FIS2025 consolidates its position as a meeting point for the franchise sector and establishes itself as a new bridge between Europe and Latin America

Madrid, October 22, 2025.

• The event strengthens its position in its second edition as the annual benchmark meeting for the sector, with the participation of 114 brands and exhibitors, more than one hundred speakers, and strong support from the national and international market..
• The FIS Summit brought together 2,198 professionals from 12 autonomous communities and 7 countries, across two powerful summits featuring more than 100 speakers in different sector-specific panels with specialized content.
• The Cities and Franchises Forum, one of the major highlights of this edition, attracted professionals from across the Iberian Peninsula, with institutional representation from the cities invited to this edition: Palencia, Toledo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Chiclana and La Nucía.
• The Valencian Community and the Mediterranean arc were the Guest Business Community of FIS2025, highlighting the Mediterranean as a driving force for business.
• Meanwhile, Egypt, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Panama, Brazil, Italy, Portugal and France were among the countries that chose to take part in FIS2025 with exhibiting brands.

The Franchise Innovation Summit (FIS), promoted by the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF) and organized by Show2Be, with the sponsorship of BBVA, closes its second edition further strengthened and reinforced as the benchmark meeting for the franchise ecosystem.

FIS2025 was inaugurated by Ángel Luis Martín, Deputy Director General for Commercial Entities and Promotion of the Community of Madrid, who stated that in Madrid “franchising ignites passion” and is a business model that “continues to dominate the sector across all variables”.

Likewise, the event was presided over by Ángel Niño, Delegate Councillor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Madrid City Council, who assured that the Spanish capital has already positioned itself “among the best entrepreneurship ecosystems in the world” and added that “Madrid is the place where franchises should be”.

In the words of Luisa Masuet, President of the AEF, “this edition of FIS2025 has represented a turning point for the franchise system, both because of the impeccable organization, the interest generated by the sessions delivered, the excellent venue, the national and international scope, the support of institutions such as the Community and Madrid City Council, and above all, the figures for exhibitors and visitors who attended this professional meeting, which encourages us to continue moving forward and organize the third edition of FIS next year”.

For his part, Eduardo Abadía, Executive Director of the AEF, stated that “we are very satisfied with the results achieved in this second edition of FIS, a pioneering and innovative event in Spain, which brings us closer to the goal of becoming the leading franchise event in Spain. We believe that face-to-face interaction between franchisors and franchisee candidates remains essential when doing business, as clearly demonstrated at FIS2025, which brought together public and private institutions, highlighting the presence of mayors from five cities in our country who joined the Cities & Franchises Forum initiative”.

The Director of FIS, Raúl Calleja, explained that “hand in hand with the AEF, FIS is consolidating itself as the major sector-wide instrument to promote and defend the franchise model, as well as a meeting point for the sector across the Iberian Peninsula”. He also emphasized that FIS “will continue to grow” in its next edition and “strengthen its role as a strategic connection platform for brands, investors and entrepreneurs”.

José Luis Serrano, Director of SMEs at BBVA Spain, who also joined the opening ceremony of this second edition, praised the role of FIS and described it as a place “where we all build together”. He also stated that “many people come here to think about their life project”.

International projection

The event, held on this occasion at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium, not only brought together leading sector players from the Iberian Peninsula, but also crossed borders, with the participation of exhibiting brands from a wide range of countries, such as the United States, Egypt, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Panama, Brazil, Italy, France and Portugal, thus becoming a bridge between Europe and the rest of the world, especially Ibero-America.

FIS at the service of franchising

Cities & Franchises Forum

The Cities & Franchises Forum, one of the major initiatives of this edition, functioned as an institutional dialogue space to connect Spanish municipalities and promote commercial revitalization policies in the cities invited to the 2025 edition: Palencia, Toledo, Pozuelo de Alarcón, La Nucía and Chiclana de la Frontera.

Local entrepreneurs and retailers from these and other cities attended FIS to take part in the momentum that this type of gathering provides for the evolution of the franchise model.

In the words of Eduardo Abadía (AEF), “the future lies in unity between public and private administrations in order to continue growing, thanks to initiatives like this one”.

Franquitour

With the same spirit of revitalizing commercial areas in both large and small cities, FIS created a tool to give visibility to the retail landscape of a city like Madrid: the Franquitour, where leading brands took part in an exclusive tour of the flagship stores of the brands participating in FIS 2025.

On Tuesday, October 14, an institutional delegation visited several of these establishments and symbolically inaugurated this route, which represents an opportunity for brands to showcase their value proposition and offer a direct experience to entrepreneurs seeking investment opportunities, investors and franchisees interested in new concepts, and sector professionals eager to discover the most emblematic formats first-hand.

FISkathon

The closing highlight was the celebration of the 1st FISkathon, a themed, on-site hackathon, whose main objective was to revitalize the perception of the franchise sector among new generations of entrepreneurs, presenting it as an innovative alternative.

To this end, six groups of university students faced a challenge: to generate ideas to bring the world of franchising closer to young entrepreneurship in just a few hours. At the end of the day, the different groups presented a pitch with projects focused on sustainability, digitalization, young talent or the transformation of the franchise business model.

Guest Business Community: Mediterranean Business Relations (REM)

Together with REM (Mediterranean Business Relations), the Mediterranean was the Guest Business Community and was responsible for organizing within the FIS Summit 2025 the 1st REM Forum held in Madrid, a benchmark meeting for companies and executives in a roundtable format that combined business debate, leadership, innovation and cross-sector collaboration.

FIS Summit 2025 and SPAZIO Restauración News

In this second edition, the congress sphere gained even greater relevance with two specialized auditoriums: on the one hand, the Main Auditorium, which hosted a content program structured around sector-specific roundtables: Retail, Fitness, Real Estate, Beauty and Aesthetics, Education and Marketing, among others.

On the other hand, SPAZIO Restauración News, the hub specialized in organized foodservice promoted by Show2Be, the AEF and the sector publication Restauración News, with the sponsorship of Mahou San Miguel, brought together more than thirty top-level speakers, who addressed challenges related to expansion, technology, talent and financing within the sector.

More roundtables, talks, elevator pitches, interviews and recognitions shared a clear objective: to provide a realistic and effective roadmap for brands seeking to grow with control and purpose.

“What is private capital looking for today in foodservice?” or “Opportunities in the sector for 2026” were among the topics that sparked the greatest interest among attendees, along with panels dedicated to financing in foodservice and the management of premises and licenses.

About FIS – Franchise Innovation Summit

The Franchise Innovation Summit (FIS) is an initiative promoted by the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF) and organized by Show2Be. Created as a professional and commercial platform for the franchise system, FIS connects brands, entrepreneurs, investors and public administrations, fostering expansion and professionalization of the sector in Spain and internationally.

About the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF)

The AEF was founded 32 years ago and currently comprises 156 members, whose combined turnover represents 62% of the business volume generated by the franchise system in Spain. The AEF’s objectives are to represent and safeguard the interests of franchising in Spain, act as an interlocutor with public administrations, and promote the system in other markets through its presence at various international franchise fairs. The AEF is also a member of the European Franchise Federation (EFF).

About Show2Be

Born from an alliance with the experiential marketing agency 4forEVERYTHING, the company offers a comprehensive 360º model, covering everything from event conceptualization and design to execution, production, communication and promotion. SHOW2BE currently delivers two major events: the Franchise Innovation Summit (FIS), promoted by the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF), and SPORTCITIES Expo&Summit, which will hold its first edition on November 19 and 20 in Valencia.

For more information, to arrange interviews or request graphic material:

- Leticia Pastor Aleixandre – Head of Marketing & Communication at FIS
leticia.pastor@show2be.com / 600 92 42 79

- Juan Carlos Martín Jiménez – Director of Communication at the AEF
comunicacion@aefranquicia.es / 607 999 866

You can download the event’s graphic material at this link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12aDK58yBPwlOCXs5-OJBOL2fRTYDBgfZ