Néktər Juice Bar Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $247K – $641K
- Disclosed sales
- $592K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Nekter Juice Bar is a quick-service franchise serving fresh juices, smoothies, acai bowls, and cleanses. Franchisees run compact shops managing juicing, blending, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR franchise requires a total initial investment of $247K – $641K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $592K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $247K – $641K
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $592K
- Outlet subset7th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 193
- 83rd 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 median · 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 $247K – $641K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $592K/year (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 76/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +17 franchised outlets in the latest year (28 opened, 11 closed); 50 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 27.6% CAGR over 3 years with 193 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Nekter Franchise, Inc.
- Parent company
- Nekter Juice Bar, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2024 FDD
- CEO title
- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Steve Schulze
- CEO experience
- 13 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 2488 Newport Boulevard, Suite A, Costa Mesa, California 92627
- Auditor
- HCVT (Holthouse | Carlin | Van Trigt LLP)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $7.4M
- vs $6.8M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Steve Schulze
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 22
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 9% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee; Development Feenot refundable | $35K | $80K | |
| Real Estate and Rent - 3 months | $10K | $45K | |
| Real Estate Construction and Improvements | $96K | $295K | |
| Architect | $10K | $16K | |
| Mill Work | $15K | $20K | |
| Fixtures and Furnishings | $3K | $21K | |
| Equipment | $34K | $52K | |
| Signage | $5K | $18K | |
| POS, Security System, Music, Phones, Gift Card and Loyalty Programs, and Computer Systems | $5K | $10K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $500 | $1K | |
| Opening Inventory | $8K | $12K | |
| Uniforms | $300 | $600 | |
| Training | $3K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $8K | $10K | |
| Utilities | $3K | $4K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $6K | |
| Insurance - 3 Months | $500 | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $10K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $247K | $641K |
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
- $247K – $641K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 0.1%
- 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 | $48 |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $12K |
| Total fee load | 0.1% of rev |
A 0.1% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 39% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$471K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $592K
- Per unit, per year
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 sales quartile
- Sample size
- 121 outlets
- vs category median 19 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $178K→$1.8MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 44 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $376K→$867K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 $592K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.3x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 0.1% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System expanding at 27.6% CAGR over 3 years across 193 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 medians
How Néktər Juice Bar Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 193
- Opened
- 28
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 11
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.7%
- Company-owned
- 31
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 84%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +27.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +27.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 1
- Not renewed
- 2
- Signed, not yet open
- 50
- 0.26 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 41
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 10.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 2.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 6.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Minnesota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
40 current owners across 11 states.
- CA 11
- AZ 10
- TX 9
- MI 3
- LA 1
- MO 1
- NJ 1
- NM 1
- NV 1
- SD 1
- WA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
Moderate-to-cautious risk profile: significant capital requirement without transparent financial performance data, coupled with modest growth rates and documented litigation history, warrant careful validation before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (plaintiff).
Nekter Franchise, Inc. and NJB v. Stanley Mark La Ferr (Case No. 01-22-0002-4701): arbitration action filed June 2022 after former franchisee abandoned store; claims for breach of franchise agreement, breach of oral sublease, failure to pay rent, and promissory estoppel; Final Award issued March 7, 2024 finding La Ferr liable for all claims.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · HCVT (Holthouse | Carlin | Van Trigt LLP)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2023 (ended Dec 31, 2023) audited total revenues: Royalties $5,036,716, Franchise fees $695,217, Advertising revenue $1,667,397. Franchisor-level (Nekter Franchise, Inc.) financials, not store-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
Score breakdown · what drove the 76 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORModerate unit growth (11.7% YoY) is positive but modest for a 193-unit chain — suggests market saturation or slower franchisee recruitment
- 02HIGHLitigation history shows franchisor pursuing former franchisee for breach and abandonment — signals potential franchisee-franchisor disputes or operator quality issues
- 03MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net profit) creates cash flow pressure, especially if margins are thin in juice/smoothie category
- 04MINORProtected territory undefined — scope of exclusivity unclear, limiting competitive advantage
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 0.1% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 4 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | California (mediator's offices in city of franchisor's principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Nekter Franchise, Inc. and NJB v. Stanley Mark La Ferr (Case No. 01-22-0002-4701): arbitration action filed June 2022 after former franchisee abandoned store; claims for breach of franchise agreement, breach of oral sublease, failure to pay rent, and promissory estoppel; Final Award issued March 7, 2024 finding La Ferr liable for all claims.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 81 hrs
- Training location
- Training Store designated by franchisor (currently Southern California and Maricopa County, Arizona); classroom training held virtually
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects within Site Selection Area approved by franchisor; franchisor must accept location within 30 days
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
40 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR franchise?
The total investment to open a NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR franchise ranges from $247K – $641K, 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 NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $592K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR?
NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR is franchised by Nekter Franchise, Inc.. Its parent company is Nekter Juice Bar, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR 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 NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR (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 NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR has 193 total units in the United States, including 162 franchised units and 31 company-owned units. 28 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates NÉKTƏR JUICE BAR as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 76 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
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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.