FranchiseVerdict
Cookie Co. logo
FV-00619·MODERATEExcellent95

Cookie Co.

Food & Beverage - BakeryFranchising since 2021Website
Investment
$233K – $553K
38th pct Bakery
Avg revenue
$877K
34th pct Bakery
Royalty
7.0%
83rd pct Bakery
Units
12
32nd pct Bakery
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $233K – $553K including a $35K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $877K/year (median $877K). Estimated payback in 1.2 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 61/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Cookie Co. Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
Utah
HQ
2278 North 300 East, Lehi, Utah 84043
Auditor
Metwally CPA PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$28K
vs $1.0M prior 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 Cookie Co. unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $877,241
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: $233K–$553K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$35K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

21%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$88K
EBITDA margin
10.0%
Total invested
$418K
Payback
57 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Cookie Co. units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$526K

on $2.6M purchase

Total debt

$2.1M

SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Cookie Co. franchisees operate cookie retail locations, likely selling fresh-baked or specialty cookies to walk-in customers. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, customer service, and local marketing.

CEO
Elise Thomas
Founded
2021
FDD year
2023
States available
6

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$233K – $553K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $35K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$35K
Royalty
7.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
1.2 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$877K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$877K
Item 19 type
Company-owned outlet
Sample size
1 units
vs category median 23 · small
Range (low → high)
$877K$1.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank34th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Investment cost rank38th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank83th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank32th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Risk score rank58th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
12
Opened
11
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
67%
vs corporate-owned
2021
8+11
Franchised units
2022
0
Franchised units
2023
0
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 9 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 · 9 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
22
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

61
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE61 / 100

Going concern status combined with minimal unit growth, unverified financial claims, and high investment relative to net income creates substantial risk for franchise failure or franchisor collapse.

Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern Warning: Franchisor flagged as going concern indicates potential financial distress or sustainability questions at corporate level
  2. 02MINORStagnant Unit Count: Only 12 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests minimal system expansion and potential market saturation or performance issues
  3. 03MEDMissing Item 19 Financial Data: No Item 19 disclosure prevents verification of claimed $877K average revenue and $337K net income figures
  4. 04MINORHigh Investment-to-Net-Income Ratio: $232.5K-$552.5K investment against $337K average net income means 9-16 month payback at best, with significant downside risk
  5. 05MINORTiny Franchise System: 12 units is extremely small, limiting operational support infrastructure and indicating early-stage or struggling system

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius or Population based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
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
Optional
Governing law
Utah

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
43 hrs
On-the-job training
37 hrs
POS system
Heartland
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

22 numbers

Locked
(951) 536-••••
CA
(619) 384-••••
CA
(714) 494-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Cookie Co. · FDD (2023) PDF

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