Hummus Republic Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Hummus Republic is a fast-casual franchise serving Mediterranean bowls, wraps, and pitas built around fresh hummus and falafel. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hummus Republic franchise requires a total initial investment of $228K – $659K, including a $36K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $612K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 69 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $228K – $659K
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $612K
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 44
- 64th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $228K – $659K including a $36K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $612K/year.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 66/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 69 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAG10 units terminated last reporting year (22.7% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Hummus Republic Franchising USA, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Gil Yossef Butbul
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 20855-10b Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364
- Auditor
- Asesoría Global, S.A.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.7M
- vs $1.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Gil Yossef Butbul
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 16
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 33% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $36K | $36K | |
| Real Estate / Rent | $3K | $15K | |
| Utility Deposits | $500 | $2K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $90K | $400K | |
| Architect Approval Fee | $0 | $5K | |
| Contractor Approval Fee | $0 | $5K | |
| Real Estate and Construction Fee | $5K | $5K | |
| Initial Inventory | $5K | $7K | |
| Opening Package | $4K | $5K | |
| Stereo & Security System | $500 | $3K | |
| Insurance - 3 months | $1K | $3K | |
| Training | $6K | $12K | |
| Signage | $5K | $25K | |
| Computer Equipment and Technology | $1K | $2K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $25K | $80K | |
| Licenses, Plans & Permits | $10K | $20K | |
| Dues and Subscriptions | $0 | $500 | |
| Legal & Accounting/Professional Fees | $2K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $4K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months working capital) | $10K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $208K | $659K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $228K – $659K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $70K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $36K – $36K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Training fee | $4K |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $7K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 49% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$86K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Hummus Republic unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
17%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Hummus Republic units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$857K
on $4.3M purchase
Total debt
$3.4M
SBA $2.1M + senior + seller note
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $612K
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical gross sales by tier
- Sample size
- 26 outlets
- vs category median 20
- Range (low → high)
- $307K→$1.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $347K→$933K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $612K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 76.0% CAGR over 3 years across 44 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Hummus Republic Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 44
- Opened
- 14
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 10
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 22.7%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +76.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +76.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 14
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 10
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 36
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 7.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 10.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 10.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 26 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 69
- Loan volume
- $17.4M
- Median loan
- $306K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 9
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 10.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 784
- 4.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 88%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 10.8% vs 10.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Hummus Republic franchisees
Showing 3 of 9 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Hummus Republic's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 8 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 69 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Rapid growth and undisclosed profitability metrics create moderate-to-cautionary risk; validate unit economics and franchisee retention before committing.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $720,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Asesoría Global, S.A.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 66 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability against $207.5K-$659K investment range
- 02MINORWide investment spread (218% variance) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs not transparent upfront
- 03MINOR60% YoY unit growth is aggressive and may indicate unsustainable expansion; need to verify retention rates and franchisee satisfaction
- 04MINOR6% royalty on $573K avg revenue = $34.4K annually, but profitability unknown — may compress margins in lower-performing locations
- 05MINOROnly 40 units systemwide limits brand recognition and purchasing power; small system size increases operational support risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 14 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Woodland Hills, California |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | DE |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 8 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 72 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate office (Woodland Hills, CA) and franchisor-affiliated restaurant (Ventura, CA)
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Field support
- 32 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Otter
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Otter
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
83 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Hummus Republic · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Hummus Republic franchise?
The total investment to open a Hummus Republic franchise ranges from $228K – $659K, with an initial franchise fee of $36K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hummus Republic franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Hummus Republic FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $612K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Hummus Republic 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 Hummus Republic FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Hummus Republic's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Hummus Republic has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 69 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Hummus Republic franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hummus Republic has 44 total units in the United States, including 44 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 14 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hummus Republic a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hummus Republic as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 66 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Hummus Republic, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.