Here is a polished English translation of the Chinese title: **”Harmony for the Long Haul, Innovation with the Times: 2026 CCFA Franchising & Lifestyle Services Development Conference Charts a New Blueprint for High-Quality Industry Growth”**

BeijingMay 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — From May 28 to 29, 2026, the “2026 CCFA Franchise Conference & Life Service Industry Development Conference,” hosted by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA), was held in Beijing. Under the theme “Harmony and Vision, Innovation with the Trend,” the conference, together with the World Franchise Council (WFC) Annual Meeting and the 2026 Franchise Expo, formed the annual “Three Conferences and One Expo” global franchise event. Association leaders from over 40 countries and regions, more than a thousand decision-makers from leading domestic and international brands, and seasoned industry professionals gathered to engage in in-depth discussions on core topics such as platformization, intelligence, and globalization of franchising and the life services industry, injecting strong new momentum into China’s related industries as they move toward higher quality and more sustainable development.

Insights: A New Era of Franchising Driven by Scale Leap and AI

In his opening address, Peng Jianzhen, President of the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, outlined the leapfrog development trajectory of China’s franchising industry with detailed data. He noted that over the past two decades, alongside the expansion of the economy and consumer market, the number of franchised enterprises registered in China has surged from approximately 1,000 to over 15,000, achieving a leap in both scale and quality.

President Peng highlighted the upcoming release of the “2026 Top 300 Commercial Franchises” during the conference. Data shows that in 2025, the total number of stores under the Top 300 brands exceeded 1.08 million. Among them, 24 brands achieved “10,000-store” status, an increase of six from the previous year, indicating a significant trend toward brand concentration among market leaders. The report reveals four core trends in the current franchising landscape: first, the number of 10,000-store brands is increasing year by year, with scale effects becoming more prominent; second, the food and beverage sector continues to lead, accounting for over 46% of the Top 300, with vibrant sub-sectors like tea drinks and desserts; third, the penetration rate of franchising in the life services industry is high, with franchise stores in sectors such as beauty, education and training, and hotels accounting for over 95%; fourth, growth hotspots are shifting with consumer trends, with brands in tea drinks, coffee, and snack discounts rapidly joining the 10,000-store ranks.

Looking ahead, President Peng emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a key tool for enterprises to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. He stated that as an industry platform, CCFA will collaborate with global partners to expand the new frontiers of franchising in the AI era, driving this business model toward a more prosperous, healthy, and sustainable future.

Data Insights  Guiding the Industry’s Course

At this conference, CCFA released two lists: the “2026 Top 300 Commercial Franchises” and the “2026 Top 100 Life Service Chain Enterprises.” Vice President Guo Yujin explained that the total number of stores among the Top 300 enterprises grew by 30.39% year-over-year, with the 10,000-store camp continuing to expand. The franchising model continues to deepen, with the proportion of franchise stores among disclosed enterprises remaining stable at 75.71%, and the penetration rate of franchising in sectors such as hair care, specialty snacks, and hotel accommodation exceeding 90%. The “Top 100 Life Service Chain Enterprises” list, which for the first time includes logistics and cinema sectors, shows that the total revenue of the Top 100 enterprises surpassed one trillion yuan for the first time, with a total of 476,000 stores, highlighting the strong resilience and growth potential of the life services industry. Online sales have become standard, and enterprise performance is showing divergence, but overall customer traffic and repurchase rates are improving, with the lower-tier market becoming a common consensus.

The conference also released the “Third-Generation Digital Franchising Report (2026)” and the “2026 Professional Franchisee Insight Report.” Pei Liang, Chief Researcher at the CCFA Research Institute, pointed out that since the concept of “third-generation franchising” was introduced, technology has continuously reshaped the industry. AI is fundamentally changing franchising from the ground up, making it possible to achieve personalized operations with “a thousand stores with a thousand faces” on the basis of standardization, effectively integrating economies of scale with local flexibility. The “Professional Franchisee Insight Report” paints a portrait of today’s professional franchisees: they are younger, investing in increasingly lower-tier markets, with higher per-store investment amounts, and are becoming a key force driving the healthy development of the market.

Focus on Globalization: A New Phase for Chinese Brands Going Global and International Cooperation

Internationalization was a key focus of this conference. Simon Bartholomew, Secretary-General of the World Franchise Council (WFC), shared the core logic of franchising internationalization, emphasizing that close collaboration between franchisors and franchisees is the foundation. Internationalization helps brands diversify risks and expand their influence, and he suggested that brands going global need to develop a clear strategy for at least five years, carefully selecting markets and entry modes.

The globalization practices of Chinese brands provided vivid examples. Gao Yunxi, Co-founder of Jasmine Naicha, shared the concept of “Value Experience, Global Breakthrough.” Currently, Jasmine Naicha has over 2,400 stores worldwide, covering seven countries overseas. She noted that brand globalization is not just about replicating stores but also about exporting lifestyles and aesthetic systems, requiring deep integration with local cultures through direct-operation-style localization to achieve mutual empowerment.

In a roundtable dialogue titled “Chain Going Global • Win-Win Worldwide,” representatives from associations in Canada, Indonesia, and Singapore, along with Chinese brand founders such as Wei Tongrong, founder of “Yu Ni Zai Yi Qi,” and Shang Xiangmin, co-founder of “Ba Wang Cha Ji,” shared their insights on going global. The consensus was that going global is not a simple replication but a “second startup,” requiring respect for local markets, building local teams, and preparing for long-term investment. “Yu Ni Zai Yi Qi” emphasized the need for localized preparations in trademarks, supply chains, etc., three years in advance; “Ba Wang Cha Ji” adheres to a “steady and progressive” approach, establishing benchmarks through direct operations before cautiously opening franchising, ensuring model health and regulatory compliance. These practices reveal the deep thinking behind Chinese chain brands transitioning from “going out” to “going in.”

Digital Intelligence Empowerment: AI and Digitalization Reshaping the Entire Industry Chain

Digital and intelligent transformation ran through all segments of the conference, becoming a core engine driving industry evolution. The “Digital Franchising Report” pointed out that AI is pushing franchising from “standardized replication” into a new phase of “intelligent personalized guidance.”

Enterprise-level practices were even more specific. Wanchen Group shared its digital transformation approach “from intuition to algorithms,” using tools such as big data site selection, intelligent franchisee evaluation, digital engineering monitoring, and AI operations sentinels to build a full-chain collaborative system, aiming to solve the pain points of traditional franchising that rely on “gut feelings and experience,” thereby improving store success rates and profit certainty. In the coffee sector, Zhu Baoju, founder of Xiaoka Coffee, pointed out that in China’s trillion-yuan coffee market, convenience, cost-effectiveness, and stable quality are key. Xiaoka overcomes standardization and cost challenges through self-developed intelligent equipment, with plans to open fully robotic stores by the end of the year, showcasing technology’s reshaping of traditional industries.

The life services industry is also deeply embracing digitalization. Meituan’s Service Retail Business Unit shared how digital management, traffic allocation, and AI empowerment are reshaping the 2.2 trillion yuan home services market, driving industry quality upgrades. Chen Xiaohua, CEO of Tian Dao Dao Jia, speaking from the home services sector, noted that the immense value of AI for labor-intensive chain enterprises lies in “unleashing organizational capacity,” achieving a multiplier effect in human efficiency. ZhongAn Insurance also demonstrated how technology embeds customized insurance products deeply into specific operational scenarios of life services such as pet care, hairdressing, and home services, becoming a reliable risk management partner for chain enterprises.

Staying True and Innovating: The Deep Cultivation Strategy of Regional Tea Brands

As one of the most active franchising sectors, the regional development logic of the tea drink industry attracted significant attention. In a special dialogue titled “Growth Code of Regional Dark Horses in Tea Franchising—Staying True to Build Foundations, Innovating to Win the Future,” Chen Luohan, shareholder and brand franchise strategy head of 700CC Natural Soda Fresh Fruit Tea from the Northeast; Ma Shuze, co-founder of Tea Ballet from the Northwest; Chang Ying, co-founder and general manager of Fangha, rooted in and deeply cultivating the Northwest; Xie Yongliang, CEO of Maili Milk from South China; Fan Duoduo, co-founder of Tea Yue Shan from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions; and Chen Xinhu, founder of Liuli Jing, gathered to dissect the underlying logic of building core competitiveness and achieving steady expansion amid fierce competition. The dialogue revolved around practical experiences in product innovation, supply chain deepening, regional cultural integration, and franchisee empowerment and management, providing valuable insights for practitioners to deeply cultivate their advantageous markets and seek cross-regional development, while forecasting future market trends and innovation paths.

Co-prosperity of Diverse Formats: Lower-Tier Markets, Category Innovation, and Organizational Efficiency

The conference covered a wide range of formats, showcasing the diversity of the industry ecosystem. Sheng Huizhan, chairman of Yidu Convenience Store, shared successful experiences in county-level markets by building competitiveness through density and using intelligent systems to achieve “store-manager-less” operations. Zhao Gang, founder of “Hua Xiao Xiao” Xinjiang Rice Noodles, elaborated from a category perspective on how to optimize a regional product into a “national snack” with national potential, focusing on a franchising model that empowers ordinary people. Li Zongwen, co-founder of “Ji Duo Quan,” closely followed the “fresh food” trend, sharing how the brand capitalizes on the health consumption trend through a “less is more” product philosophy, strict quality control standards, and a complete cold chain network.

Toward the end of the conference, a roundtable dialogue on “Building Efficient Organizational Power in Chain Enterprises” brought together chain entrepreneurs from different sectors including automotive aftermarket, logistics, after-school care, pet care, and entertainment, to discuss how to solve organizational efficiency and talent challenges during scale expansion, providing deep insights for sustainable enterprise development.

Concurrently, the conference also hosted the first CCFA Life Service Chain Enterprise Innovation Competition and established six parallel sessions covering areas such as automotive aftermarket, human resource management, risk control for chain going global, second growth curves in franchising, AI empowering the franchise chain, and investment attraction and supply chain, delving into industry specifics and discussing practical strategies.

Harmony and Vision, Innovation with the Trend

Thus, the two-day 2026 CCFA Franchise Conference & Life Service Industry Development Conference concluded successfully. Through authoritative report releases, cutting-edge trend interpretations, leading enterprise sharing, and cross-border idea collisions, the conference clearly presented the development panorama of franchising and the life services industry at the new starting point of the “15th Five-Year Plan”: continuous scale expansion and structural optimization; digitalization and intelligence transforming from tools to core forces reshaping business models; globalization evolving from an option to a mandatory topic, requiring more robust and localized long-term strategies; and the ultimate goal of all development remains serving people’s aspirations for a better life, moving toward a high-quality, sustainable future through a “harmonious” ecosystem and “trend-driven” innovation. The China Chain Store & Franchise Association stated that it will continue to play its role as a platform hub, working with industry peers to embrace the opportunities and challenges of the new era.