FranchiseVerdict
FV-00965·AVOIDStandard71

Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC

Food & Beverage - BakeryFranchising since 2006
Investment
$58K – $286K
8th pct Bakery
Avg revenue
$13K
0th pct Bakery
Royalty
Units
162
79th pct Bakery
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $58K – $286K including a $100K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $13K/year (median $13K).
  • Rated AVOID with a risk score of 80/100.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
FLOWERS BAKING CO. OF NORFOLK, LLC
Parent company
Flowers Foods, Inc.
Incorporated in
Virginia
HQ
1209 Corprew Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23504
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$5.1B
vs $5.1B 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 Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $13,276
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $58K–$286K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $3K–$4K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

1%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$1K
EBITDA margin
9.0%
Total invested
$175K
Payback
1760 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 retail bakery storefronts selling Flowers Baking Co. branded bread, pastries, and baked goods. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, staff supervision, and in-store product displays. Most units appear to be small-format locations with limited production capacity.

CEO
Linda Smith
Founded
2000
FDD year
2025
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$58K – $286K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$3K – $4K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$100K
Royalty
n/d
Ad fund
n/d

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$13K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$13K
Item 19 type
Average Weekly Net Sales
Sample size
160 units
vs category median 23 · large
Range (low → high)
$1K$28K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank0th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Investment cost rank8th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank94th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank79th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Risk score rank100th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
162
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
99%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-0.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
160+1
Franchised units
2024
159
Franchised units
2025
161
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 6 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 6 states
Not registered

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

80
Risk · 0-100
AVOID80 / 100

This is a struggling bakery franchise system with severe growth stagnation, undisclosed financials, going concern warnings, and a cost structure that appears misaligned with disclosed revenue potential.

Score breakdown · what drove the 80 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing concern warning indicates potential franchise system viability issues
  2. 02MEDSevere unit decline: 162 units with only 0.6% YoY growth suggests stagnation or contraction
  3. 03MEDNet income not disclosed combined with low average revenue ($13,276) raises profitability concerns
  4. 04MEDHigh franchise fee ($100,000) relative to disclosed average revenue creates poor ROI visibility
  5. 05MINORRoyalty rate unknown — potential hidden costs or unfavorable payment structures
  6. 06MINORNo Item 19 financial performance data prevents verification of franchisee earning claims
  7. 07MEDContract term unknown suggests incomplete disclosure or unfavorable terms
  8. 08MINORFlat unit growth in declining baked goods retail sector indicates competitive weakness

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Geographic area
Protected territory
Yes
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
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Virginia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Zebra TC75x and TC 77
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

79 numbers

Locked
(302) 245-••••
DE
(804) 894-••••
VA
(757) 636-••••
VA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC · FDD (2025) PDF

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