Florida is one of the biggest and most prosperous states in the US. From golf courses to world class amusement parks, Florida has a lot to offer and has contributed a lot to the country overall. Here is a look into some of the best thriving businesses that you can find in Florida.
Fan Duel
FanDuel is a multinational company that has offices around the world, including Florida. The company is one of the leaders in sports betting online and has been around since 2009. Known for their wide range of sports offering, if you follow a sport rest assured that FanDuel will take bets on it. Their Orlando office employs over 30 people, and they recently announced they plan to grow it further.
Publix Super Markets
Across the southeast United States, everyone is familiar with this massive and successful grocery chain. Headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, this super market chain has a longstanding foothold in this area and is a favorite of families. Since 1930, the chain has been expanding from Florida to neighboring states, and now has over 1,200 locations, and employs almost 200,000 people. Fortune magazine even rated Publix #19 on the list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2019. As long as people are still eating, brick and mortar stores like Publix will always be around, and the business is thriving year after year.
Disney World
Disney World is one of the most world renowned theme parts, and one of the most successful ever. Many fans of the Disney brand travel to Florida just to visit this location and enjoy the massive theme park. With water parks, amusement rides, golf courses, and tons of classic Disney characters hanging out, there is days worth of entertainment to enjoy here. The park was founded in 1971, and has since expanded to 25,000 acres, with over 77,000 employees. With near constant growth over the years, returning customers, and new attractions being added all the time, the park regularly posts over $1 billion dollars in annual revenue, making it one of the most lucrative theme parks in the world. Florida has many attractions, but Disney World is truly in a league of its own.
NASCAR
The sport of stock car racing has huge roots in Florida, especially the Daytona Beach area where the organization NASCAR is headquartered. The sport of NASCAR racing is growing immensely and attracting new fans every year. Races here take place at the Daytona International speedway, and often to sold out crowds of spectators. Nascar has more than 1,600 employees, and pulls an annual revenue of $375 million dollars each year.
Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants owns many well known and beloved restaurants chains across the US and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Some popular restaurant brands owned by Darden are The Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, and they even owned Red Lobster before they sold it in 2014. With so many successful dining ventures, you can see how they manage to accumulate $8 billion dollars in revenue every year. The company is even a Fortune 500-traded company, with the ticker DRI. Across all of its restaurants, Darden has over 1,500 locations and 150,000 employees.
Office Depot
With 1,400 stores across the USA, Office Depot is one of the most well known sources for your office supplies needs. The company was founded over 30 years ago and has had their headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida since they began. Office Depot’s annual revenue of $11 billion comes from their in-store and e-commerce sales. Almost 40,000 employees work for the business, and even in the age of Amazon and Walmart, somehow Office Depot continues to grow and expand their operations every year.
Chewy
This brand shows us the true power of the internet as one of the fastest growing e-commerce stores in the world. Chewy has revolutionized the pet industry and offers a selection of different products for your animal friends, delivered right to your door. Founded in Dania Beach, Florida in 2011, they have since grown into a thriving business that employs 10,000 people, and has an annual revenue of over $70 million. Florida is a state that loves pets, and there are many pet-related brands popping up all the time.
