FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00453·MODERATEExcellent86

Canteen

Food & Beverage - Coffee & TeaFranchising since 1996Website
Investment
$9K – $2.1M
0th pct Coffee & Tea
Avg revenue
49th pct Coffee & Tea
Royalty
Units
261
91st pct Coffee & Tea
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $9K – $2.1M including a $25K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -9.9% 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
Canteen (a division of Compass Group USA, Inc.)
Parent company
Compass Group USA, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
2400 Yorkmont Road, Charlotte, NC 28217
Auditor
Forvis Mazars, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$31.5B
Most recent fiscal 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 Canteen unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $9K–$2.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $75K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

6%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$68K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$1.1M
Payback
203 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.

Overview

About

Canteen franchisees operate vending machine and micro-market businesses, stocking and servicing machines with snacks, beverages, and other consumer products placed at corporate offices, warehouses, and facilities. Day-to-day responsibilities include machine restocking, cash collection, customer service, maintenance, and route management across their protected territory.

CEO
Erik R. Snyder
Founded
1994
FDD year
2026
States available
40

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$9K – $2.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$75K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
Up to 5.25% of Gross Sales
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
5.3%
vs 9–13% typical

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

Total units
261
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
9
Turnover rate
3.4%
Company-owned
161
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
38%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-7.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-9.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
100-8
Franchised units
2025
108
Franchised units
2026
111
Franchised units

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).

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 · 22 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
13
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

57
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE57 / 100

Canteen presents elevated risk due to contracting franchise system, undisclosed unit economics, active litigation exposure, and lack of franchisee financial transparency required for informed investment decisions.

Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 7.4% YoY (261 units) signals system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue/Net Income) prevents evaluation of actual franchisee profitability and ROI
  3. 03HIGHActive litigation involving class actions (credit card surcharge notifications, Illinois Biometric Act) creates legal liability exposure and potential compliance costs
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($9,150–$2.1M) suggests highly variable unit economics and unclear capital requirements
  5. 05MINOR15-year term is lengthy commitment given declining unit trajectory and unproven financials
  6. 06MINORRoyalty structure up to 5.25% on gross sales (not net) creates ongoing margin pressure without visibility into profitability thresholds

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
County-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
4
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
58 hrs
On-the-job training
182 hrs
POS system
FISH (Franchise Information Systems Hub)
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

96 numbers

Locked
(360) 902-••••
WA
(337) 658-••••
SC
(559) 485-••••
SC

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Canteen · FDD (2026) PDF

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