FranchiseVerdict
CRISP & GREEN logo
FV-00665·STRONGExcellent95

Crisp & Green

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2018Website
Investment
$886K – $1.4M
84th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.5M
32nd pct Full Service
Royalty
7.0%
87th pct Full Service
Units
46
71st pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $886K – $1.4M including a $65K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.4M). Estimated payback in 4.3 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 275.0% CAGR over 3 years with 46 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Crisp & Green Franchising LLC
Parent company
Crisp & Green LLC
Incorporated in
Minnesota
HQ
746 Mill Street E, Wayzata, MN 55391
Auditor
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$6.2M
vs $4.5M prior year

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 CRISP & GREEN unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,523,289
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $886K–$1.4M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $50K–$75K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

17%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$213K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$1.2M
Payback
69 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 CRISP & GREEN units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

45.9%

6.62× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.96×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$2.5M

on $10.7M purchase

Total debt

$8.2M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($5.3M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual health-focused restaurants serving salads, grain bowls, cold-pressed juices, and nutrient-dense prepared foods. Day-to-day operations involve food prep, inventory management, POS systems, customer service, and maintaining Crisp & Green's clean-label brand standards across a typically 1,500-2,500 sq ft footprint.

CEO
Kelly Baltes
Founded
2018
FDD year
2024
States available
14

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$886K – $1.4M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$50K – $75K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$65K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
4.3 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.5M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.4M
Item 19 type
Historic Gross Sales and Statement of Profit and Loss
Sample size
29 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$864K$2.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank32th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank84th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank87th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank71th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank6th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
46
Opened
17
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+60.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
2022
45+17
Franchised units
2023
28
Franchised units
2024
12
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 19 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 19 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
12
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

44
Risk · 0-100
STRONG44 / 100

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.

Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representation disclosed — cannot independently verify the $1.52M average revenue claim
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level despite unit growth
  3. 03MINORAggressive unit growth of 60.7% YoY raises sustainability questions — typical mature franchises grow 10-15% annually
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($886K-$1.44M) against 7% royalty creates break-even pressure if revenue underperforms
  5. 05MINORNet 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

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Minnesota

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
10 hrs
On-the-job training
110 hrs

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

19 numbers

Locked
(803) 734-••••
SC
(410) 576-••••
MD
(651) 539-••••
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

CRISP & GREEN · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above