Crisp & Green Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
CRISP & GREEN is a fast-casual franchise serving salads, grain bowls, smoothies, and wellness-focused fare. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing fresh prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CRISP & GREEN franchise requires a total initial investment of $886K – $1.4M, including a $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $886K – $1.4M
- 91st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 86th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 46
- 64th 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 avg · 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 $886K – $1.4M including a $65K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.4M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 75/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 275.0% CAGR over 3 years with 46 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Crisp & Green Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Crisp & Green LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Steele Brands Holdco LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Kelly Baltes
- Incorporated in
- MN
- HQ
- 746 Mill Street E, Wayzata, MN 55391
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.2M
- vs $4.5M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Steele Brands Management
- PURALIMA Franchising
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Kelly Baltes
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 15
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 77% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $65K | $65K | |
| Crisp & Go Location Feenot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Site Survey | $3K | $8K | |
| Architectural Plans | $17K | $25K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Supplies | $64K | $85K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $3K | $8K | |
| Signage (interior and exterior) | $13K | $30K | |
| Purchase and Installation of Commercial Kitchen | $240K | $260K | |
| Premises Construction and Improvements | $350K | $665K | |
| Real Estate and Utility Security Deposits and 3 Months' Rent | $11K | $60K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $4K | $25K | |
| Computer System (POS and inventory technology) | $13K | $25K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Spend | $25K | $25K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $5K | $10K | |
| Opening Inventory | $8K | $13K | |
| Pre-opening Payroll Expenses | $16K | $51K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months of Operations (excluding labor) | $50K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $886K | $1.4M |
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
- $886K – $1.4M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $65K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $745 |
| Transfer fee | $65K |
| Renewal fee | $32K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $13K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 23% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
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
$193K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one CRISP & GREEN unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
16%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 CRISP & GREEN units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.8M
on $8.9M purchase
Total debt
$7.1M
SBA $4.5M + senior + seller note
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.4M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales and profit loss
- Sample size
- 28
- vs category median 20
- Range (low → high)
- $864K→$2.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 9 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.5M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.3x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 9/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 275.0% CAGR over 3 years across 46 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 averages
How Crisp & Green Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 46
- Opened
- 17
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 15 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.
15
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $4.8M
- Median loan
- $967K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (5 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- 5
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Crisp & Green shows strong unit growth but lacks transparent financial disclosure, has franchisor going concern warnings, and demands significant capital investment with modest profit margins relative to system risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $64,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level despite unit growth
- 02MINORAggressive unit growth of 60.7% YoY raises sustainability questions — typical mature franchises grow 10-15% annually
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($886K-$1.44M) against 7% royalty creates break-even pressure if revenue underperforms
- 04MINORNet income margin of only 18% ($273.6K on $1.52M revenue) leaves minimal buffer for economic downturns or operational issues
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Wayzata, MN (city closest to corporate headquarters) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MN |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 110 hrs
- Training location
- Wayzata, MN (Corporate Restaurant) or designated Restaurant, plus electronic training
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CRISP & GREEN franchise?
The total investment to open a CRISP & GREEN franchise ranges from $886K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CRISP & GREEN franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the CRISP & GREEN FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. The median is $1.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the CRISP & GREEN 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 CRISP & GREEN FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is CRISP & GREEN's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CRISP & GREEN (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 CRISP & GREEN franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, CRISP & GREEN has 46 total units in the United States, including 45 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 17 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is CRISP & GREEN a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CRISP & GREEN as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 75 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.