Bottom line
- Total investment $115K – $1.8M including a $36K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $792K/year (median $733K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 139 loans (below the industry average).
- Established system with 1,247 units across 35 years of franchising — strong brand recognition and operational playbook.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Auntie Anne's unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
5%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Auntie Anne's franchisees operate pretzel and snack food kiosks or small-format storefronts, primarily in high-traffic locations (malls, airports, entertainment venues). Day-to-day operations involve food preparation, customer service, inventory management, staff training, and compliance with brand standards and food safety regulations.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Auntie Anne's presents moderate-to-cautious risk: slow unit growth, parent company litigation involving anti-competitive and data security failures, missing profitability disclosure, and wide cost variance create uncertainty about franchisee returns and franchisor accountability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSlow unit growth of only 4.6% YoY indicates market maturation or contraction pressure
- 02HIGHParent company (Arby's RestauCo) involved in multiple litigation settlements (no-poaching, data breaches, disclosure omissions) suggesting systemic governance issues
- 03MEDAverage Net Income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI validation and suggests franchisor may be hiding unfavorable profit data
- 04MINORWide investment range ($115K–$1.8M) creates opacity about actual unit economics and comparability
- 05MINORData privacy breaches and cyberattack disclosures raise concerns about customer payment security and franchisee liability exposure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
96 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Auntie Anne's · FDD (2026) PDF