Foliage Design Systems Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $44K – $64K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (4)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Foliage Design Systems is a B2B franchise providing interior plant design, installation, and maintenance for commercial spaces. Franchisees run local operations, managing plant sourcing, installs, and recurring maintenance accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Foliage Design Systems franchise requires a total initial investment of $44K – $64K, including a $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2023 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $44K – $64K
- 12th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 9th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 22
- 25th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $44K – $64K including a $20K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -13.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Foliage Design Systems Franchise Company
- CEO title
- Chairman of the Board, Director and CEO
- John S. Hagood
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 7048 Narcoossee Road, Orlando, Florida 32822
- Auditor
- Manuel Naya Jr., CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $515K
- vs $473K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- John S. Hagood
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1980
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 14
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 59% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $20K | $20K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $4K | $7K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $21K | $37K |
| Total initial investment | $44K | $64K |
Source: Foliage Design Systems 2023 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $44K – $64K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $4K – $7K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $2K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2023 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Foliage Design Systems is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Foliage Design Systems unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2023 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Item 19 type
- Gross Revenue by tier (top/middle/bottom third)
- Sample size
- 13
- vs category median 37 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $15K→$1.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 36 of the 2023 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2022
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2023
- Disclosed in the 2023 filing, covering 2022
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Item 19 · by group
What the filing does disclose
Item 19 of this FDD reports performance in more than one group. We publish no single average for this brand; the groups the filing does disclose are listed below, quoted from its own Item 19 table.
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. Gross sales are not profit.
Outlet subsetItem 19 detail
tier
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Top 1/3 Franchisees | 5 | $897K |
| Middle 1/3 Franchisees | 5 | $463K |
| Bottom 1/3 Franchisees | 4 | $96K |
| Top 1/3 Franchisees | 5 | $712K |
| Middle 1/3 Franchisees | 5 | $334K |
| Bottom 1/3 Franchisees | 5 | $119K |
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% — below the Business Services median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
System contracting at -13.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
29% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Business Services medians
How Foliage Design Systems Compares
Category median of published Business Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2023 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 22
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 86%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 28.6%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -13.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -13.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 95.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 4.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
13 current owners across 9 states.
- FL 4
- TN 2
- AL 1
- IL 1
- MI 1
- MS 1
- NC 1
- NJ 1
- TX 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 4 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 4
- Loan volume
- $305K
- Median loan
- $76K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (4)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 4 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (4)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (4)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Manuel Naya Jr., CPA LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor total revenue of $514,502.88 for fiscal year ending October 31, 2022, disclosed in Item 8 (used as basis for the 0.12% required-purchase calculation). Item 21 audited financial statements (Exhibit F, fiscal years ended Oct 31 2022/2021/2020) are present but rendered as non-extractable images in the source text, so balance-sheet items (net worth, assets, liabilities, net income) and auditor name could not be captured.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit decline of 5.0% YoY suggests system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02MED22 total units is extremely small—limited peer network, higher operational risk, and questions about franchisor viability
- 03MED6% royalty on undisclosed revenue creates uncertainty; franchisees cannot model break-even scenarios
- 04MINORInvestment range of $44.4K–$64.4K is wide ($20K spread), indicating inconsistent startup cost tracking
- 05MINOR10-year term locks franchisees into relationship with a contracting system with no performance guarantees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 400,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 60 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Florida (mediation required before filing suit) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 56 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 22 hrs
- Training location
- Orlando, Florida (onsite) and franchisee's location (offsite)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 8 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Foliage Design Systems franchise?
The total investment to open a Foliage Design Systems franchise ranges from $44K – $64K, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Foliage Design Systems franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Foliage Design Systems FDD discloses outlet figures from $15K to $1.3M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Foliage Design Systems?
Foliage Design Systems is franchised by Foliage Design Systems Franchise Company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2023 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Foliage Design Systems FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Foliage Design Systems FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Foliage Design Systems's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Foliage Design Systems (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Foliage Design Systems franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Foliage Design Systems has 22 total units in the United States, including 19 franchised units and 3 company-owned units.
Is Foliage Design Systems a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Foliage Design Systems as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.