Kyochon Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Kyochon is a Korean fried chicken franchise serving crispy hand-brushed chicken and wings. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Kyochon franchise requires a total initial investment of $544K – $1.1M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.5% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $544K – $1.1M
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-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 $544K – $1.1M including a $40K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFinancial statements are those of the franchisor's parent and guarantor, Kyochon USA Inc. (consolidated, audited), not the franchisor Kyochon Franchise LLC itself. Net Sales for FYE 12/31/2024 was $4,398,306 (down from $5,138,008 in 2023). other_revenue is miscellaneous income $41,351 plus interest income $18,669 = $60,020.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- DATANo Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Kyochon Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Kyochon USA Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Kyochon F&B, Co., Ltd.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer / Chief Financial Officer
- Young Gon Kim
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 3699 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1240, Los Angeles, CA 90010
- Auditor
- CCH Accountancy & Co.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.4M
- vs $5.1M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Young Gon Kim
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 14
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 30% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Initial Deposit | $20K | $20K | |
| Grand Opening Marketingnot refundable | $10K | $15K | |
| Site Design Assistance Feenot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Site Review Fee | $2K | $4K | |
| Architectural Design Development and Permitting | $15K | $30K | |
| Lease: Initial Rent / Deposits | $7K | $20K | |
| Leasehold Improvement / Remodeling | $200K | $500K | |
| Furniture, Equipment and Fixtures | $75K | $200K | |
| Initial Training Fee | $17K | $20K | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies, Uniforms | $10K | $20K | |
| Insurance | $4K | $12K | |
| Computer System (POS) | $7K | $10K | |
| Computer System Service Fees | $4K | $10K | |
| Signage | $10K | $15K | |
| Utility Deposit, Business Licenses | $5K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $60K | $150K | |
| Multi-Unit Fee (for 5 Stores)not refundable | $200K | $200K | |
| Total initial investment | $694K | $1.3M |
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
- $544K – $1.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $150K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Training fee | $17K |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Kyochon did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Kyochon unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
11%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Financial statements are those of the franchisor's parent and guarantor, Kyochon USA Inc. (consolidated, audited), not the franchisor Kyochon Franchise LLC itself. Net Sales for FYE 12/31/2024 was $4,398,306 (down from $5,138,008 in 2023). other_revenue is miscellaneous income $41,351 plus interest income $18,669 = $60,020.
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 7.5% (near the Full-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (0 opened, 0 closed).
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 Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Kyochon Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 20%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 14 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.
14
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Kyochon presents meaningful risk due to an underdeveloped 5-unit system, absent financial transparency, high capital requirements relative to unknown returns, and unprotected territory—making validation with existing franchisees critical before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CCH Accountancy & Co.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDOnly 5 units system-wide suggests extremely limited operating history and unproven scalability
- 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) prevents realistic ROI assessment
- 03MEDHigh investment range ($543.5K–$1.09M) with no disclosed earnings creates payback period uncertainty
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees in same market
- 05MINOR3-year term is unusually short and may indicate franchisor uncertainty or franchisee protection concerns
- 06MINORMinimal unit count makes it impossible to validate franchise model viability or franchisee satisfaction rates
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 1 year |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Los Angeles County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 18 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 72 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisee's store or other designated location
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 14 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Kyochon · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Kyochon franchise?
The total investment to open a Kyochon franchise ranges from $544K – $1.1M, 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 Kyochon franchise owners earn?
Kyochon 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 Item 19 in the Kyochon 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 Kyochon FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Kyochon's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Kyochon (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 Kyochon franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Kyochon has 5 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 4 company-owned units.
Is Kyochon a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Kyochon as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 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 Kyochon, 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.