Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck Franchise Cost & 2026 FDD Data
79/100
Strongest tier
79 this brand51 Quick-Service Restaurants medianlikely 59–99: narrower with more SBA loans (very low confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#188 of 3,068 graded brands
Why an A: Helped by financial health, unit growth, scale, legal record and transparency. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $101K – $309K
- (for a Mobile Store) format
- Avg gross sales
- not extracted
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from the FDD filing. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026 FDD
Per the 2026 FDD, a Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck franchise requires a total initial investment of $101K – $309K for the (for a Mobile Store) format (the filing prices $101K to $345K across two formats), including a $30K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 6.0%. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. Verdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2026 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low (issued within the last 12 months)
Evidence for the headline figures: thin✓ 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 scored4 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Quick-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Quick-Service Restaurants median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSItem 19 reports actual annual Gross Sales (as defined, excluding sales tax and redeemed coupons) for each individual Franchisee-Owned and Company-Owned Operating Store for 2023-2025, broken out by venue sub-type (Stand Alone, Mall, Walmart, Meijer, Mobile, Venue) per operator; no system-wide average, median, or net income figures were disclosed.
- TERMSNo protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $27K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $41K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $164K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (2)
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- Limited data: this page holds only part of the filing. Read the FDD itself before relying on any figure here.
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating and no lawsuit naming the franchisor in Item 3. Not on file here, so ask: unit trend, SBA charge-off rate against the category median, jury-trial waiver, supplier rebates and owner-operator rule.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 58% below the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($487K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Ben's Soft Pretzels Franchising Corporation (Item 1: 1119 S. Indiana Avenue, Goshen, Indiana 46526) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Item 7 (startup costs) · 2 formats · 2026 FDD
Every building format
The filing prints a separate Item 7 table for each format.
2 formats, from $101K to $345K
| Format | Total investment | Page |
|---|---|---|
| (for a Traditional or Captive Venue Store) | $122K – $345K | p.18 |
| (for a Mobile Store)(the range shown above) | $101K – $309K | p.18 |
Full Item 7 breakdown11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Vehicle (including equipment and signage) | $47K | $225K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training | $1K | $10K | |
| Office Equipment and Supplies | $500 | $1K | |
| Business Insurance | $2.5K | $4K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $10K | |
| Live Large Initial Inventory, Starter Kit and Smallwares | $350 | $4K | |
| Other Initial Inventory | $1.65K | $4K | |
| POS System | $149 | $1.8K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $500 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds for First 3 Months | $12.5K | $17.5K | |
| Total initial investment | $101K | $309K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fundBrand-wide marketing pool. Up to 4% of Gross Sales; currently 1.5% of Gross Sales | 4.0% of gross sales |
Technology feeThe filing's detailApprox. $229/month POS/technology fee ($99 software cost paid to franchisor + $130 to Incentivio for online ordering/loyalty), plus up to $1,799 initial hardware implementation fee | $229/month |
| Total fee loadnear the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.0% | 7.5% of sales |
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $205K Item 7 midpoint ((for a Mobile Store) format) is a $164K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $27K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $41K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $205K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $164K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
No Item 19 gross sales figure for Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck is on file. The return models need one gross sales figure to start from, plus the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions; nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Not disclosed in Item 19. Enter your own gross sales assumption
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
This brand's Item 19 prints cost or operating-income lines that are not on this page yet. Read them in Item 19 and enter them here.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $101K to $309K
Item 7's $13K to $18K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies annual revenue, COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $164K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
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: 2026 FDD · filed by Ben's Soft Pretzels Franchising Corporation
Financial performance
Item 19 reports actual annual Gross Sales (as defined, excluding sales tax and redeemed coupons) for each individual Franchisee-Owned and Company-Owned Operating Store for 2023-2025, broken out by venue sub-type (Stand Alone, Mall, Walmart, Meijer, Mobile, Venue) per operator; no system-wide average, median, or net income figures were disclosed.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck 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.
System figures: see Ben’s Soft Pretzels
System figures: see Ben’s Soft Pretzels
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What are the risks?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade A: Strongest tier, 79/100 (category median 51); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why an A, factor by factor
- Financial health HelpsAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; franchisor net income positive
- Unit economics NeutralNo Item 19 sales figure to set against the investment, so neutral
- Unit growth HelpsTurnover 3.7%
- Scale HelpsFranchising since 2013
- Legal HelpsNo litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 status not confirmed (neither credit nor penalty); audited financials
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Insight Accounting Group, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
System figures: see Ben’s Soft Pretzels
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 2 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Reserved by franchisor |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Non-compete (years) | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles) | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Curable defaults | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Goshen, Indiana |
| Governing law | Indiana |
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck franchise?
Per the 2026 FDD, the total investment to open a Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck franchise ranges from $101K to $309K for the (for a Mobile Store) format, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. Across every format the filing prices, totals run from $101K to $345K (two formats). This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck franchise owners earn?
No average owner earnings figure for Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck is on file. Item 19, where a franchisor may disclose what its outlets earn, is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and we have not established what this brand's FDD says. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck?
Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck is franchised by Ben's Soft Pretzels Franchising Corporation. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck 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 Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
Is Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Ben’s Soft Pretzels Food Truck an A Verdict grade (Strongest tier) with a verdict score of 79 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by financial health (audited financials), unit growth, scale, legal record and transparency. The “Why an A” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
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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.