FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00019·STRONGExcellent91

16 Handles

Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & DessertsFranchising since 2022Website
Investment
$250K – $657K
59th pct Ice Cream & D…
Avg revenue
$805K
42nd pct Ice Cream & D…
Royalty
6.0%
27th pct Ice Cream & D…
Units
31
59th pct Ice Cream & D…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $250K – $657K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $805K/year (median $750K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 19 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
16 HANDLES FRANCHISING LLC
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
450 Park Avenue South, Floor 3, New York, NY 10016
Auditor
MUHAMMAD ZUBAIRY, CPA PC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.7M
vs $1.9M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one 16 Handles unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $804,648
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $250K–$657K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

17%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$80K
EBITDA margin
10.0%
Total invested
$466K
Payback
69 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 16 Handles units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$483K

on $2.4M purchase

Total debt

$1.9M

SBA $1.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

16 Handles franchisees operate frozen yogurt shops, managing daily operations including serving and ring-up of self-serve frozen yogurt, topping preparation and inventory, customer service, staffing, and retail marketing. Franchisees are responsible for lease negotiations, local marketing, hiring/training employees, and maintaining brand standards across equipment maintenance and facility cleanliness.

CEO
Neil Hershman
Founded
2022
FDD year
2026
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$250K – $657K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$805K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$750K
Item 19 type
Average and Median Gross Sales
Sample size
24 units
vs category median 18
Range (low → high)
$431K$2.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank42th
vs Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & Desserts peers
Investment cost rank59th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank27th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank59th
vs Food & Beverage - Ice Cream & Desserts peers
Risk score rank10th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
31
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
6.5%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+6.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+6.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
31+2
Franchised units
2025
29
Franchised units
2026
29
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 8 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 8 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
19
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

49
Risk · 0-100
STRONG49 / 100

16 Handles presents caution-level risk: meaningful profitability gaps, slow growth trajectory, and lack of transparent earnings disclosure despite high capital requirements warrant careful due diligence before commitment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $804,648 average revenue claim — unable to verify profitability or validate earnings claims
  2. 02MEDSlow unit growth of 6.9% YoY with only 31 total units suggests limited brand momentum and potential market saturation concerns
  3. 03MEDHigh investment range ($249,500–$656,500) combined with undisclosed net income creates uncertainty about ROI timeline and break-even point
  4. 04MINORBroad territory protection language without specifics (radius, population density) may create disputes or inadequate market exclusivity
  5. 05MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) means franchisees pay royalties even in loss-making months, increasing financial pressure

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Area
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Delaware

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
28 hrs
On-the-job training
81 hrs
POS system
Toast
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

48 numbers

Locked
(843) 409-••••
SC
(914) 607-••••
NY
(518) 433-••••
NY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

16 Handles · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above