Candy Cloud Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Formerly known as Cloud Kitchens
- Investment
- $389K – $749K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 13 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Candy Cloud is a dessert and drink franchise serving specialty shakes, boba tea, coffee, and ice cream. Franchisees run the shops, managing drink and dessert prep, inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Candy Cloud franchise requires a total initial investment of $389K – $749K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ 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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $389K – $749K
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outletsPartial period
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 13
- 16th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $389K – $749K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Average Monthly Gross Sales for 7 franchised outlets (avg $71,973/mo, high $130,556/mo, low $28,875/mo) x12 = annualized figures used; separate corporate-unit figures reported (avg/high/low $106,031/mo, one unit). Figures exclude Royalty and Brand Fund Contributions.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 29 agreements signed but not yet open against 13 open outlets (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports historical franchise + affiliate outlet gross sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Candy Cloud Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Candy Cloud Holdings LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- CEO
- Alex Edwards
- CEO experience
- 9 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- HQ
- 9934 N Alpine Road, Suite 100, Machesney Park, IL 61115
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $753K
- vs $302K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Alex Edwards
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 6
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 16% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $334K | $689K |
| Total initial investment | $389K | $749K |
Source: Candy Cloud 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $389K – $749K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Candy Cloud is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Candy Cloud unit return on the cash you put in?
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.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports Average Monthly Gross Sales for 7 franchised outlets (avg $71,973/mo, high $130,556/mo, low $28,875/mo) x12 = annualized figures used; separate corporate-unit figures reported (avg/high/low $106,031/mo, one unit). Figures exclude Royalty and Brand Fund Contributions.
Includes company-owned outlets
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Item 19 type
- partial-period revenue
- Sample size
- 7
- vs category median 18 · small
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · typical
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports historical franchise + affiliate outlet gross sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 1100.0% CAGR over 3 years across 13 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Candy Cloud Compares
Category median of published Full-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.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 13
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 92%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 29
- 2.23 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 14
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 6 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
6
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- IL 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 13
- Loan volume
- $4.6M
- Median loan
- $370K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 13 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 13 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 13 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 13 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 9.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.6%
- n=3,755 loans
- Jobs supported
- 159
- 4.1 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 50%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 92% went to startups / new businesses, 8% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars, franchised businesses charge off at 10.6% vs 8.9% for independents — franchising is associated with 19% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Candy Cloud franchisees
Showing 3 of 5 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Candy Cloud from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 67%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.26%
- Lender concentration
- 50.0%
- Job velocity
- 4.1 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.0%
- NAICS 722515
- Jobs supported
- 159
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 50% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 6 | $1.3M | N/A |
| 2 | St. Charles Bank & Trust Company, National Association | 3 | $1.4M | N/A |
| 3 | Magnifi Financial CU | 1 | $394K | N/A |
| 4 | Byline Bank | 1 | $517K | N/A |
| 5 | Midland States Bank | 1 | $257K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ILIllinois | 5 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NJNew Jersey | 2 | 0 | -- |
| OHOhio | 2 | 0 | -- |
| WIWisconsin | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Candy Cloud presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, aggressive growth trajectory, high royalty burden relative to disclosed revenues, and an embryonic franchise system with minimal franchisee validation pool.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet Income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims or ROI timeline
- 02MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio: $389K-$749K initial investment vs. $71,973 average weekly revenue creates unclear payback period
- 03MINORExplosive unit growth of 140% YoY is unsustainable and suggests either aggressive recruiting or potential instability; needs validation of unit retention rates
- 04MINOR6% royalty on gross (not net) revenue is aggressive and reduces margins; at $71,973/week, this equals ~$22,491/month in royalties alone
- 05MED13-unit system is extremely small and immature; limited operational data, high failure risk, and insufficient franchisee base for validation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Winnebago County, Illinois |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Rockford, Illinois (or other location designated by Franchisor)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 6 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor_approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Candy Cloud franchise?
The total investment to open a Candy Cloud franchise ranges from $389K – $749K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Candy Cloud franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Candy Cloud FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Candy Cloud?
Candy Cloud is franchised by Candy Cloud Franchising LLC. Its parent company is Candy Cloud Holdings LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Candy Cloud 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 Candy Cloud FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Candy Cloud's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Candy Cloud (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Candy Cloud franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Candy Cloud has 13 total units in the United States, including 12 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Candy Cloud a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Candy Cloud as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). 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.