Crumbl Cookies
Bottom line
- Total investment $348K – $692K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.7M/year (median $1.6M). Estimated payback in 1.5 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 43/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 581 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 50370% CAGR over 3 years with 327 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Crumbl Cookies unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
25%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Crumbl Cookies units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$338K
on $1.7M purchase
Total debt
$1.4M
SBA $0.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate premium cookie retail locations, managing daily production of rotating specialty flavors, point-of-sale operations, staffing, and inventory. Day-to-day responsibilities include food preparation, customer service, marketing execution, and P&L management across a high-traffic, Instagram-driven brand targeting younger demographics.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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
Crumbl presents a high-growth but structurally risky opportunity marked by explosive expansion without territorial protection, unverified income claims, and concerning unit velocity that may indicate market saturation ahead.
Score breakdown · what drove the 43 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExplosive unit growth (131.2% YoY) suggests potential market saturation and cannibalization risk — unsustainable expansion pace raises sustainability concerns
- 02MINORZero territorial protection despite rapid multi-unit development creates direct competition between franchisees and company-owned locations
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($347k-$691k) paired with 8% royalty requires $135k+ annual sales just to break even on fees, limiting margin flexibility
- 04MINORItem 19 Financial Performance Representations absent — unable to independently verify claimed $357k average net income across franchise system
- 05MINORHypergrowth trajectory (131% YoY) indicates classic bubble dynamics; historical data needed to assess whether growth is sustainable or driven by unsustainable unit expansion
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
35 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Crumbl Cookies · FDD (2022) PDF