Kahala Coffee Traders
Bottom line
- Total investment $88K – $526K including a $30K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 75/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- 19 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Kahala Coffee Traders unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
35%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Kahala Coffee Traders franchisees operate specialty coffee retail locations, likely featuring coffee beans, espresso drinks, and related beverage products. Day-to-day operations typically involve inventory management, barista staff oversight, customer service, equipment maintenance, and compliance with franchisor marketing and operational standards.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
A severely underdeveloped brand with chronic litigation exposure, zero financial transparency, minimal unit growth, and unprotected territory presents extreme execution risk and poor franchisor credibility.
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExtremely small and stagnant unit count (only 6 units with minimal 20% YoY growth from near-zero baseline)
- 02HIGHExtensive litigation history across multiple brands under same parent company, including registration violations and breach of contract cases in multiple states
- 03MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income data (Item 19 absent), making ROI assessment impossible
- 04MINORHigh royalty burden structure ($300/week minimum = $15,600/year floor regardless of sales performance)
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and company-owned units
- 06MINORWide and unclear investment range ($88,400–$526,000) suggests inconsistent cost structure or hidden expenses
- 07HIGHParent company litigation involving predecessor brands (SweetFrog, Famous Dave's, Wetzel's, Papa Murphy's) indicates systemic compliance and operational issues
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
7 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Kahala Coffee Traders · FDD (2026) PDF