Haven Hot Chicken Franchising vs Papa Murphy's

Papa Murphy’s is the stronger opportunity right now, and it’s not close. The dimension that wins is TAM, pure and simple. With 965 franchised units against Haven Hot Chicken’s zero, you have an addressable base that can generate pipeline today. Haven Hot Chicken is a pre-revenue franchisor with no franchisees to sell into, which means you’re betting on future unit growth that may never materialize. Papa Murphy’s negative unit growth is a real concern, but a shrinking 965-unit base still dwarfs a theoretical nine-unit chain. You sell software to operators who exist, not to FDD projections.

The meaningful tradeoff is terrain. Papa Murphy’s approved-supplier procurement model is far friendlier to third-party software integration than Haven Hot Chicken’s franchisor-controlled supply chain. A franchisor that mandates procurement will likely mandate the tech stack, making it a single-threaded, high-risk enterprise sale with a $40,000 franchise fee gate. Papa Murphy’s fragmented, franchisee-driven buying process is harder to navigate but rewards you with 965 independent budget holders who can say yes without corporate blessing. That’s a grind, but it’s a grind with volume.

Timing and budget reinforce the call. Papa Murphy’s franchisees are staring at negative comps and will pay for tools that drive ticket size or streamline labor—your POS and marketing automation sweet spot. Haven Hot Chicken’s $407K–$868K buildout range signals capital-intensive openings where software is an afterthought until unit economics prove out. You chase the installed base with pain, not the startup with a dream.

Verdict: Sell into Papa Murphy’s distressed but massive franchisee base; ignore Haven Hot Chicken until they hit 50+ open units and show franchisee autonomy on tech.