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For singles working their way up the corporate ladder, there may not be enough time in the day to make a pot of coffee, let alone time to find their Valentine. But there is always time for lunch.

And where there's a trend, there's a business plan.

It's Just Lunch Corp. began as a tiny one-woman shop in Chicago 14 years ago after entrepreneur Andrea McGinty was dumped by her fiancé five weeks before their wedding. It has since blossomed into a 70-office operation with annual revenue of more than $30-million (U.S.). Now, with millions of first dates under its belt, the company is expanding into Canada, Europe and Asia.

The first Canadian franchise opened in Toronto last summer to a flurry of interest, and locations in Vancouver and Montreal are set to open later this year.

Canada is seen as an important growth market for the company; Toronto, in particular, because it has 1.5 million people in the core dating demographic of 25 to 44 -- 41 per cent of which are single, separated or divorced.

Another statistic the company finds encouraging: 36 per cent of Toronto's population are white-collar employees.

"People were tapping on the door before we even opened [in Toronto]," explains Nancy Kirsch, senior vice-president at IJL, who grew up in the city's tony Forest Hill neighbourhood but now calls Washington, D.C., home.

"Dating dilemmas are the same for people everywhere . . .You're a professional working long hours and you don't want to date a colleague. If you're a 30-something, you've probably already met your friends' friends," she says, adding many singles are sick of going to bars or just don't have the time to go out and meet other people.

That's why a lunch date (or an after-work "drinks" date, which the company also arranges) is seen as the perfect solution, she says. Many professionals are used to dining with business clients, so going out to eat with a stranger doesn't come with the usual first-date pressure.

After lunch, both people can easily part ways or arrange for another longer date. What's more, there are no uncomfortable walks to the front door or good-night kisses. At least, not normally on the first date.

Customers plunk down $1,195 for a year's membership, which entitles them to a minimum of 14 first dates as well as a personal matchmaker who interviews each member, hand-picks each encounter and even makes the reservations at the restaurant.

If only Yente, Fiddler on the Roof's loud-yet-lovable matchmaker, had realized the money that could be made by setting people up like this.

Tampa Bay, Fla.-based research firm Marketdata Enterprises estimates that the American dating-services industry generated $1.1-billion (U.S.) in 2004. That figure is forecast to swell to $1.5-billion by 2008.

Half of that is spent on dating websites like Match.com and personals.yahoo.com, but a growing proportion is also choosing the so-called off-line dating services. In fact, $407-million was spent at off-line matchmakers last year, which is expected to rise to $440-million by 2008.

According to Ms. Kirsch's data, more than half of all blind dates arranged through IJL go out for a second date.

A year ago, the service took credit for more than 10,000 marriages since its inception, but "it's much higher now," she says.

The success comes mainly from the matchmaker, Ms. Kirsch says.

Users of on-line dating services, which have become wildly popular in recent years, have to sift through scores of pictures and descriptions looking for that perfect match. Same goes for video-based dating services.

"Singles get frustrated because they're chasing the wrong list," she says, noting that through IJL, the date co-ordinator often picks pairings by a combination of suggestions from the client and gut instinct. "It's that unexplainable thing you cannot type into the computer."

Julie Ferman, a Los Angeles-based independent matchmaker and dating industry consultant, says services like IJL are ideal for singles because it gets people out on first dates and allows people the chance to improve their dating skills.

"There are so many people who are overlooked on websites," she says, referring to those who are "beauty-challenged" or who don't feel comfortable e-mailing somebody for weeks only to get a rejection before an in-person meeting.

She also says the price is right. Rival off-line dating services, like popular U.S. chain Great Expectations, often charge $3,000 to use their services. In big cities, some matchmakers charge $10,000.

Price was a key factor for Jennifer (not her real name), a 33-year-old health-care industry executive who signed up for IJL in late December as a New Year's resolution. She has friends who have spent upward of $5,000 (Canadian) for a dating service.

So far, she's only been on one date -- after-work drinks -- that went "well." Plans are in the works for a second date.

"It's really hard to meet people," she says, noting that she's been set up by countless friends and dabbled in on-line dating as well.

"If there's one thing it's taught me it's what I want and what I don't want."

She also likes IJL because the company verifies each person's identity and background, adding a greater degree of safety to encounters -- something most websites don't do.

"And I like that it's no pressure: It's just lunch."

Exactly.