Christina Niu directs franchise market research at FRANdata, leading the analytical work that powers some of the firm’s most decision-critical products — including the FUND Score, bank credit reports, performance benchmarking, and FRANdata’s annual franchise economic forecast. She joined FRANdata in 2016 and has built her research practice on a foundation of applied econometrics, large-scale database management, and the kind of quantitative rigor that franchising’s most demanding professional audiences — lenders, private equity firms, and multi-unit operators — require from independent research.
As Director of Research, Christina independently leads projects from design through delivery, applying statistical modeling in STATA and R to FRANdata’s proprietary database of 4,000+ franchise brands. Her work spans credit risk analysis supporting bank credit reports and FUND Score assessments, performance benchmarking studies that give franchisors and investors an independent measure of brand-level health, and the macroeconomic modeling that underlies FRANdata’s franchise economic forecast — the annual industry projection relied upon by the International Franchise Association and franchise professionals nationwide.
When lenders and private equity firms need to understand whether a franchise system’s financial performance reflects durable unit economics or short-term conditions, Christina’s analytical work provides the independent data layer that makes that distinction possible.
Before FRANdata, Christina developed cross-sector analytical experience in financial advisory, banking, and automotive industry contexts — environments where quantitative precision and the ability to communicate findings to non-technical stakeholders are both essential. That combination of technical depth and applied judgment defines her approach to franchise research.
Christina holds an M.A. in Applied Economics from Georgetown University, where her graduate concentration in data analytics and economic forecasting directly shaped the modeling methods she applies at FRANdata. She earned her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Colorado Denver.
Her research supports four of FRANdata’s core professional audiences: franchisors using performance benchmarking to measure system health against industry peers; SBA and conventional lenders using bank credit reports and FUND Score data to evaluate franchise loan risk; private equity firms using custom research to assess platform acquisitions and brand-level investment theses; and established operators using economic forecast data to inform expansion strategy.
To engage Christina’s team on custom franchise research, credit analysis, or performance benchmarking, contact FRANdata directly or explore the products she leads below.
→ Explore the FUND Score
→ Learn about Performance Benchmarking
→ Request Custom Research & Consulting
→ View the Latest Economic Outlook for Franchising