EarthWise Pet / GROOMBAR
Bottom line
- Total investment $288K – $863K including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $545K/year (median $482K). Estimated payback in 2.3 years.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 71/100.
- System contracting at -11.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 EarthWise Pet / GROOMBAR unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
16%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 EarthWise Pet / GROOMBAR units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.3M
on $6.3M purchase
Total debt
$5.0M
SBA $3.1M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
EarthWise Pet/GROOMBAR franchisees operate pet grooming salons and/or pet supply retail locations with emphasis on eco-friendly, sustainable products and services. Day-to-day operations include grooming appointments, customer service, inventory management, staff training, and marketing within their protected territory.
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 · 35 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rapidly collapsing franchise system (−29% units YoY) with unverified financial claims, no Item 19 disclosure, and unclear franchisor viability creates HIGH RISK for new franchisees.
Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 28.7% YoY indicates systemic problems or mass attrition (165 units down from ~231)
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot validate claimed $246,947 avg net income or $545,417 revenue
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($288K-$863K) combined with declining franchise base creates survivorship risk
- 04MED5% royalty on gross revenue with no disclosed Item 19 means earnings claims are unverifiable and potentially misleading
- 05MINORFranchise fee ($45K) is non-refundable while system contracts; high ratio of franchisees leaving suggests poor unit economics
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status = 'False' is ambiguous; requires clarification on franchisor financial health and runway
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
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
95 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
EarthWise Pet / GROOMBAR · FDD (2025) PDF