Hungary Franchising

The Hungarian government is planning the reopening of the economy, since the pandemic now seems to be under control. Although the short-term situation in Hungary is still difficult, the medium-term outlook is better than in the rest of Europe owing to a substantially faster rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

The pandemic has negatively impacted the Hungarian franchise market. When the economy restarts, franchisors will probably have to operate at reduced capacity. Consumption patterns are unlikely to normalize quickly.  Many consumers have moved toward online transactions reducing demand on local franchisors. Investment will also recover slowly. Consumer spending patterns will become increasingly similar to those in Western Europe as Hungarians start to opt for higher-value-added consumer goods. Demographic ageing will lead to rising demand for healthcare services, and for age-related products and services. People aged 65 and over already make up 20.7% of the population, a share that is expected to rise to 22.3% by 2025, thus creating a bigger market for elderly care franchising. Opportunities for firms across industry sectors in 2021 will be substantial, given new consumer and business patterns – focused on digitalization.

The Global Franchise magazine announced a cooperation with the Hungarian Franchise Association – which would grant the Franchise Association a great opportunity and enable it to introduce Hungary to franchise systems from all around the world. There are no current legal developments specifically in relation to franchising, this signaling stability of these regulations. 

For more information please contact: office.budapest@trade.gov.