Bottom line
- Total investment $189K – $496K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $378K/year (median $332K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -9.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 Mrs. Fields unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Mrs. Fields units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$151K
on $757K purchase
Total debt
$605K
SBA $0.4M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Mrs. Fields franchisees operate cookie and baked goods retail locations, managing daily production, customer service, inventory, and point-of-sale operations. They leverage the established brand and recipes while maintaining storefront operations in malls, street locations, or kiosks. Revenue streams include in-store sales, wholesale accounts, and seasonal promotions.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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
Mrs. Fields presents elevated risk due to a contracting franchise system, undisclosed profitability metrics, unprotected territories, and historical financial concerns that obscure true franchisee earnings potential.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MINORFranchise system declining 9.6% YoY with only 113 units remaining—indicates shrinking brand relevance and market headwinds
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19—prevents accurate ROI assessment and suggests franchisees may not be highly profitable
- 03MINORNo protected territory—franchisee revenue is vulnerable to cannibalization by company-owned or other franchised locations
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($188k-$496k) combined with 6% royalty creates significant fixed costs with unproven profitability returns
- 05HIGHGoing concern status is False, which may indicate historical financial stress or uncertainty in the franchisor's long-term viability
- 06MINORWide revenue variance (avg $378k) with no net income disclosure suggests highly inconsistent unit economics across franchise base
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
96 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Mrs. Fields · FDD (2025) PDF