise serves and the internal culture of the brand. I’ve seen Caribbean-inspired food concepts run by folks who don’t know half the spices in their dishes or why the music playing in the background matters to the experience. I’ve seen “global” menus without a single global voice in the boardroom.
I’ve also worked with incredible Black, South Asian, Indigenous, and newcomer entrepreneurs eager to enter franchising, but who face subtle barriers because they don’t “fit the brand.” Whether it’s a result of the unwritten rules, limited networks, or systems not designed with these entrepreneurs in mind, the roadblocks are real.
Representation matters. When diverse lived experiences show up in ownership, leadership, and supply chains, brands become stronger. Systems get smarter. Teams perform better. And customers feel more seen.
When franchise leaders truly understand the culture behind the cuisine and the people they’re serving, they unlock a strategic edge that drives stronger business outcomes.
Ask bigger questions
In franchising, we’re trained to ask the operational questions … Is the model scalable? Are the margins strong? How fast can we grow?
Those matter, but they don’t tell the whole story.
Here are a few more questions that every prospective franchisee should be asking:
- Who is this brand really built for? And who might be left out?
- Does the leadership reflect the communities it serves?
- Is there room for cultural nuance, or is the system one-size-fits-all?
- How does support look beyond the operations manual?
- When challenges arise, is the culture open to honest conversation and real collaboration?
Strong systems are sustained by people who feel respected and connected to the brand. And when values don’t align, it eventually shows through performance, retention, and growth.
Expanding the table
Diversity on the menu is great. But it’s not enough.
If we want to build resilient, future-focused franchise systems, we need to be just as intentional about how we lead as we are about what we serve. That includes:
- Welcoming diverse perspectives into ownership and leadership
- Designing systems with equity and accessibility in mind
- Supporting franchisees in ways that honour their lived experiences
- Creating space for honest conversations, not just compliance
Franchise brands show up in immigrant-rich neighbourhoods, near university campuses, on busy corners, and in small towns. These communities are layered, vibrant, and connected. They deserve to be reflected in the businesses that serve them.
It starts with intentional design. It’s sustained by inclusive leadership. And it grows through courageous conversations.
The most successful franchisees I know didn’t just choose a brand based on the product; they aligned with a culture and a vision they could see themselves growing with.
Good brands feed people. Great ones feed connection, culture, and community with every bite.