Interview

The story of the international success of the Fish Delish franchise

In today’s interview, we explore one of the most inspiring franchise success stories to emerge from the Adriatic region – a brand that started from a single seasonal container on the Croatian coast and rapidly transformed into one of the fastest-growing food franchises in Europe: Fish Delish.
What began as a simple summer stand serving fresh seafood during the tourist season has evolved into a fully structured franchise system with international expansion, a growing network of franchisees, and a globally scalable business model. From the very beginning, Fish Delish was designed with franchising in mind – every process, recipe, and operational detail was standardized to allow rapid replication without compromising quality or brand identity.
CFCG had the privilege of working with Fish Delish at its earliest stage – guiding founder Stefano through the development of franchise documentation, operational manuals, and legal structuring. Stefano is a remarkable example of a new generation entrepreneur: transparent, driven by product excellence rather than hype, and relentlessly focused on building a real, scalable business with strong fundamentals.
Today, Fish Delish stands as a case study of how a local concept, born out of passion and insight, can be transformed into a franchising powerhouse – not by chance, but through strategy, systemization, and the right franchise foundation.
If you are a founder with a proven concept and believe your brand has the potential to scale beyond a single location, CFCG can help you transform it into a franchise system built for national and international expansion. For free consultations reach out at: info@cfcg.eu

Interview

1. When and how did the Fish Delish concept originate?
The entire idea connected to the Fish Delish brand had been forming in my mind for many years. I am professionally involved in both the hospitality and fishing industries, as I am employed in a family-owned trading company that has been engaged in the import, export, and processing of fish and fish products, as well as supplying restaurants along the coast with food items, for a long time. Throughout my career, I had the opportunity to thoroughly analyze the market, customer habits, and trends, and I quickly noticed what concept and offering were missing in the hospitality sector. Likewise, I am fond of traveling, and through my trips, I had the chance to see numerous foreign franchises and how they operate in practice. These experiences encouraged me to research the franchise business model and apply that knowledge to forming my own business. This is how the idea for the Fish Delish brand was formed – a modern, innovative, and in every aspect different street food restaurant. To start, I devised dishes whose main ingredient is fish, which I paired with side dishes and sauces of my own recipe. The whole story was rounded off with a recognizable visual identity for the logo and decor, a catchy and easily memorable name, and the standardization of every stage in the preparation and serving of the food. The exclusive focus is on the quality of ingredients, combined with an innovative approach to preparation, processing, and combining food items. Similarly, the guiding principle in the project’s realization was to create a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere where a wide range of customers can casually enjoy fish dishes. The name Fish Delish itself also came about after long deliberation, and the decision fell on it because of its catchiness, easy memorability, and international appeal. The first Fish Delish container was opened in Murter in 2020, which was a “Covid” year and very uncertain and challenging in every way. However, after that first year, the concept proved to be successful, market-interesting, and recognized by customers, which further motivated us to develop the idea of franchising.
2. What was the start of the business like – what inspired you to go in that specific direction?
The franchise business model was the path I wanted to use to expand our business from the very beginning and the creation of the Fish Delish idea. This is because I didn’t want to own a large number of restaurants, first because of the finances and second because of the complexity of managing and maintaining the quality of those locations, but I saw how much potential this idea had. Franchising allows for faster growth and expansion because the necessary investments for opening units are not borne solely by the brand owner. Franchising allows for better control of the units’ operations, better adaptation to local markets, and a better reaction to potential business problems. Franchising offers potential franchisees the opportunity to take over a finished and prepared business concept that has been proven in the market. From the beginning, the idea was to structure the business in a way that would make it easy and simple to franchise later, meaning to transfer the entire know-how to future franchisees. The first step was to devise interesting dishes whose main ingredient is fish, with the main condition being the quality of the ingredients, which we then combined with sauces of our own recipe and buns. This was followed by shaping the brand, logo, and name to be recognizable, interesting, and different. The entire idea was then upgraded with all the necessary documentation, such as the operational manual, recipe book, graphic standards manual, and others, as well as legal documentation and trademark protection both on the domestic market and in targeted foreign markets. All this was done to unite all essential information that we could then transfer to franchisees. Thus, the entire concept was thought out in advance so that the name would be catchy and represent what we offer, the logo would be striking and fun, the visual identity would be interesting and attractive, and its colors would be in harmony with the sea and fish, and all processes would be standardized and easily applicable. The first location, which served as a kind of test to check if the idea works in practice, was opened in Murter in 2020 and achieved significant success. Guests were extremely satisfied with the idea, the execution, and the completely different gastronomic experience, which was a tailwind for us to continue developing the idea towards a franchise business model. The franchise business model was not very common in our country at the time of opening our first location and starting the franchise development. Even I didn’t know what a thorough franchise system should contain. Therefore, I engaged CFCG Consulting, which helped create the foundation for further franchising.
3. When did you decide to start franchising, and what prompted you to take that step?
I believe most of the answers to this question can be found in the text above. Summa summarum: From the very beginning, the main idea was franchising, not one or two owned locations, but a network of locations and expansion first locally, and then globally. In this sense, ingredients that are available everywhere were chosen, and the dishes, as well as all business processes, were standardized to make the franchise knowledge transfer as simple as possible.
4. How many franchises were sold in the first year, and how many do you have today?
One location was sold in the first year of franchising, and today there are a total of 16, along with signed contracts for two domestic locations and one foreign one.
5. How did the number of franchisees grow, and what were the biggest turning points in the brand’s development?
Chart showing the growth of franchisees (Numbers are: 1, 2, 5, 6, 13, 16 for years 2020 to 2025)
The number of franchisees grew, I would say slowly but surely in the first three years, and then in 2024, there was a significant increase. 7 new locations were opened, making Fish Delish the fastest-growing domestic franchise in the Republic of Croatia for 2024. Since we have achieved significant success in the national market, our work and attention are now focused on expanding beyond national borders. We have made a significant leap into the US market. In addition to trademark protection, we have drafted a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), which is the legal basis without which franchising in the American market is not possible. We have also entered into a brokerage agreement with one of the significant agencies there, which will be our extended arm in selling the franchise in that area. We have also protected the trademark in the EU, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro, so we expect expansion in those areas in the future. Numerous negotiations are underway, but in this business, the final realization is very uncertain, so I do not go into detail about negotiations until the franchise agreement is signed and construction work at the location has begun, as there are numerous steps that the franchisee must go through and achieve for the opening of the franchised location to be realized.
6. What do you consider most important for the successful sale of franchises – what factors were decisive in your case?
I think it is extremely important to have a good and attractive product, a product that stands out in the competition or against which the market competition is small. Furthermore, the most important thing is to be able to standardize the concept and easily transfer the knowledge of running the concept further. I believe this is the very essence of a franchise, as well as control and support after the initial setup. After a good product, the franchisor’s negotiating ability is also important while the product is still young and unrecognized. Once the product gains market recognition, negotiations flow easier because the product itself has proven its attractiveness and profitability.
7. What was the biggest challenge in working with franchisees, and how did you solve it?
The biggest challenge was for them to consistently adopt and follow the standards, and I solved this with constant support, presence, and quality control.
8. How do you manage to maintain quality and standards across different locations?
Likewise, through consistent and constant quality control.
9. In your experience, what is key to a satisfied franchisee?
A franchisee is satisfied if they have our support and detailed guidelines during the preparation and realization of the project, as well as during subsequent operations. And of course, they are satisfied if the business is profitable.
10. How much did the franchise documentation and system developed through collaboration with us help you in your development?
The franchise documentation, as I mentioned earlier, formed the structure of our venture. We knew many things a franchise should have and convey to franchisees, but we didn’t know how to independently translate that into a professional-level structure and form. We also received very useful information and knowledge related to franchising and the experience of someone who has already gone through it all. That is priceless. Also, after the initial consultations, your team was always available for conversation and advice. In this business, where every decision is weighed and any of them can be wrong, the advice of someone with experience in the area is something very valuable.
11. Looking back – are you satisfied with the decision to start franchising?
I am very satisfied. In fact, I realized something I believed in from the very beginning. The franchising process involves a lot of work, explaining, “lost” time in explanations that do not always result in realized cooperation, but in this way, knowledge and experience are built up, which is useful in further business operations.
Questions about international experience (especially the US)
12. How did the expansion of the Fish Delish franchise into the US come about?
Fish Delish in New Jersey was opened by my aunt, who has been living and working there for more than 20 years. She was involved in the Fish Delish development process from the very beginning, and it’s interesting that she was the one who suggested the name. She has always loved cooking, and this project represented a challenge of working independently and something that connects her to her Croatian roots and family. She successfully opened the first location and has many satisfied customers who keep coming back, which is the most important thing. We adapted some recipes, but most remained exactly the same. Americans are very specific about their honesty and directness, so they do not hesitate to express great enthusiasm for the flavors and combinations of ingredients. The background story is also interesting to them.
13. What was the hardest part about entering the American market – and how does it mostly differ from Europe?
In franchise business, I learned that every market brings its own challenges, its own legal, financial, and construction structures that need to be met. The biggest specificity in the American system is the already mentioned FDD, which requires a lot of time and money, and this was actually the biggest challenge considering all the other investments. Regarding the sourcing of ingredients, which many would consider a major obstacle, that is really not the case, since the global fish market is very small, and everything else can be found in the large American market. The next and probably most difficult step is finding franchisees.
14. What lessons did you learn through that process that you could convey to other entrepreneurs planning internationalization?
I don’t know what to summarize as one universal piece of advice; every market brings its own challenges and rules.
15. How do local customers in the US react to the Fish Delish concept – does the perception differ from the domestic market?
As I mentioned, when Americans are enthusiastic about something, they do not hold back from praise and kind words, while we are much more reserved in our reactions. In any case, they like the concept, they are satisfied, and they come back.
16. What are the plans for further international expansion – the US, Europe, or some third region?
The expansion plan is mainly related to the EU, such as Western countries along the sea like Spain and France, and of course, the US. And as we have already mentioned, expansion in the region: Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Additional (more personal) questions)
17. What motivates you the most in business today?
That constant action and uncertainty. It is never boring or the same; every day and every new market bring new challenges that need to be overcome. One must constantly adapt and devise new solutions to new problems and obstacles encountered. What I love most about franchising is that the possibilities are huge; the whole world is practically a potential market, and along with that comes travel.
18. Is there a moment when you felt that the brand “crossed the border” and became a global story?
Well, I don’t think we are a global story yet. What is good about Croatia and our tourism is that we had the opportunity to test the concept and recipes with a large number of foreigners from all over the world, and since they know about us, it could be said that it is a story that crosses borders, but for a global story, we still have a lot of work to do and need to be more present abroad.
19. If you were to go back to the beginning, what would you do differently?
Well, now we could be smart and say that we would do many things differently or better, but it’s simply impossible. It’s a path you have to go through yourself to explore possibilities and gather experience for the best recipe. That’s precisely why a franchise is a good product: someone else takes over all the experience and knowledge you have accumulated over the years from multiple examples and essentially saves money and time by not making mistakes and undergoing testing that has already been done.
20. What would you say to young entrepreneurs who have a good idea but don’t know how to scale it?
Perseverance—that is perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can give. If they don’t know, but are persistent enough, they will find the knowledge, they will try, there will be failures, but with enough persistence, they will reach experience, knowledge, acquaintances, help, financing, and eventually the goal.Certainly.

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