Richard Peroe Offers Insight Into Heart to Home Meals’ Franchise Opportunity and National Expansion Plans

In an exclusive interview with Mark Milburn of FranchisePressReleases.com, Richard Peroe, Senior Director of Franchise Development at Heart to Home Meals, discusses the brand’s relationship-driven business model, its founding franchisee marketing program, and the strategy behind its 2027 growth plans.

PORT ORANGE, Fla. // FranchisePressReleases.com // Oct. 26, 2026 — As demand grows for services that help older adults maintain their independence, Heart to Home Meals is expanding its U.S. franchise network with a business model built around nutritious food, personal relationships and local community engagement.

The company has signed five U.S. franchise agreements covering Raleigh, Durham, Naperville, Somerset, New Jersey, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Looking ahead to 2027, Heart to Home Meals is seeking qualified franchise partners across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Florida and Texas, while remaining open to opportunities in other markets.

Unlike conventional meal delivery services that may leave packages at a customer’s door, Heart to Home Meals manages the experience from food production through delivery into the customer’s freezer. The company also offers a founding franchisee program that reinvests the $40,000 franchise fee for its first 10 U.S. franchisees directly into local marketing, with no traditional royalties or national marketing fees.

In this exclusive interview with Mark Milburn of FranchisePressReleases.com, Richard Peroe of Heart to Home Meals discusses the company’s service philosophy, early franchise development lessons, the profile of an ideal franchise owner, its approach to franchise economics, and the opportunity to help shape the brand’s national expansion.

More Than Meal Delivery: A Purpose-Driven Business

Mark Milburn: Heart to Home Meals emphasizes that its service goes beyond delivering food, with drivers bringing meals inside and checking on customers’ well-being. How does that personal connection differentiate the brand from conventional meal delivery services, and how does it shape the experience for customers, their families, and franchise owners?

Richard Peroe: I’m sure there are many meal delivery companies that do a great job with the part of the process they can control. But for many of them, that control essentially ends when they put a label on a box and hand it over to a third-party carrier. From there, it’s up to the carrier to make the delivery, and it may be up to the senior to retrieve a box of refrigerated meals from their porch, lobby, or mail room.

At Heart to Home Meals, we manage the experience from food production all the way into the customer’s freezer. That last part is incredibly important.

Our drivers aren’t simply dropping off a package. They are building relationships with our customers. Many of the seniors we serve aren’t getting out and about as much as they once did, and that regular visit and personal interaction can become something they genuinely look forward to. I’m convinced that as much as our customers enjoy the food, many of them stay with us because they value the relationship they’ve developed with the people who serve them.

That relationship also provides something very meaningful to families. Knowing that someone is visiting Mom or Dad regularly, bringing their meals inside, and simply checking in provides a level of reassurance that you don’t get when a package is left at the door.

And for our franchise owners, that’s what makes this much more than a delivery business. They’re building relationships and becoming part of the communities they serve. They get to see firsthand the impact they’re having on seniors and their families.

That’s really the Heart to Home Meals difference. We don’t believe the customer experience ends when the meal leaves our facility. In many ways, that’s where it begins.

Five Franchise Agreements and a Bigger National Vision

Mark Milburn: The brand now has five U.S. franchise agreements spanning Raleigh, Naperville, Durham, Somerset, and Dallas-Fort Worth. What have you learned from these first franchise partners, and how are you using those early experiences to guide the brand’s expansion into new markets heading into 2027?

Richard Peroe: The biggest lesson has been that consistency and local entrepreneurship have to work together. Our franchisees all come from different backgrounds and bring different strengths to the business. That’s why a strong franchise system matters.

They’re investing in Heart to Home Meals because they want proven processes, training, support, and a team that they can lean on. So, the more consistent we can make that experience, and the more often we stay in touch with them, the better positioned they are to get up and running successfully.

But we’ve also learned very quickly that Durham isn’t Dallas, and Dallas isn’t Naperville or Somerset. Every market has its own opportunities, referral relationships, community organizations, and way of doing things. Our job as the franchisor is to provide a strong framework and then work alongside the franchisee to figure out how to maximize the opportunity in their particular community.

The other thing I’m proud of is that our franchisees are very mission-focused. As we look toward 2027, that’s going to remain incredibly important to me. I’m looking for people who believe in serving seniors, who want to be part of their communities, and who aren’t afraid to get out locally and build relationships.

If we combine those kinds of owners with an increasingly strong and consistent franchise system, I think we have a tremendous opportunity to grow Heart to Home Meals nationally.

Why the Franchise Model Works for This Market

Mark Milburn: Heart to Home Meals combines a defined local service area with training, field support, and a centralized meal production infrastructure. What makes this model attractive to entrepreneurs, and what kinds of professional backgrounds, skills, or personal motivations tend to make someone a strong candidate to become a franchise partner?

Richard Peroe: One of the things we’ve learned is that there really isn’t one specific background that defines a successful Heart to Home Meals franchisee. Our franchise partners come from all walks of life. We have people with experience in food manufacturing, nursing and healthcare, IT management, real estate development, and other business disciplines.

What attracts many of them is the opportunity they see in the senior market. They recognize that the senior population will continue to grow, and they’re looking for a business that meets a real, ongoing need in people’s lives. There’s also a growing interest in businesses that are less vulnerable to disruption from AI and automation. At its core, what we do is very human. It’s about food, service, relationships, and helping seniors maintain their independence and quality of life.

I think entrepreneurs also like the balance of the business. It’s a relationship business with a logistics component. You’re out in the community developing relationships with seniors, families, healthcare providers, senior organizations, and other referral sources, while also operating a disciplined delivery and service model.

And because the meals are produced centrally, our franchisees can focus much more of their energy on developing their local market and serving their customers rather than trying to become food manufacturers themselves.

Business or healthcare experience can certainly be helpful, but I don’t believe there is one perfect professional background. The most important quality is an overwhelming passion for our mission of making seniors’ lives better. I’m looking for someone who believes in that mission, is comfortable building relationships, has the business discipline to follow a proven system, and isn’t afraid to get out into the community and create opportunities.

Ultimately, we’re not just looking for someone who wants to own a business. We’re looking for someone who wants to build a business around making a difference in the lives of seniors.

A Different Approach to Franchise Economics

Mark Milburn: Heart to Home Meals offers a founding franchisee program in which the first 10 U.S. franchisees have their $40,000 franchise fee reinvested directly into local marketing. The model also advertises no royalties or national marketing fees. Why did the company structure its franchise opportunity this way, and how do these features help new owners establish their businesses and build awareness in their communities?

Richard Peroe: We’re fortunate because we have the strength of apetito behind us. Many emerging franchise brands need franchise fees and royalties to help fund the growth of the franchisor. We’re in a different position. We’re not looking at franchising primarily as a way to generate fee income. We’re looking at it as a way to expand the Heart to Home Meals distribution network across the U.S.

And for that strategy to work, our franchisees have to succeed.

That’s why we’ve tried to keep the economics straightforward. We don’t charge a traditional royalty or national advertising fee. The economics for us are built into the food itself. We don’t want to make this more complicated than it needs to be. And yes, I guess you could say the fee is “baked in,” no pun intended.

The $40,000 franchisee marketing program follows the same philosophy. We know our first franchisees are introducing Heart to Home Meals into new markets, and getting a new market up and running requires some extra marketing horsepower. Instead of taking that initial franchise fee and putting it toward the franchisor, we’re putting it back into their local markets.

We want those dollars working for the franchisee: creating awareness, introducing Heart to Home Meals to the community, and helping them develop their customer base.

We’re playing the long game. We believe the best way to build Heart to Home Meals across the country is to first build successful franchisees market by market.

The 2027 Growth Opportunity: Where Is the Brand Headed?

Mark Milburn: Heart to Home Meals is seeking qualified franchise partners in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Florida, and Texas. Looking ahead to 2027 and beyond, what are your top priorities for U.S. expansion, which markets offer the greatest potential, and what would you like prospective franchise partners to understand about joining the brand at this stage of its development?

Richard Peroe: I don’t want someone sitting in a market we didn’t specifically mention to assume that Heart to Home Meals isn’t interested in their state. We believe there are opportunities across the country. The opportunity just isn’t exactly the same everywhere.

That’s one of the things we’ve learned as we’ve grown. North Carolina is different from Texas, just as Florida will be different from Pennsylvania or Illinois. We’re committed to working with our franchisees to develop a plan that takes advantage of what’s happening in their particular state and community rather than handing everyone the exact same playbook and expecting the same result.

We’re seeing a lot of interest right now in North Carolina and Texas, but most major metropolitan markets remain open at this early stage of our U.S. development. So, there’s still a tremendous amount of white space.

We’re also investing in the team supporting that growth. We’ve brought on a Director of Marketing with experience launching programs and products supported by Medicare and Medicaid programs across the country, and our president, Chris Webb, is very hands-on with our franchisees, including visiting them multiple times during their first year. Right now, franchise development really is a team effort, and it’s all hands-on deck.

But I’ll keep coming back to the same thing: territory isn’t our first priority, people are. Finding the right franchisee is more important to me than simply putting another pin on the map.

We’re looking for people who believe in our mission, want to build relationships in their communities, and understand the opportunity created by America’s growing senior population. If you’re that person, this is an exciting point to join us because you’re not walking into a market that’s already been carved up. You’re getting an opportunity to help shape Heart to Home Meals’ growth in the United States.

Helping Shape the Future of Senior Meal Delivery

Heart to Home Meals is approaching U.S. franchise expansion with an emphasis on finding owners who share its mission, building strong local relationships, and providing franchisees with the systems and support they need to develop their markets.

The combination of centralized meal production, a relationship-driven delivery model, and a founding franchisee marketing program gives prospective owners a distinct opportunity to explore a business serving the needs of an aging population.

With five U.S. franchise agreements in place and substantial room for further expansion, the company is positioning its next stage of growth around a straightforward philosophy: build successful franchisees, serve communities well, and grow market by market.

For entrepreneurs interested in a business that combines local ownership with a meaningful service mission, Heart to Home Meals is looking toward 2027 with a national expansion strategy and a continued focus on finding the right people.

Interview conducted by Mark Milburn for FranchisePressReleases.com, part of Franchise Media Group.