Hawaii Fluid Art Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $182K – $340K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 15 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Hawaii Fluid Art is a recreation franchise offering fluid-acrylic pour painting classes and art experiences. Franchisees run the studios, managing sessions, art supplies, private events, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hawaii Fluid Art franchise requires a total initial investment of $182K – $340K, including a $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (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 scored4 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $182K – $340K
- 16th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subsetProjection
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 43rd pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 24
- 32nd pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment 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 $182K – $340K including a $65K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Historic Financial Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 30 agreements signed but not yet open against 24 open outlets (Item 20).
- FLAG3 units terminated last reporting year (12.5% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Hawaii Fluid Art Franchising, LLC
- Predecessor
- Hawaii Fluid Art Franchising, LLC (Hawaii)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Founder & CEO
- Maya Ratcliff
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 610 Uptown Blvd., STE 3900, Cedar Hill, TX 75104
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.3M
- vs $347K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Maya Ratcliff
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 12
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 53% below the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $65K | $65K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $19K | $35K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $98K | $240K |
| Total initial investment | $182K | $340K |
Source: Hawaii Fluid Art 2024 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
- $182K – $340K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $19K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $65K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $950 |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $19K – $19K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Hawaii Fluid Art 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 Hawaii Fluid Art 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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Reported per transaction, not per outlet
- Item 19 type
- per-transaction figures
- Sample size
- 5
- vs category median 5
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
Compared against 165 Recreation & Entertainment brands
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 10.0% — above the Recreation & Entertainment median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Historic Financial Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Recreation & Entertainment medians
How Hawaii Fluid Art Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment 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 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 24
- Opened
- 21
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.5%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 88%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 30
- 1.25 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 43
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 12 states 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.
12
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 15
- Loan volume
- $2.3M
- Median loan
- $181K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 15 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 15 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 15 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 15 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 10.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 8.5%
- n=285 loans
- Jobs supported
- 64
- 2.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 60%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in fine arts schools, franchised businesses charge off at 8.5% vs 14.1% for independents — franchising is associated with 40% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Hawaii Fluid Art franchisees
Showing 3 of 4 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Hawaii Fluid Art from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 67%
- Avg interest rate
- 10.69%
- Lender concentration
- 60.0%
- Job velocity
- 2.8 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.2%
- NAICS 611610
- Jobs supported
- 64
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 60% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 9 | $1.1M | N/A |
| 2 | First Bank of the Lake | 4 | $750K | N/A |
| 3 | LiftFund, Inc. | 1 | $205K | N/A |
| 4 | Hancock Whitney Bank | 1 | $178K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXTexas | 4 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 2 | 0 | -- |
| ILIllinois | 2 | 0 | -- |
| SCSouth Carolina | 2 | 0 | -- |
| UTUtah | 2 | 0 | -- |
| CACalifornia | 1 | 0 | -- |
| COColorado | 1 | 0 | -- |
| LALouisiana | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2023 total revenue of $2,282,509 (franchise fees $1,687,900, product sales $184,520, other revenue $157,630, training fees $127,337, royalties $79,799, technology fees $45,323). Going-concern doubt and negative member's equity (deficit of $172,504) disclosed; cover page flags franchisor financial condition risk.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExplosive 600% YoY unit growth (24 units) suggests either unsustainable expansion or cherry-picked growth period; typical mature franchises grow 10-30% annually
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($182k-$340k) combined with $750/month minimum royalty creates immediate cash flow pressure on new franchisees
- 03MINORHybrid royalty structure (8% or $750 minimum) penalizes low-revenue operators; break-even threshold unclear
- 04MEDOnly 24 units system-wide suggests immature franchise model with limited operational history and peer support network
- 05MINORProtected territory provides no competitive advantage if brand lacks consumer awareness or replicable unit economics
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Cedar Hill, TX |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 69 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 56 hrs
- Training location
- Your Studio (onsite at franchisee location)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor assists; final responsibility is franchisee's
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Clover
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Clover
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
21 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 Hawaii Fluid Art franchise?
The total investment to open a Hawaii Fluid Art franchise ranges from $182K – $340K, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hawaii Fluid Art franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Hawaii Fluid Art FDD discloses figures for part of the system 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 Hawaii Fluid Art?
Hawaii Fluid Art is franchised by Hawaii Fluid Art Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Hawaii Fluid Art 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 Hawaii Fluid Art FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Hawaii Fluid Art's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Hawaii Fluid Art (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 Hawaii Fluid Art franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hawaii Fluid Art has 24 total units in the United States, including 21 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 21 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hawaii Fluid Art a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hawaii Fluid Art as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.