Pitango Gelato
Bottom line
- Total investment $387K – $756K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $807K/year (median $812K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
- Emerging franchise — only 2 years of franchising with 6 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
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 Pitango Gelato unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
15%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Pitango Gelato units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$726K
on $3.6M purchase
Total debt
$2.9M
SBA $1.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate artisanal gelato retail locations, managing daily production/serving of premium gelato products, point-of-sale operations, staffing, and local marketing. Operations likely include ingredient sourcing, flavor development/rotation, customer service, and inventory management in a capital-intensive retail environment.
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 · 4 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Pitango Gelato presents meaningful risk due to micro-scale operations (6 units), undisclosed profitability metrics, and franchisor going concern issues that undermine confidence in system viability and support.
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 6 units in system with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient scale and no demonstrated expansion
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — cannot assess actual profitability despite $806k average revenue
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is False — suggests financial instability or operational uncertainty at franchisor level
- 04MEDHigh investment range ($387k-$755k) relative to only 6 existing units — limited proof of concept
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosed but 'Going Concern' flag indicates potential undisclosed legal or financial stress
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
4 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Pitango Gelato · FDD (2025) PDF