Bottom line
- Total investment $160K – $345K including a $30K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 81 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 COOKIES BY DESIGN unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
16%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate retail locations (or kiosks) specializing in custom-designed cookie gifts, typically featuring decorated cookies arranged as floral or decorative arrangements. Day-to-day operations include custom cookie design, baking/fulfillment, order processing, local marketing, and seasonal holiday sales management.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Cookies by Design presents high risk due to rapid unit attrition, active litigation alleging fraud and FTC violations, missing financial disclosures, and franchisor going concern status—suggesting a contracting system with unresolved legal exposure and deteriorating unit profitability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 11.9% unit decline YoY (37 units remaining) indicates accelerating franchisee exits and loss of confidence
- 02HIGHDual litigation against predecessor franchisor: IP infringement claim in Canada plus Texas class action alleging breach of contract, fraud, and FTC violations creates legal/reputational risk and potential successor liability
- 03MEDNo financial transparency: Neither average unit revenue nor net income disclosed in FDD Item 19, preventing ROI validation and suggesting poor unit economics
- 04MINORMinimum royalty floor of $500/month ($6,000 annually) creates fixed cost burden on low-volume locations, especially problematic for declining system
- 05HIGHGoing concern status indicates franchisor financial instability, raising questions about support, marketing, and system longevity
- 06MEDHigh investment range ($160K–$345K) with no disclosed AUV makes ROI timeline and breakeven analysis impossible to project
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
57 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
COOKIES BY DESIGN · FDD (2025) PDF