KilwinsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Kilwins franchise requires a total initial investment of $295K – $880K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $933K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 3.6% charge-off rate across 120 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $295K – $880K
- 58th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $933K
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 172
- 79th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 3.6%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Franchising since 1981. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $295K – $880K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $933K/year (median $802K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 48/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 3.6% across 120 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 15.9% CAGR over 3 years with 172 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Kilwins Chocolates Franchise, Inc.
- Parent company
- Kilwins MidCo LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC
- Predecessor
- and Affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 1050 Bay View Road, Petoskey, Michigan 49770
- Auditor
- DoerenMayhew
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $13.9M
- vs $16.4M prior year
Overview
About
Kilwins franchisees operate premium confectionery and fudge retail locations, primarily selling hand-made chocolates, taffy, and specialty candies. Day-to-day operations include managing inventory, staffing the retail counter, fulfilling custom orders, and maintaining production of in-store made goods. Locations typically target high-traffic tourist areas and upscale shopping districts.
- CEO
- Brian Britton
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 1981
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 29
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $8K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $247K | $765K |
| Total initial investment | $295K | $880K |
Source: Kilwins 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$131K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $295K – $880K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $8K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Training fee | $20 |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $31K – $52K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $933K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $802K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 128 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $260K→$2.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Kilwins Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 172
- Opened
- 15
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Turnover rate
- 3.5%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +5.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +15.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 10.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 120
- Loan volume
- $50.0M
- Median loan
- $292K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 3.6%
- 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
- 50
- Defaults
- 2
Vintage analysis
Kilwins charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Kilwins presents moderate-to-caution risk due to lack of earnings transparency, slow growth trajectory, historical litigation over franchisee conduct, and wide investment variance without disclosed profitability data.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $180,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DoerenMayhew
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 48 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $933k average revenue claim — inability or unwillingness to substantiate earnings
- 02MEDSlow unit growth of 5.7% YoY with 172 units suggests mature/saturating market with limited expansion momentum
- 03HIGH2011 litigation over non-compete violations and fraud indicates franchisee disputes and enforcement challenges
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($295k–$880k) with wide variance suggests unpredictable startup costs and location-dependent performance
- 05MEDSeasonal business model (confectionery/chocolates) creates cash flow volatility not addressed in disclosed metrics
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | 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 | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 157 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Kilwins POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Kilwins POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
21 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Kilwins · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Kilwins franchise?
The total investment to open a Kilwins franchise ranges from $295K – $880K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Kilwins franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Kilwins FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $933K. The median is $802K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Kilwins's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Kilwins has a charge-off rate of 3.6% across 120 loans, meaning 3.6% 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 Kilwins franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Kilwins has 172 total units in the United States, including 145 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 15 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Kilwins a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Kilwins as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 48 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.