HonestFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Honest franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.9M – $2.7M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.9M – $2.7M
- 47th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 40
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.9M – $2.7M including a $25K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 44/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HONEST HOSPITALITY GROUP LLC
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 111 Town Square Place, Suite #1203, Jersey City, NJ 07310
- Auditor
- Prakash Chavda, CPA P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.5M
- vs $3.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- The Honest Reveira
- Honest International Foods Private Limited
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Honest franchisees operate wellness, lifestyle, or consumer goods retail locations (exact business model unclear from available data). Daily operations likely include inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, customer service, marketing execution, and compliance with franchisor brand standards and reporting requirements.
- CEO
- Abhishek Gupta
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 20
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $265K | $385K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1.6M | $2.3M |
| Total initial investment | $1.9M | $2.7M |
Source: Honest 2025 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
- $1.9M – $2.7M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $265K – $385K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Honest Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 40
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Turnover rate
- 5.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.1%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +29.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 5.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Maryland
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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
- $1.9M
- Median loan
- $448K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Honest's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 3 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 2-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Honest presents moderate-to-high risk due to lack of financial transparency (no Item 19 data), small/slow-growing unit base, unprotected territory, and recent franchisor litigation against a franchisee.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Prakash Chavda, CPA P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed (average revenue and net income not provided) — impossible to assess profitability and ROI on $1.86M-$2.69M investment
- 02HIGHActive litigation against franchisee in May 2024 for breach of restrictive covenants suggests enforcement challenges and potential disputes over post-termination obligations
- 03MEDSlow unit growth of only 11.1% YoY with only 40 units total indicates limited brand momentum and market traction
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk — franchisor can place additional units in your market without compensation
- 05MED5.5% royalty on undisclosed revenues creates uncertainty about actual net profitability after fees and operating costs
- 06MEDHigh initial investment ($1.86M-$2.69M) relative to small franchise system size and growth rate suggests limited economies of scale
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 49 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
49 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Honest · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Honest franchise?
The total investment to open a Honest franchise ranges from $1.9M – $2.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Honest franchise owners earn?
Honest does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Honest's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Honest (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 Honest franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Honest has 40 total units in the United States, including 31 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Honest a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Honest as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 44 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.