FranchiseVerdict
Mahana Fresh logo
FV-01547·STRONGExcellent86

Mahana Fresh

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2018Website
Investment
$212K – $759K
21st pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.0M
19th pct Full Service
Royalty
3.0%
2nd pct Full Service
Units
7
33rd pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $212K – $759K including a $50K franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.0M/year.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Mahana Fresh, LLC
Parent company
Mahana Fresh Group Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Florida
HQ
343 S. Polk Drive, Sarasota, FL 34236
Auditor
Davidson, Doyle & Hilton
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$748K
vs $627K prior year

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 Mahana Fresh unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,010,947
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $212K–$759K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$60K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

34%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$182K
EBITDA margin
18.0%
Total invested
$530K
Payback
35 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Mahana Fresh units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

43.8%

6.15× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.01×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$2.8M

on $11.1M purchase

Total debt

$8.3M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($5.6M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Mahana Fresh franchisees operate fresh food retail or QSR locations focused on health-conscious, prepared meals or juices. Day-to-day operations involve food preparation, inventory management, POS operations, staffing, and customer service in a fast-casual or grab-and-go format.

CEO
Dave Wood
Founded
2018
FDD year
2025
States available
7

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$212K – $759K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $60K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
3.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
5.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.0M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
3 units
vs category median 15 · small
Range (low → high)
$969K$1.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Revenue rank19th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank21th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank2th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank33th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank18th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
7
Opened
3
Last reporting year
Closed
3
Turnover rate
42.9%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+16.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
7±0
Franchised units
2024
7
Franchised units
2025
6
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 13 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 13 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
12
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

52
Risk · 0-100
STRONG52 / 100

Mahana Fresh is an early-stage franchise with minimal unit count, undisclosed profitability, and murky financial transparency—warranting deep validation with existing franchisees before commitment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINOROnly 7 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory suggests nascent/stagnant franchise model
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate profitability claims or ROI assumptions
  3. 03MINORWide investment range ($212K-$758K) indicates unclear cost structure or significant variability in unit economics
  4. 04MINORRoyalty structure doubles from 3% to 6% after 6 months, creating cash flow pressure during critical ramp period
  5. 05HIGHNo 'Going Concern' statement is false — potential accounting or operational stability issues at corporate level
  6. 06MINORFranchise fee ($49.5K) represents 23-24% of minimum investment, relatively high for unproven system

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Florida

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
60 hrs
On-the-job training
100 hrs
POS system
Toast
Operating tech stack

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

17 numbers

Locked
(213) 576-••••
NY
(208) 403-••••
ID
(215) 760-••••
PA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Mahana Fresh · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above