Black Sheep Coffee
Bottom line
- Total investment $738K – $1.4M including a $40K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Black Sheep Coffee unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
6%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Black Sheep Coffee franchisees operate specialty coffee shops serving espresso-based beverages, single-origin coffee, and food items. Day-to-day operations include managing barista staff, customer service, inventory management, and maintaining brand standards across store locations.
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 · 11 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
Black Sheep Coffee presents elevated risk due to minimal unit count, absent financial disclosure, high capital requirements, and no territory protection—insufficient data to validate franchise viability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 existing units with unknown growth trajectory suggests minimal proven scalability
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents realistic ROI assessment for $738K-$1.4M investment
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($738K-$1.4M) combined with 7% royalty creates significant break-even pressure without disclosed earnings
- 04MINORZero territorial protection exposes franchisee to direct competition from other Black Sheep locations
- 05MEDUnclear how franchisor supports 2-unit system; minimal infrastructure suggests limited franchisee support resources
- 06MED10-year commitment with undisclosed performance metrics creates long-term lock-in risk
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
13 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Black Sheep Coffee · FDD (2025) PDF