Creation Coffee Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $196K – $563K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Creation Coffee is a coffee franchise serving espresso drinks, specialty beverages, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries. Franchisees run the cafes, managing baristas, food prep, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Creation Coffee franchise requires a total initial investment of $196K – $563K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2025. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $196K – $563K
- 21st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 18th 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 median · 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 $196K – $563K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports actual 2025 calendar-year Gross Sales for each of the franchisor's 4 Company-Owned Outlets individually; there were no Franchise Outlets during the reporting period. Figures are individual actual results, not statistical averages, and may not be representative of future franchisee performance.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Creation Coffee Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- CEO and Co-Founder
- Jacob Spence
- Incorporated in
- Michigan
- HQ
- 5023 Eastman Avenue, Midland, Michigan 48640
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
Affiliated brands
- is the owner of the Licensed Marks
- maintains a pr
- Creation Coffee
- Creation Coffee Holdings
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jacob Spence
- Headquarters
- Michigan
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 22% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $20K | $200K | |
| Lease Deposits and Rent – Three Months | $10K | $30K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $83K | $135K | |
| Signage | $5K | $25K | |
| Computer, Software, and Point of Sale System | $600 | $2K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $4K | $12K | |
| Initial Inventory | $2K | $4K | |
| Utility Deposits | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance Deposits – Three Months | $2K | $5K | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $1K | $3K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $20K | |
| General Licenses and Permits | $800 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds – Three Months | $30K | $90K | |
| Total initial investment | $196K | $563K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $196K – $563K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $90K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $4K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Creation Coffee is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Creation Coffee unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports actual 2025 calendar-year Gross Sales for each of the franchisor's 4 Company-Owned Outlets individually; there were no Franchise Outlets during the reporting period. Figures are individual actual results, not statistical averages, and may not be representative of future franchisee performance.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- individual outlet actuals (company-owned, no franchised outlets)
- Sample size
- 4
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $206K→$656KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 50 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
Compared against 781 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 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
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 medians
How Creation Coffee Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.25 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 38 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 4 existing units with unknown growth trajectory indicates minimal market validation and system maturity
- 02MINOR6% royalty on unknown gross sales revenue makes financial projections impossible — royalties could be unsustainable if unit volumes are low
- 03MEDExtremely small franchise system (4 units) suggests limited corporate resources, support infrastructure, and brand recognition
- 04MINOR10-year term with $30,000 franchise fee typical for coffee, but commitment length is substantial given unproven business model
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Territory population | 30,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 22 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Midland County, Michigan |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 45 hrs
- Training location
- Midland, Michigan (plus virtual components)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (subject to franchisor approval)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Creation Coffee franchise?
The total investment to open a Creation Coffee franchise ranges from $196K – $563K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Creation Coffee franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Creation Coffee FDD discloses outlet figures from $206K to $656K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Creation Coffee?
Creation Coffee is franchised by Creation Coffee Franchising, LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Creation Coffee 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 Creation Coffee FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Creation Coffee's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Creation Coffee (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 Creation Coffee franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Creation Coffee has 4 total units in the United States.
Is Creation Coffee a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Creation Coffee as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
If you represent Creation Coffee, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.