Baja Smoothies
Bottom line
- Total investment $145K – $327K including a $30K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
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 Baja Smoothies unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
44%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate portable smoothie carts (2 or 4 stations per unit) in high-traffic outdoor or indoor locations, preparing and selling blended fruit beverages and related products. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, customer service, cash handling, equipment maintenance, and location optimization to drive foot traffic and repeat sales.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Baja Smoothies presents HIGH RISK due to a micro-franchise system (2 units), undisclosed financial performance, franchisor going concern issues, and insufficient royalty revenue to support franchisee growth—avoid until system demonstrates sustainable unit growth and profitability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 existing units indicates an extremely underdeveloped franchise system with no meaningful track record or network support
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation; unable to assess if $144K-$326K investment can generate acceptable returns
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is False, suggesting potential financial instability or operational risk at franchisor level
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($144K-$326K) combined with low royalty fees ($2,995-$3,995 annually) indicates franchisor may be underfunded to support franchisees adequately
- 05MEDCart-based model is inherently location-dependent and weather-vulnerable with limited scalability or revenue diversification
- 06MINOR10-year term is unusually long without demonstrated franchisee success metrics or exit data
- 07MINORTiny unit count (2) suggests either brand is pre-revenue stage or prior franchisees have exited—both are severe red flags
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
14 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Baja Smoothies · FDD (2024) PDF