COBS Bread Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
COBS Bread is a bakery franchise selling fresh-baked bread, pastries, and treats made in-store daily. Franchisees run neighborhood bakeries managing baking, counter service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A COBS Bread franchise requires a total initial investment of $934K – $1.3M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $934K – $1.3M
- 93rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 86th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 194
- 83rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $934K – $1.3M including a $25K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFY ended June 25, 2025. Revenues comprise retail sales 3,192,636; royalty and service fees net 34,024; marketing fees 51,445; amortization of franchise fees 0; miscellaneous income 51,293. Audited by Brantley Janson CPAs (Federal Way, WA). Franchisor (COBS USA Inc.) reports a going-concern / stockholders' deficiency position; net loss of 4,452,243.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 33/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- COBS USA Inc.
- Parent company
- Bakers Delight Holdings Ltd. (Australian corporation)
- Ultimate parent
- Bakers Delight Holdings Ltd.
- CEO title
- President
- Aaron Gillespie
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- Suite 210, 1100 Melville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6E 4A6
- Auditor
- Brantley Janson
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.3M
- vs $2.1M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Aaron Gillespie
- Headquarters
- CT
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 68% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $18K | $65K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $892K | $1.2M |
| Total initial investment | $934K | $1.3M |
Source: COBS Bread 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
- $934K – $1.3M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $18K – $65K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $290 |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $42K – $60K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
COBS Bread did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one COBS Bread unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
8%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
FY ended June 25, 2025. Revenues comprise retail sales 3,192,636; royalty and service fees net 34,024; marketing fees 51,445; amortization of franchise fees 0; miscellaneous income 51,293. Audited by Brantley Janson CPAs (Federal Way, WA). Franchisor (COBS USA Inc.) reports a going-concern / stockholders' deficiency position; net loss of 4,452,243.
- Item 19 type
- operating profit
- Sample size
- 168
- vs category median 20 · large
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-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 10.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports operating profit rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (0.0% 3-year CAGR) with 194 units.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How COBS Bread Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 194
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 20%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 17
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 2.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 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.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
COBS Bread presents moderate-to-cautious risk: solid fundamentals with protected territory and no litigation, but lack of Item 19 disclosure, slow growth rate, and high capital requirements relative to profits warrant deep validation of financial claims.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this disclosure document.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Brantley Janson⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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 33 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORModest unit growth of 6.8% YoY suggests slowing expansion momentum in a mature 194-unit system
- 02MEDHigh initial investment ($934K–$1.27M) relative to disclosed net income ($186.9K) yields only 15–20% annual return before accounting for owner labor
- 03MINOR7% royalty on net sales is standard but compounds pressure on thin margins if actual performance lags averages
- 04MINORBakery category faces structural headwinds (commodity pricing, rising labor costs, changing bread consumption trends)
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% 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 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 21 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | NY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this disclosure document.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 590 hrs
- Training location
- Corporately-owned or franchised locations in Canada or the United States
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- COBS Bread POS System (Bready System)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: COBS Bread POS System (Bready System)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
188 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
COBS Bread · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a COBS Bread franchise?
The total investment to open a COBS Bread franchise ranges from $934K – $1.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do COBS Bread franchise owners earn?
COBS Bread does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the COBS Bread 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 COBS Bread FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is COBS Bread's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for COBS Bread (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 COBS Bread franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, COBS Bread has 194 total units in the United States, including 188 franchised units and 6 company-owned units.
Is COBS Bread a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates COBS Bread as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 33 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
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.