Bottom line
- Total investment $145K – $943K including a $25K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $824K/year (median $698K).
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 69/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
- No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
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 Farm Stores / Swiss Farms unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Farm Stores / Swiss Farms units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$165K
on $824K purchase
Total debt
$659K
SBA $0.4M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Farm Stores/Swiss Farms franchisees operate retail convenience/farm supply locations, likely managing inventory, point-of-sale operations, staffing, and local marketing. Day-to-day activities include customer service, stock management, and cash handling in small-format retail environments.
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
Swiss Farms presents HIGH RISK due to active fraud/misrepresentation litigation, shrinking unit base, undisclosed profitability metrics, and structural royalty burden that may not align with actual franchisee earnings.
Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-4.3% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHActive litigation (filed Feb 2023) alleging material misrepresentations about unit profitability and unfair real estate practices by affiliate — core business model issues
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — inability to verify actual profitability despite $823,732 average revenue claim
- 04MINORHigh royalty structure (greater of 6% or $360/week = $18,720 annually minimum) creates significant fixed burden on lower-performing units
- 05MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to direct competition from other brand units and cannibalization risk
- 06MINORWide investment range ($145K–$943K) suggests inconsistent costs and unclear unit economics
- 07MINORFranchise fee ($25K) combined with royalty floor creates high break-even threshold for marginal locations
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
80 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Farm Stores / Swiss Farms · FDD (2023) PDF