Apple Spice® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $393K – $572K
- Disclosed sales
- $885K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 24.1%
- on 46 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Apple Spice is a box lunch delivery and catering franchise serving corporate and event customers with sandwiches, salads, and boxed meals. Franchisees run central-kitchen commissaries, managing food production and delivery routes.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A APPLE SPICE® franchise requires a total initial investment of $393K – $572K, including a $49K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $885K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 24.1% charge-off rate across 46 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $393K – $572K
- 63rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $885K
- 16th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 32
- 57th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 24.1%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $393K – $572K including a $49K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $885K/year (median $727K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 24.1% across 46 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 1 closed); 2 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Café & Bakery Group, LLC
- Parent company
- BLD Co., LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Manager and CEO
- Randy Clegg
- CEO experience
- 2011 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 2250 South 1300 West, Suite A, Salt Lake City, Utah 84119
- Auditor
- Anderson Bradshaw PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.5M
- vs $2.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Randy Clegg
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 17
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about typical for a quick-service restaurants franchise (near the category median).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $49K | $49K | |
| Training & Living Expenses while training | $5K | $8K | |
| Training Fee | $10K | $10K | |
| Real Estate Lease Deposit | $2K | $7K | |
| Real Estate Improvements | $76K | $175K | |
| Equipment Package | $150K | $170K | |
| Freight (equipment/POS/ Opening Inventory) | $1K | $9K | |
| Shelving/Office furniture | $1K | $3K | |
| POS System (hardware/ software/install) | $19K | $19K | |
| Signage - Interior/exterior (install) | $1K | $5K | |
| Misc. Expenses & Professional Fees | $3K | $10K | |
| Opening Inventory - Sysco & Sam's Club | $9K | $14K | |
| Opening Inventory - SLC Warehouse | $6K | $8K | |
| Initial Marketing - Food give-away promo - 90 days | $9K | $9K | |
| Initial Marketing - SEO/Social Media Marketing | $1K | $1K | |
| Initial Marketing - Grand Opening | $7K | $7K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $45K | $70K | |
| Total initial investment | $393K | $574K |
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
- $393K – $572K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $45K – $70K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $49K – $49K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% |
| Technology fee | $604 |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $9K – $14K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 9% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for APPLE SPICE® until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$540K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one APPLE SPICE® unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $885K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $727K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 31 outlets
- vs category median 19
- Range (low → high)
- $78K→$2.4MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 53 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 781 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 $885K/year in gross sales. Median is $727K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.8x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -3.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% 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 medians
How Apple Spice® Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 32
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.1%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -3.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 2
- 0.06 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 3.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 17 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
17
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- UT 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 46
- Loan volume
- $13.1M
- Median loan
- $285K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 24.1%
- on 46 loans · rates vary by category · see methodology
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
- 20.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 21
- Defaults
- 7
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
A 24.1% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 24.1% — 50% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Anderson Bradshaw PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited financials are for the franchisor Cafe & Bakery Group, LLC (dba Apple Spice). FY2024 total revenue $2,452,662 comprises franchise fees $535,189, royalties and marketing fees $1,613,834, management fees and other revenues - related party $252,845, and other revenue $50,794.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed despite $884K average revenue — suggests poor profitability or data withholding
- 02MINOROnly 32 units with unknown growth trajectory — system appears stagnant or contracting
- 03MINORNo protected territory — franchisees face internal brand cannibalization and competition
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($393K-$571K) with 6% royalty against undisclosed profit margins
- 05MINOR10-year term locks capital with unclear exit or resale market for only 32-unit system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% 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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Approximately 5,500 businesses with 5+ employees per territory |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 81 hrs
- Training location
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee (with franchisor approval; must use approved supplier for site identification)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a APPLE SPICE® franchise?
The total investment to open a APPLE SPICE® franchise ranges from $393K – $572K, with an initial franchise fee of $49K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do APPLE SPICE® franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the APPLE SPICE® FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $885K. The median is $727K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns APPLE SPICE®?
APPLE SPICE® is franchised by Café & Bakery Group, LLC. Its parent company is BLD Co., LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the APPLE SPICE® FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the APPLE SPICE® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is APPLE SPICE®'s franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, APPLE SPICE® has a charge-off rate of 24.1% across 46 loans, meaning 24.1% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many APPLE SPICE® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, APPLE SPICE® has 32 total units in the United States, including 31 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is APPLE SPICE® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates APPLE SPICE® as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
If you represent APPLE SPICE®, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
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.