IT was with some trepidation that I dialled the number of O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars head office to interview Brody Sweeney, whose company is one of the big names most people associate with franchising. But I was greeted by a very friendly, charismatic man who was more than happy to let me in on how he grew one sandwich bar into an international chain of 300.

O'Briens is the product of Brody's dream to revolutionise the UK perception of a sandwich, which at that time was the largest sector of the fast food market and the only one without a famous brand. Having cut his teeth as the Master Franchisee for Ireland of a well-known printing franchise with his father, he sold the business and decided to start a franchise of his own and as Brody observes: "The sandwich market has never been the same."

Nearing two decades later and Brody has established 300 O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars in 13 countries across Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa and is about to embark on a major regeneration programme, which will see £600,000 invested in introducing new branding, upgrading existing outlets and improving the product offering.

Key to the brand's ongoing success is comprehensive planning, testing and proving the franchise prior to recruiting franchisees; targeted recruitment of the 'right' people; a concept that appeals internationally; and keeping abreast of national and international competition and trends.

"It was six years of ironing out the bugs before I opened the first franchised O'Briens store," Brody confesses, "but the concept wasn't working well enough in the beginning to franchise. Setting up a franchise is not enormously different from establishing any business. Before opening the first outlet I had the manuals written, registered the trademarks, had the agreement drawn up by a lawyer and designed the initial brochure, which makes good business sense in any context. Taking my time was a good move."

Through franchising, Brody has achieved international expansion for less money and in less time than if he'd attempted it by himself and he's learned some valuable lessons along the way. "Recruiting the best possible franchisees and not the first people with a chequebook has been crucial to the success of the business," he advises. "They are the foundations of the business and the best selling proposition a franchisor has. Get the right people in the beginning and it's self-perpetuating - good people attract more good people."

O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars was founded with a view to international expansion, hence the name O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars, which was designed to have universal appeal and encapsulate traditional Irish values yet reflect modern Ireland. Such is the success of the concept that the brand's target consumer is the same worldwide: 'a young white-collar female with high disposable income, wearing Levis, and listening to U2'.

One of the most important lessons Brody learned during his time as master franchisee for a print brand, is that the Irish market is very small and if you charge master franchisees high fees it doesn't leave them with enough money. His answer was to sacrifice a larger portion of the fees to make the Irish master franchise viable.

During the many years Brody has been in franchising he observes that the industry has grown and become more competitive. "It's also got more sophisticated and safer for potential investors," he adds. "There are less cowboys and a good representative organisation - the British Franchise Association (BFA)."

Although Brody would happily recommend franchising as a method of growing a business, it does come with a note of caution: "Running a shop selling sandwiches is very different to selling franchises and franchisors have to learn to recognise that in order to be successful, they must distinguish between selling a product or service and selling franchises."