FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00767·MODERATEStandard76

Doc Popcorn

RetailFranchising since 2009Website
Investment
$175K – $414K
40th pct Retail
Avg revenue
53rd pct Retail
Royalty
6.0%
41st pct Retail
Units
79
56th pct Retail
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $175K – $414K including a $15K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 61/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Doc Popcorn Franchising L.L.C.
Parent company
J & J Snack Foods Corp.
Incorporated in
Oklahoma
HQ
910 South 5th Street, Paducah, Kentucky 42003
Auditor
Blythe CPAs + Advisors
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$902K
vs $911K 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 Doc Popcorn unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $175K–$414K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$40K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

19%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$60K
EBITDA margin
8.0%
Total invested
$317K
Payback
63 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate small-format popcorn retail locations, typically in high-traffic venues (malls, entertainment districts, events). Daily operations include product preparation, inventory management, customer service, and point-of-sale transactions with minimal staffing requirements.

CEO
Daniel Fachner
Founded
2014
FDD year
2025
States available
27

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$175K – $414K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $40K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$15K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
79
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
1.3%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+3.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+8.2%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
79+3
Franchised units
2024
76
Franchised units
2025
73
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 27 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.

27

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
8
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

61
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE61 / 100

Doc Popcorn presents caution-level risk due to stagnant growth, missing financial disclosure, unprotected territories, and unclear path to profitability despite reasonable franchise fees.

Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORMinimal unit growth of 3.9% YoY suggests stagnating system expansion and weak recruitment
  2. 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed in Item 19 prevents realistic ROI modeling and earnings validation
  3. 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other Doc Popcorn franchisees in same market
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($175K-$413K) lacks clarity on what drives cost variation and total investment requirements
  5. 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), creating renewal uncertainty and reinvestment pressure
  6. 06MED6% royalty combined with undisclosed profitability makes franchise economics unverifiable

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 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
Optional
Governing law
Oklahoma

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
17 hrs
On-the-job training
36 hrs
POS system
Square
Operating tech stack

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

1 numbers

Locked
(205) 910-••••
AL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Doc Popcorn · FDD (2025) PDF

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