Amorino Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Amorino is a dessert franchise serving premium Italian gelato shaped into signature flower-petal cones, plus pastries and coffee. Franchisees run the shops, managing gelato prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Amorino franchise requires a total initial investment of $439K – $981K, including a $30K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $439K – $981K
- 75th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 22
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $439K – $981K including a $30K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $970K), with an estimated 18% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict C (Average), verdict score 46/100 (higher is better).
- System growing at 37.5% CAGR over 3 years with 22 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- CPUSA, LLC
- Parent company
- Amorino USA Corp.
- Ultimate parent
- -18° SAS (French company, owned by CPH, SAS)
- Predecessor
- Minus Zero4 F, LLC (offered Amorino franchises Dec 2012 – early 2019)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Erwan De Guichen
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, Delaware 19808
- Auditor
- WBL CPAs + Advisors
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $37K
- vs $19K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Erwan De Guichen
- Headquarters
- DE
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 10
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 12% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown33 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Traditional Store) | $30K | $30K | |
| Architect's Fees, Engineer's Fees, Permits (Traditional Store) | $15K | $45K | |
| Legal Fees (Traditional Store) | $3K | $12K | |
| Real Property: Lease Security Deposit and Utility Deposits (Traditional Store) | $5K | $45K | |
| Leasehold Improvements: Construction, Remodeling, Alterations and Decorating (Traditional Store) | $140K | $400K | |
| Furniture, Equipment, Casework, and Restaurant Supplies (Traditional Store) | $125K | $195K | |
| Freight, Duties, Storage and Delivery (Traditional Store) | $10K | $15K | |
| P.O.S. Systems (Traditional Store) | $2K | $3K | |
| Inventory to begin Operating (Traditional Store) | $20K | $70K | |
| Signage (Traditional Store) | $15K | $30K | |
| Store Opening Promotional Fee (Traditional Store) | $5K | $5K | |
| Store Opening Assistance / Initial Training (Traditional Store) | $4K | $7K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Traditional Store) | $65K | $125K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Kiosk Outlet) | $30K | $30K | |
| Architect's Fees, Engineer's Fees, Permits (Kiosk Outlet) | $4K | $5K | |
| Legal Fees (Kiosk Outlet) | $3K | $12K | |
| Real Property: Lease Security Deposit and Utility Deposits (Kiosk Outlet) | $5K | $60K | |
| Leasehold Improvements: Construction, Remodeling, Alterations and Decorating (Kiosk Outlet) | $5K | $100K | |
| Furniture, Equipment, Casework, and Restaurant Supplies (Kiosk Outlet) | $60K | $150K | |
| Freight, Duties, Storage and Delivery (Kiosk Outlet) | $10K | $15K | |
| Total initial investment | $674K | $1.6M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $439K – $981K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $65K – $125K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- Currently $0 (no royalty charged); franchisor marks up pr…
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 33.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $30 |
| Training fee | $7K |
| Transfer fee | $1K |
| Renewal fee | $25 |
| Inventory (initial) | $20K – $70K |
| Total fee load | 33.0% of rev |
At 33.0% total fee load, roughly $368K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$145K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $970K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $128K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 18.0%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- net_revenue_and_profitability
- Sample size
- 18 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $545K→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 485 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 33.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 8.1%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 37.5% CAGR over 3 years across 22 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 7% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Amorino Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 22
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 7.1%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +37.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +37.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 10
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 10
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $3.5M
- Median loan
- $386K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (9 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Amorino presents moderate-to-caution risk due to recent litigation alleging fraud, unverified financial claims, modest growth on small unit base, and high investment relative to reported returns.
Litigation (Item 3)
One case: Capernaum Capital LLC v. Minus Zero4 F LLC et al. (USDC E.D. La., Case No. 22-5271, filed Dec 13 2022). Franchisee alleged rescission, fraud, breach of contract. Settled Feb 2023 — franchisee paid Amorino Trading $16,906.06, parties exchanged mutual releases, franchise agreement terminated.
Largest disclosed settlement: $16,906
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · WBL CPAs + Advisors
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHLitigation history: December 2022 lawsuit alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of contract, settled with franchisee paying $16,906 and terminating agreement — suggests potential disclosure or operational issues
- 02MINORHigh investment ceiling ($980,500) combined with modest average net income ($127,849) yields concerning 7.6-year payback period at upper range, increasing financial risk exposure
- 03MEDModest unit growth (22.2% YoY) on small base (22 units) indicates early-stage franchise system with limited operating history and scale; growth rate may not be sustainable
- 04MINORNo royalty model creates unclear franchisor revenue stream and potential incentive misalignment between franchisor support and franchisee success
- 05MINORItem 19 (financial performance representation) absence prevents verification of claimed average revenue/net income figures across entire franchisee population
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 33.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 20 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York County, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One case: Capernaum Capital LLC v. Minus Zero4 F LLC et al. (USDC E.D. La., Case No. 22-5271, filed Dec 13 2022). Franchisee alleged rescission, fraud, breach of contract. Settled Feb 2023 — franchisee paid Amorino Trading $16,906.06, parties exchanged mutual releases, franchise agreement terminated.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 22 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 38 hrs
- Training location
- Paris, France (10 days initial) + franchisee's store location (5 days on-site)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 45 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- mutual agreement / franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
11 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Amorino · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Amorino franchise?
The total investment to open a Amorino franchise ranges from $439K – $981K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Amorino franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Amorino FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $970K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Amorino's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Amorino (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Amorino franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Amorino has 22 total units in the United States, including 22 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Amorino a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Amorino as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 46 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.