Bottom line
- Total investment $272K – $415K including a $45K 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 67/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Duff’s CakeMix unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
23%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate Duff's-branded cake decorating studios or retail locations, likely selling decorated cakes, baking supplies, and cake-related classes or events. Day-to-day operations likely include customer service, cake design/decoration, inventory management, and marketing to drive foot traffic in a protected territory.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Duff's CakeMix presents a caution-level risk profile due to anemic unit growth (only 2 locations), complete absence of financial disclosure in Item 19, and lack of operational performance benchmarks needed to justify a $270k+ investment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 operating units despite franchise model being established—indicates minimal system growth and market traction
- 02MINORFinancial performance metrics (Item 19) completely absent—impossible to validate ROI or break-even timeline on $271k-$415k investment
- 03MEDNo disclosed average unit volume (AUV) or net income data creates opacity around actual franchisee profitability
- 04MINOR6% royalty structure appears reasonable but sustainability unknown without revenue visibility
- 05MEDMaterial gap between franchise fee ($45k) and total investment ($271k-$415k) suggests significant undisclosed startup costs or working capital requirements
- 06MINOR10-year term is moderately long without demonstrated multi-unit performance or exit data from existing franchisees
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
1 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Duff’s CakeMix · FDD (2023) PDF