Bottom line
- Total investment $667K – $1.0M including a $45K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.4M). Estimated payback in 2.7 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 481 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 40.1% CAGR over 3 years with 660 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Nothing Bundt Cakes unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
11%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate specialty bakery retail locations focused on customizable bundt cakes and complementary baked goods. Daily operations include cake production/baking, customer service, order fulfillment (walk-in and custom orders), inventory management, and staffing oversight. The model emphasizes product customization and seasonal offerings to drive repeat customer traffic and catering/corporate sales.
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 · 7 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
Nothing Bundt Cakes shows moderate-to-cautious risk: strong unit growth and profitability claims are offset by regulatory settlements, unverified financial disclosures, and parent company litigation history suggesting operational and compliance gaps.
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MEDMaryland Securities Commissioner consent order (2021) indicates regulatory compliance failure in franchise sales disclosure
- 02HIGHParent company litigation pattern across multiple brands (Arby's, Dunkin') suggests systemic governance issues with no-poaching and data security
- 03MINORItem 19 (Financial Performance) absent — average revenue of $1.48M and net income of $316.6K cannot be independently verified
- 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($667K–$1.03M) with 6% royalty creates breakeven pressure if unit underperforms system average
- 05MINORRapid unit growth (18.6% YoY) to 660 units may signal recruitment-driven expansion rather than mature, profitable unit sustainability
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
99 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Nothing Bundt Cakes · FDD (2025) PDF