FranchiseVerdict
Açai Republic logo
FV-00217·CAUTIONExcellent81

Açai Republic

Food & Beverage - Juice & SmoothiesFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$178K – $505K
38th pct Juice & Smoot…
Avg revenue
38th pct Juice & Smoot…
Royalty
5.0%
5th pct Juice & Smoot…
Units
29
33rd pct Juice & Smoot…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $178K – $505K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100.
  • System contracting at -65.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Açai Republic Franchise Development, LLC
Incorporated in
California
HQ
632 El Camino Real, #C, Tustin, California, 92780
Auditor
Reese CPA LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$545K
vs $363K 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 Açai Republic unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $178K–$505K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $38K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

19%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$79K
EBITDA margin
10.5%
Total invested
$410K
Payback
63 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate quick-service açai bowl and smoothie shops, typically in high-traffic retail locations or food courts. Daily operations include inventory management, food preparation, POS transactions, staff scheduling, and local marketing to drive walk-in and delivery orders.

CEO
Adriano Pereira
Founded
2019
FDD year
2025
States available
4

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$178K – $505K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$38K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$35K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
29
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
8
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
72%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
-50.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-65.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
7+4
Franchised units
2024
14
Franchised units
2025
20
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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 · 17 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

72
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION72 / 100

Açai Republic presents extreme risk: a franchise system hemorrhaging 50% of units annually with no financial transparency, unknown profitability, and potential franchisor going concern issues.

Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORSystem collapsed 50% YoY (29 units down from ~58) — severe contraction indicates fundamental business model failure
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure — cannot verify average unit economics, profitability, or break-even timeline
  3. 03HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE — franchisor may lack financial stability to support franchisees or honor obligations
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment ($178k-$505k) paired with unknown ROI creates extreme downside risk
  5. 05MED5% royalty on undisclosed revenues offers no transparency on typical franchisee earnings potential
  6. 06MEDRapid unit decline suggests widespread franchisee dissatisfaction, closure, or non-renewal

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
22 hrs
On-the-job training
123 hrs
POS system
Square
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

47 numbers

Locked
(689) 280-••••
FL
(619) 513-••••
CA
(760) 718-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Açai Republic · FDD (2025) PDF

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