Mrs. Fields Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Mrs. Fields is a franchise selling fresh-baked cookies, brownies, and cookie cakes from mall and kiosk locations. Franchisees run shops managing baking, counter service, and gifting orders.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Mrs. Fields franchise requires a total initial investment of $312K – $496K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $378K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $312K – $496K
- 52nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $378K
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 113
- 78th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-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 $312K – $496K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $378K/year (median $332K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 64/100 (higher is better).
- DECLINESystem 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
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Mrs. Fields Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Mrs. Fields Franchising Holdco, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Famous Brands International Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- Interim Chief Executive Officer
- James Carnrite
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1717 S. 4800 W., Salt Lake City, Utah 84104
- Auditor
- Not specified (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.6M
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- TCBY Systems
- Famous Brands Franchising
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- James Carnrite
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 25
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 39% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $2K | $3K | |
| Real Estate Lease | — | — | |
| Improvements and Equipment | $107K | $387K | |
| Opening Product and Soft Goods Inventory | $5K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Promotion (New Store) | $10K | $10K | |
| Local Store Marketing | $2K | $2K | |
| Deposits and Other Prepaid Expenses | $4K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees | $9K | $10K | |
| Insurance (3 months) | $3K | $4K | |
| Coffee Preparation and Serving Equipment | $3K | $10K | |
| Computer Hardware and Software | $2K | $8K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $8K | $12K | |
| Total initial investment | $189K | $496K |
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
- $312K – $496K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $8K – $12K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 69% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$49K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Mrs. Fields unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
12%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
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
$454K
on $2.3M purchase
Total debt
$1.8M
SBA $1.1M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $378K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $332K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue
- Sample size
- 75 outlets
- vs category median 20 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $113K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $184K→$647K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $378K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -9.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Mrs. Fields Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 113
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 13
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.5%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -9.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -9.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 13
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 89.7%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 11.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $516K
- Median loan
- $516K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — 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
- 1
- 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
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $50,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Not specified (Cincinnati, Ohio)
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 64 / 100 verdict
- 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
- 04HIGHGoing concern status is False, which may indicate historical financial stress or uncertainty in the franchisor's long-term viability
- 05MINORWide 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| 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 | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | DE |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 17 hrs
- Training location
- LMS (online), Salt Lake City, Utah or other designated locations
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval; franchisor-designated real estate broker required
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Mrs. Fields · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Mrs. Fields franchise?
The total investment to open a Mrs. Fields franchise ranges from $312K – $496K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Mrs. Fields franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Mrs. Fields FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $378K. The median is $332K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Mrs. Fields 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 Mrs. Fields FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Mrs. Fields's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Mrs. Fields (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 Mrs. Fields franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Mrs. Fields has 113 total units in the United States, including 113 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Mrs. Fields a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Mrs. Fields as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 64 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 Mrs. Fields, 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.