He Went From Corporate America to Owning a $2.5 Million Franchise Recycling Cooking Oil: 'I Decide How I Want to Achieve Success' Trent Carlos had no experience in the industry when he started his Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchise. Now he's living his wildest entrepreneurial dream.
By Carl Stoffers Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Filta's proprietary oil filtration and recycling service reduces waste, lowers costs and enhances food quality for restaurants and large venues.
- The franchise provides comprehensive training, enabling entrepreneurs from any background to succeed.
- Franchisees can grow their business quickly, transitioning from hands-on work to CEO-level leadership with commitment and hard work.
If you attended the Super Bowl this year — or ate something fried anywhere in New Orleans, for that matter — chances are it was cooked in oil that Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions franchisee Trent Carlos has serviced.
"There is nothing we don't touch in that city," Carlos says, "including colleges, restaurants, arenas and everything else."
Recycling and deep cleaning
Founded in 1996 in the U.K., Filta debuted in the U.S. in 2002 and now has 350 franchises worldwide. The company, #213 on 91³ÉÈË's 2025 Franchise 500 ranking, offers environmentally-friendly solutions for cleaning, recycling and repurposing materials in kitchens in the food and hospitality industry.
When Filta techs service a restaurant, they deep clean the fryers using only environmentally friendly materials and a proprietary filtering process that can significantly reduce the amount of oil restaurants must purchase. Additionally, cooking in clean oil enhances the flavor and texture of the food. "I describe it as dialysis for cooking oil," Filta CEO Tom Dunn says. "We do the micro-filtration of the oil as a service call inside of commercial kitchens."
Carlos says his franchise recycled more than one million pounds of oil in 2024 — including 72,000 pounds just from the Superdome, the site of Super Bowl LIX. However, although recycling cooking oil can be economical, there is a limit to how many times it can be reused. Filta has a solution for that: When oil can no longer be used for cooking, the company recycles it to be used as biodiesel.
Related: Here's how we determined the annual Franchise 500 ranking — and what we learned from the data.
No experience required
Many franchises require specialized backgrounds and experience, but not Filta. Carlos worked in corporate environments before a chance conversation with a Filta franchisee set him on his journey. "At the time, I was thinking about making some changes in my life, and he told me about Filta and that I could make a good living off of it and have some work-life balance," he says.
Carlos purchased his Filta franchise in 2020; he credits the company's training program for his seamless transition to business owner. "I didn't have any experience in the industry — nothing," Carlos says. "Filta does all the training right in their facility, and then they send you out with local franchise owners to get whatever additional training you might need."
Now, Carlos trains those new franchisees himself.
Marquee clients
Some big-name clients have contributed to Carlos's franchise's massive financial success — he topped $2.5 million in revenue last year. "We don't just service restaurants," Carlos says. "We service all the fryers at the airport, all the restaurants and hotels nearby, the Superdome, the Smoothie King Center. Anything that has a kitchen or a restaurant — we're everywhere."
Carlos's success enabled him to begin hiring people quickly and to become more of a CEO than a hands-on worker — for many, the entrepreneurial dream. "I can't remember the last time I cleaned a fryer," Carlos says. "Now I have layers of people — management — underneath me to support my vision and mission. At the same time, [it allows] me the flexibility to live the life I want and have the work-life balance that I want."
Self-determination
When Carlos looks back on his time in corporate America, he acknowledges that although he made good money, he never truly experienced freedom. His life often depended on the boss he had at the time — if his boss changed, his life could change, too. Now, he no longer faces that uncertainty. "Today, my success is determined the moment I get out of bed and touch the ground," Carlos says. "I set the pace for my day, and I decide how I want to achieve success."
Reflecting on his success with Filta, Carlos has some advice for entrepreneurs who want to follow in his footsteps and explore franchising: "Don't be afraid," he says. "In the beginning, it's going to be scary, but don't listen to all the people who say you can't do it. And one day, you'll be surprised at the success that you've had, just like me."
Related: Greg Flynn Owns 1,245 Restaurants and Makes $2 Billion A Year. Here's How He Did It.
