FranchiseVerdict
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FV-01745·MODERATEExcellent81

Natural Awakenings

Formerly known as North American Pizza & Culinary

Business Services - Printing & SignsFranchising since 2022Website
Investment
$60K – $86K
10th pct Printing & Si…
Avg revenue
67th pct Printing & Si…
Royalty
Units
47
43rd pct Printing & Si…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $60K – $86K including a $50K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100.
  • System contracting at -8.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp.
Parent company
KnoWEwell, P.B.C.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
350 Main Street, Building 1, Ste. 9B, Bedminster, NJ 07921
Auditor
Fuoco Group
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$30K
vs $561K 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 Natural Awakenings unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $60K–$86K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $6K–$25K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

60%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$53K
EBITDA margin
7.0%
Total invested
$88K
Payback
20 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.

Overview

About

Natural Awakenings franchisees operate local health and wellness magazine/media publications and digital platforms featuring natural health content, local practitioner directories, events, and advertising. Day-to-day activities include content curation, advertiser sales, event coordination, distribution management, and community relationship building across print and digital channels.

CEO
Kimberly Whittle
Founded
1993
FDD year
2024
States available
18

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$60K – $86K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$6K – $25K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
The greater of 7% of Gross Revenues or $250.00 per month …
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
47
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-2.1%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-8.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
46±0
Franchised units
2023
47
Franchised units
2024
50
Franchised units

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).

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 · 19 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

Natural Awakenings presents a CAUTION-to-HIGH RISK profile due to undisclosed financials, contracting unit count, high entry costs, and short contract term that collectively suggest limited growth potential and unproven unit economics.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDSystem contracting: 47 units with -2.1% YoY decline indicates shrinking franchise base and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MINORNo financial disclosure: Franchisor does not disclose average revenue or net income (Item 19), making ROI impossible to validate before investment
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment relative to unknowns: $59,550–$86,275 total investment with no published performance data creates blind investment scenario
  4. 04MINORModest minimum royalty floor: $250/month (months 1–6) may insufficient to support franchisor operations, suggesting thin margins or weak system support
  5. 05MINOR5-year term with high franchise fee: $49,500 fee on a 5-year term (vs. typical 10-year) limits ability to recover costs and profit
  6. 06MINORDeclining unit count in wellness category: Health/wellness franchises are typically growth sectors; contraction suggests competitive pressure or brand weakness

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
No
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
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
New Jersey

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
39 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs

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

42 numbers

Locked
(337) 280-••••
LA
(570) 350-••••
PA
(321) 426-••••
FL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Natural Awakenings · FDD (2024) PDF

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