Oola Bowls Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $342K – $794K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (8)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Oola Bowls is a fast-casual franchise serving acai bowls, smoothies, and healthy toppings. Franchisees run the shops, managing fresh prep, inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Oola Bowls franchise requires a total initial investment of $342K – $794K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $342K – $794K
- 56th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 41st 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 $342K – $794K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +4 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 0 closed); 8 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Oola Bowls Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Founder
- Joseph E. Jacobs-Ferderbar
- CEO experience
- 2021 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 108 Foxshire Drive, Suite 1, Lancaster, PA 17601
- Auditor
- Rainer & Company
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $550K
- vs $158K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Joseph E. Jacobs-Ferderbar
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 17% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $35K | |
| Buildout/Leasehold Improvements | $90K | $300K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment | $60K | $150K | |
| Inventory | $25K | $50K | |
| Vehicle | $0 | $30K | |
| Signage | $20K | $40K | |
| Rent and Lease Security Deposit | $5K | $15K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $20K | $20K | |
| Professional Fees (lawyer, accountant, etc.) | $5K | $10K | |
| Technology Infrastructure | $20K | $70K | |
| Bookkeeping Services (Pre-opening) | $1K | $2K | |
| Office Expenses | $1K | $2K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $3K | $5K | |
| Travel, lodging and meals for initial training | $1K | $5K | |
| Utilities | $2K | $4K | |
| Insurance | $4K | $6K | |
| Additional funds (for first 3 months) | $50K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $342K | $794K |
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
- $342K – $794K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review 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
- 9.0%
- 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 | $0 |
| Training fee | $600 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $25K – $50K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Oola Bowls is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Oola Bowls 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. We omit it from rankings.
Item 19 · by group
What the filing does disclose
Item 19 of this FDD reports performance in more than one group. We publish no single average for this brand; the groups the filing does disclose are listed below, quoted from its own Item 19 table.
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. Gross sales are not profit.
Item 19 detail
affiliate
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Affiliate Location | 1 | $1.8M |
| Traditional Affiliate Location | 1 | $1.8M |
| Traditional Affiliate Location | 1 | $1.5M |
| Non-Traditional Affiliate #1 | 1 | $313K |
| Non-Traditional Affiliate #1 | 1 | $340K |
| Non-Traditional Affiliate #2 | 1 | $474K |
| Non-Traditional Affiliate #2 | 1 | $492K |
franchised
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Franchised Location | 1 | $1.3M |
| Non-Traditional Franchised #1 | 1 | $454K |
| Non-Traditional Franchised #1 | 1 | $493K |
| Non-Traditional Franchised #2 | 1 | $663K |
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
System expanding at 600.0% CAGR over 3 years across 12 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Oola Bowls 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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 12
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 58%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 8
- 0.67 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 14
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 8 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 8
- Loan volume
- $4.5M
- Median loan
- $603K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (8)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 8 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (8)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (8)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- 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
Early-stage franchisor with undisclosed profitability, financial uncertainty, unprotected territories, and unsustainable growth raises material concerns about franchisee ROI and franchisor viability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Rainer & Company
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenue comprises Franchise Fee and Multi-Unit Development Fee Income ($297,123), Royalty Fees ($220,422), and Brand Development Fund Income ($32,284) for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation despite $1.78M avg revenue claim
- 02MINOR12-unit system is extremely small with no meaningful scale economies or support infrastructure
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates cannibalization risk and unfair competitive pressure from other franchisees
- 04MINORWide investment range ($341.5K–$794K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden variables
- 05MINORExplosive 133% YoY unit growth is unsustainable and often precedes system contraction
- 06MINOR6% royalty on unverified revenue means franchisor incentivized to report inflated sales figures
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| 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 | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | PA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 12 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 65 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate headquarters (Lancaster, PA), corporate affiliate location, and franchisee's location
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects site subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
14 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 Oola Bowls franchise?
The total investment to open a Oola Bowls franchise ranges from $342K – $794K, 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 Oola Bowls franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Oola Bowls FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Oola Bowls?
Oola Bowls is franchised by Oola Bowls Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Oola Bowls 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 Oola Bowls FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Oola Bowls's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Oola Bowls (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 Oola Bowls franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Oola Bowls has 12 total units in the United States, including 7 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Oola Bowls a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Oola Bowls as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 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
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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.