BackWerk builds on entrepreneurship and obtains more than 95% of turnover via its?franchise partners. In the German franchise business BackWerk is strongly established and was in the 2010 ranking of Impulse magazine placed 4th of the 100 best franchise-systems ? in line with McDonalds and Burger King. The first self-service bakery ever to open ? in February 2001 ? was a BackWerk store in Germany at Düsseldorf. Since 2003, more than 200 entrepreneurs have signed up as franchise partners, driving strong growth all over Germany and in Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland and other countries in Europe. It comes as no surprise, then, that the latest Impulse ranking put BackWerk up among the four best franchise systems in Germany. It is also one of the most successful.