Cork and CandlesFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cork and Candles franchise requires a total initial investment of $284K – $378K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $535K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $284K – $378K
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $535K
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 42nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
57% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $284K – $378K including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $535K/year, with an estimated 57% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 36/100.
- Emerging franchise: only 3 years of franchising with 4 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- CORK AND CANDLES FRANCHISING LLC
- Parent company
- Cork and Candles Inc.
- CEO title
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- David Straub
- CEO experience
- 12 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 640 Thorncroft Drive, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18K
- vs $49K prior year
Overview
About
Cork and Candles franchisees operate retail storefronts and/or e-commerce platforms selling premium candles, home fragrance products, and home décor accessories. Daily operations include inventory management, customer service, retail merchandising, point-of-sale management, and fulfillment of online orders. Franchisees may also manage local marketing campaigns and community events to drive foot traffic and online sales.
- CEO
- David Straub
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 30 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Your Training Expenses | $1K | $3K | |
| Premises deposits | $14K | $21K | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Construction and/or Remodeling | $20K | $50K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $110K | $115K | |
| Exterior & Interior Signage | $3K | $10K | |
| Equipment | $8K | $14K | |
| Computer Systems | $5K | $5K | |
| Initial Inventory to Begin Operating | $14K | $17K | |
| Supplies | $2K | $3K | |
| Professional Fees | $18K | $28K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $3K | $4K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $800 | $5K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $33K | $48K | |
| Development Fee (Multi-Unit - 3 outlets) | $135K | $135K | |
| Your Training Expenses (Multi-Unit) | $1K | $3K | |
| Premises deposits (Multi-Unit) | $14K | $21K | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Construction and/or Remodeling (Multi-Unit) | $20K | $50K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures (Multi-Unit) | $110K | $115K | |
| Total initial investment | $653K | $840K |
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
$48K
9.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $284K – $378K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $33K – $48K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 1.7 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $535K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg ebitda
- $190K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 57.4%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Historical
- Sample size
- 3 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $443K→$845K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Cork and Candles Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 25%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Maryland
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Cork and Candles presents HIGH RISK due to going concern warnings, stalled unit growth (4 units only), unverified financial claims, and marginal ROI economics that don't justify the investment scale or royalty burden.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 36 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates material doubt about franchisor's ability to continue operations
- 02MINOROnly 4 units with unknown growth trajectory — suggests stalled or contracting system with minimal scale
- 03MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation — cannot independently verify the $534,873 average revenue claim
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-net-income ratio — $283k-$378k investment yields only ~$190k net income (51-67% ROI over 10 years, ~5-6.7% annual)
- 05MINOR7% royalty on gross revenue is aggressive relative to candle/home décor industry norms (typically 4-6%)
- 06MINORMinimal franchise fee ($49,500) relative to total investment suggests franchisor relies heavily on royalties rather than sustainable unit growth
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/Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 4 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Chester County, Pennsylvania |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 28 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 52 hrs
- Training location
- headquarters and/or affiliate-owned outlet
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 24 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
14 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cork and Candles · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cork and Candles franchise?
The total investment to open a Cork and Candles franchise ranges from $284K – $378K, 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 Cork and Candles franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cork and Candles FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $535K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cork and Candles's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cork and Candles (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 Cork and Candles franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cork and Candles has 4 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cork and Candles a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cork and Candles as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 36 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.