Milkshake Factory Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Milkshake Factory is a dessert franchise serving premium handcrafted milkshakes and chocolates. Franchisees run the shops, managing product prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Milkshake Factory franchise requires a total initial investment of $510K – $773K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $510K – $773K
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 14
- 17th 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 $510K – $773K including a $60K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSRevenue recognized point-in-time (products/services) $174,517 and over-time (services) $725,500 = total revenues earned $900,017 for FY2024. Includes royalty/advertising fees $52,537 and technology fees $17,375. Going-concern doubt; net loss $1,864,406 and members' deficit $(2,314,614).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 48/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports gross sales and cost breakdown rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Milkshake Factory Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Edwards MSF Holdings, LLC; FW-MSF Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- Founder and CEO
- Dana Edwards Manatos
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 106 E. Liberty Street, Suite 310, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
- Auditor
- DoerenMayhew
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $900K
- vs $119K prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Dana Edwards Manatos
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 45% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $435K | $673K |
| Total initial investment | $510K | $773K |
Source: Milkshake Factory 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $510K – $773K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- formula · 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 | $75 |
| Training fee | $9K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $23K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Milkshake Factory 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 Milkshake Factory 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
Revenue recognized point-in-time (products/services) $174,517 and over-time (services) $725,500 = total revenues earned $900,017 for FY2024. Includes royalty/advertising fees $52,537 and technology fees $17,375. Going-concern doubt; net loss $1,864,406 and members' deficit $(2,314,614).
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Item 19 type
- gross sales and cost breakdown
- Sample size
- 9
- vs category median 18
- Range (low → high)
- $502K→$875K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 805 Full-Service Restaurants brands
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 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales and cost breakdown rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Milkshake Factory Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 14
- Opened
- 4
- 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
- 10
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 29%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- 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 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).
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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $3.2M
- Median loan
- $586K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (6 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Milkshake Factory presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: a micro-franchise system with thin unit profitability, undisclosed growth metrics, and high capital requirements relative to demonstrated returns.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $110,000
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
- 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 48 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 14 units system-wide with unknown/stagnant growth trajectory raises scalability and viability concerns
- 02MINORHigh initial investment range ($510K–$773K) against modest profitability creates extended breakeven period and elevated financial risk
- 03MINORSmall franchise system (14 units) limits peer benchmarking, support infrastructure, and brand recognition leverage
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 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Ann Arbor, Michigan (mediation; litigation in Washtenaw County, Michigan) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 85 hrs
- Training location
- Pittsburgh, PA and Ann Arbor, MI (or virtual)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor must approve; franchisee responsible for finding and securing site with franchisor assistance
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
25 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Milkshake Factory · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Milkshake Factory franchise?
The total investment to open a Milkshake Factory franchise ranges from $510K – $773K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Milkshake Factory franchise owners earn?
Milkshake Factory 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 Milkshake Factory 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 Milkshake Factory FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Milkshake Factory's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Milkshake Factory (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 Milkshake Factory franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Milkshake Factory has 14 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 10 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Milkshake Factory a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Milkshake Factory as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 48 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
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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.