As the world becomes more connected, start-up businesses are opening with increased frequency, however the element of longevity it often not considered at the moment of inception. At that point it’s about satisfying a need and the economic activity of producing goods and services for profit. Research shows that many companies do not survive more than five and some cases 10 years. This juxtaposes between short lived companies and those companies with life spans over 50 years has stimulated this research, with an emphasis on the foodservice industry of which the researcher has spent four decades helping companies survive and thrive. This qualitative research is purposed to examine the DNA of three global foodservice brands thereby developing a potential hypothesis on what has allowed such companies to go beyond survival and be leaders in their sector. With a multiple-case, multiple-unit case study approach, the benefits are that the writer is able to analyse the data within each situation and across different situations. Other benefits are that the evidence generated from a multiple case study is strong and reliable and the writer can clarify if the findings from the results are valuable or not. When the conclusions are more intensely grounded in different empirical evidence, multiple case study then create a more convincing theory. The insights from this unique high-level C-suite approach will give clearer perspectives towards the core values of longevity, which in turn can further research helping businesses, not just survive, but achieve a greater longevity and purpose to communities in which they serve.