400k? Last time I heard even subway sandwich also 600k.

Not sure if there is any franchise with 400k investment. Might be wrong though

Yeah, heard some of them before, as u rightfully mentioned, I would not take up their franchise as these franchised products is quite generic, easily copied and I don't see much A&P on their brand. Therefore, unethical it might be, I can operate similar biz on my own without relying on them as their products is simple, raw materials is generic which can be easily obtained.

End of day, paying franchising fee is in addition of having a tried and tested SOP of operating a biz, but, also pooling money to promote the brand, which any stand-alone individual brand might not have the financial capacity.