FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00382·STRONGExcellent91

Breadsmith

Food & Beverage - BakeryFranchising since 1993Website
Investment
$330K – $506K
58th pct Bakery
Avg revenue
$1.2M
45th pct Bakery
Royalty
7.0%
83rd pct Bakery
Units
32
49th pct Bakery
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $330K – $506K including a $49K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $727K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 38 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -14.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Breadsmith Franchising, Inc.
Incorporated in
Wisconsin
HQ
409 East Silver Spring Drive, Suite U11, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin 53217
Auditor
Ritz Holman LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.3M
vs $1.3M prior year

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 Breadsmith unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,212,633
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $330K–$506K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $4K–$24K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

25%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$109K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$432K
Payback
48 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Breadsmith units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$485K

on $2.4M purchase

Total debt

$1.9M

SBA $1.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate neighborhood bakery cafes featuring artisanal breads, pastries, and light food service. Day-to-day operations include baking, food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and retail sales in a small-format location (typically 1,200-1,800 sq ft).

CEO
Tim Malouf
Founded
1993
FDD year
2025
States available
13

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$330K – $506K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$4K – $24K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$49K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.2M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$727K
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
16 units
vs category median 23
Range (low → high)
$391K$5.0M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank45th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Investment cost rank58th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank83th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank49th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Risk score rank36th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
32
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
88%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-10.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-14.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
18+3
Franchised units
2024
20
Franchised units
2025
21
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 8 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 8 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
38
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

54
Risk · 0-100
STRONG54 / 100

Declining franchise system with shrinking unit count, undisclosed profitability metrics, and high capital requirements create material risk despite protected territories.

Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 10% YoY (32 units down from ~36) indicating system contraction and potential viability concerns
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — impossible to assess actual profitability despite $1.2M average revenue
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment ($330K-$506K) with no transparency on break-even timeline or ROI benchmarks
  4. 04MINOR7% royalty on gross receipts (not net profit) means franchisees pay during unprofitable periods
  5. 05MINORBakery category historically challenged by commodity pricing, labor costs, and artisanal market saturation

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
15 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Wisconsin

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
26 hrs
On-the-job training
115 hrs
POS system
Revel iPad Register System
Operating tech stack

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

11 numbers

Locked
(605) 271-••••
SD Prairie Bread, Inc.
SD
(920) 366-••••
WI
(520) 219-••••
AZ

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Breadsmith · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above