Taste of success: to be a great franchisee you need to have great belief in your product, so when Hitesh Patel introduced the Subway concept to his brothers, he knew they'd be the perfect business partners.(franchise focus)

It's been four years since the Patel brothers joined the Subway submarine sandwich chain, and Team Patel has gone from strength to strength, beating all the competition along the way.

When Hitesh (Tesh) Patel opened his first Subway store in Nottingham in 2001, his brothers Dipak and Jitendra (Jit) were only supposed to be investors, but it wasn't long before Tesh's brothers quit their own jobs to join him.

So how does Subway manage to appeal to so many? Customers see a different and healthy alternative to the average fast food offering, while franchisees see a healthy alternative to their former careers. It's certainly a venture that's worked for the Patels. The chain is already the world's largest sandwich franchise with more than 21,000 locations around the world, and the brand has been expanding at a phenomenal rate through the UK and Ireland. The Patels' own business has reflected this growth--that first Nottingham franchise has multiplied to five outlets in the area, with 100 full and part-time staff on the payroll. …