Australia has been coined the 'franchise capital of the world' (Walker 2004, p.36) because it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. A leading business magazine, Business Review Weekly, describes the Australian franchising sector as 'booming' (Walker 2004, p.36). International franchising has potential to contribute to export performance, but requires a thorough understanding of the necessary capabilities. The research design uses a case research approach of leading systems, with an immediate focus on the front-end considerations of what approaches can contribute to success. Two types of international franchising strategy are proposed, namely brand-based. Subtle differences occur in the way the two systems mitigate front-end risk.