Cookie Cutters Haircuts for KidsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids franchise requires a total initial investment of $138K – $390K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $314K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $138K – $390K
- 37th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $314K
- 13th pct Education
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 3rd pct Education
- Units
- 120
- 59th pct Education
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Education 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
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $138K – $390K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $314K/year (median $304K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 48/100.
- Auditor 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
- Legal entity
- Cookie Cutters Franchising Inc.
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 8 East Broadway, Suite 201, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
- Auditor
- D. F. Breen, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.6M
- vs $2.4M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2026
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- NorCo
- Ucanah
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Cookie Cutters franchisees operate children's hair salons serving ages 0-12, delivering haircuts in themed, play-focused environments designed to reduce child anxiety. Day-to-day operations include scheduling appointments, performing haircuts, managing staff (typically 2-4 stylists), handling walk-ins, sanitizing stations, and managing inventory of kid-friendly products and toys.
- CEO
- Neal Courtney
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 27
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchisee Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Initial Training Feenot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Optional Third-party Training | $0 | $2K | |
| First month's rent | $2K | $6K | |
| Rent, Security Deposit | $2K | $6K | |
| Construction, leasehold improvements, mill work | $25K | $145K | |
| Signage | $5K | $15K | |
| Equipment (millwork), furniture (couch, salon equipment, chairs, electronics, playground) | $25K | $85K | |
| Computer hardware/software | $3K | $5K | |
| Accounting software package or manual accounting package | $500 | $1K | |
| Initial inventory of products for resale | $3K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening and Advertising (first 3 months) | $10K | $15K | |
| Travel, lodging, meals for initial training in Salt Lake City | $2K | $3K | |
| Initial supplies (stationery, business cards, brochures, presentation folders, paper, etc.) (for first 3 months) | $2K | $4K | |
| Business licenses, permits, personal property taxes, etc. (for first year) | $500 | $1K | |
| Insurance (first 3 months) | $500 | $1K | |
| Professional Fees (legal, architectural, accounting) | $500 | $7K | |
| Artwork | $500 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds (first 3 months) | $15K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $138K | $390K |
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
$53K
17.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $138K – $390K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 24.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $18 |
| Transfer fee | $30 |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 24.0% of rev |
At 24.0% total fee load, roughly $75K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $314K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $304K
- Item 19 type
- Historical Sales
- Sample size
- 108 units
- vs category median 14 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $60K→$680K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $175K→$478K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 237 Education brands
vs Education averages
How Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 120
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +1.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +6.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 2
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 2.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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
- 22
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Stagnant growth, unprotected territory, undisclosed profitability, and recent litigation over financial representations create material risks for franchise viability and franchisor transparency.
Litigation (Item 3)
6 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · D. F. Breen, LLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 rating
- 01MINORMinimal system growth (1.7% YoY) suggests market saturation or stagnation in a 120-unit system
- 02MINORNo unprotected territory creates direct competition risk — multiple franchisees can operate in same area
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed by franchisor — inability to verify $314K revenue translates to viable profit
- 04HIGH2025 litigation alleging unauthorized financial performance representations indicates potential disclosure violations under FTC rules
- 05MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio (138K-390K initial vs 314K avg revenue) means 44-124% payback period before profit
- 06MINOR5% royalty on gross sales (not net) creates cash flow pressure during low-revenue months
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | 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 | Utah |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
6 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 17 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Shortcuts Software Ltd.
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Shortcuts Software Ltd.
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
96 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids franchise?
The total investment to open a Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids franchise ranges from $138K – $390K, 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 Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $314K. The median is $304K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids (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 Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids has 120 total units in the United States, including 110 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 48 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.