Clean EatzFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Clean Eatz franchise requires a total initial investment of $354K – $798K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 4.3% charge-off rate across 69 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $354K – $798K
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 98
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 4.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
27% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $354K – $798K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $977K), with an estimated 27% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 14/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 4.3% across 69 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 44.8% CAGR over 3 years with 98 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Clean Eatz Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- V & V Holdings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 203 Racine Drive, Wilmington NC 28403
- Auditor
- Earney & Company, L.L.P.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.7M
- vs $7.9M prior year
Overview
About
Clean Eatz franchisees operate health-focused food preparation and meal delivery concepts, preparing fresh, macro-balanced meals for fitness-conscious consumers. Day-to-day operations involve food sourcing, meal prep/cooking, packaging, customer order fulfillment, and local marketing. Revenue typically comes from direct consumer sales, corporate wellness programs, and delivery partnerships.
- CEO
- Don Varady
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 20
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses | $500 | $2K | |
| Rent or Real Estate | $3K | $18K | |
| Cafe Construction | $200K | $483K | |
| Furniture | $0 | $5K | |
| Signage | $5K | $12K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $4K | $10K | |
| Initial Inventory | $10K | $12K | |
| Equipment | $49K | $144K | |
| Advertising/Marketing (3 months) | $2K | $7K | |
| Insurance (Yearly basis) | $3K | $5K | |
| Technology Package | $9K | $11K | |
| Additional Funds for Initial three (3) Months | $20K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $354K | $798K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$109K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $354K – $798K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $150 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $12K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $977K
- Avg ebitda
- $153K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 26.6%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Average and Median
- Sample size
- 67 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $406K→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $616K→$1.7M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Clean Eatz Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 98
- Opened
- 21
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Turnover rate
- 8.2%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +12.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +44.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 11
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 69
- Loan volume
- $28.4M
- Median loan
- $437K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 4.3%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 76.9%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 28.6%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 33
- Defaults
- 3
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Clean Eatz's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 8-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Clean Eatz presents moderate-to-cautious risk: unverified revenue claims, modest growth trajectory, and tight margins require thorough validation with existing franchisees before committing $350K–$800K.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $49,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Earney & Company, L.L.P.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 14 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify $1.09M average revenue claim
- 02MINORModest unit growth of 12.8% YoY suggests market saturation or slower-than-expected expansion momentum
- 03MINORHigh investment range ($353K–$798K) with 6% royalty creates breakeven pressure on units generating below $1.09M
- 04MEDNet income margin of ~14% ($153K on $1.09M) leaves limited cushion for underperforming locations or economic downturns
- 05HIGHGoing concern status is 'False' (not explicitly stated as a going concern issue), but lack of transparency on franchisor financial health is concerning
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius or Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 77 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Brink
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Brink
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
92 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Clean Eatz · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Clean Eatz franchise?
The total investment to open a Clean Eatz franchise ranges from $354K – $798K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Clean Eatz franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Clean Eatz FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $977K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Clean Eatz's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Clean Eatz has a charge-off rate of 4.3% across 69 loans, meaning 4.3% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Clean Eatz franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Clean Eatz has 98 total units in the United States, including 67 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 21 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Clean Eatz a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Clean Eatz as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 14 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.