Bottom line
- Total investment $395K – $1.3M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 42 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 55.0% CAGR over 3 years with 271 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Buff City Soap unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
6%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Buff City Soap franchisees operate artisanal soap retail locations selling handmade soaps, bath products, and self-care items. Daily operations include product sales on the retail floor, customer engagement, inventory management, and potential wholesale or online fulfillment. Most locations function as small-format retail shops in strip malls or shopping centers with 2–4 employees.
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 · 22 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
Buff City Soap presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to opaque unit economics, minimal growth trajectory, and absence of performance disclosure (Item 19), making ROI validation impossible without direct franchisee verification.
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess ROI or payback period
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of only 4.0% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles
- 03MINORWide investment range ($395K–$1.28M) indicates inconsistent unit economics or unclear cost structure
- 04MEDHigh franchise fee ($50K) relative to disclosed financial transparency — high barrier without proven returns
- 05MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income creates information asymmetry favoring franchisor
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
94 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Buff City Soap · FDD (2024) PDF