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Planet Smoothie Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026

Quick-Service RestaurantsAZFranchising since 2012
CAverageAverage40/100Editorial grade from public filings; not investment advice.
Investment
$206K – $479K
Disclosed sales
$280K
gross sales, not profit
SBA charge-off
27.2%
on 120 loans

Investment, fees, disclosed sales, units, SBA record and risk, as one PDF. Free; no spam; one click to unsubscribe.

FV-01980FDD 2025Data QualityExcellent91%
Manager-run OKNo: No territory protection

Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records

Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology

Planet Smoothie is a quick-service franchise serving fruit smoothies with add-ins and supplements. Franchisees run compact shops managing blending, fresh inventory, and counter service.

FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026

A Planet Smoothie franchise requires a total initial investment of $206K – $479K, including a $15K – $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $280K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 27.2% charge-off rate across 120 loans[1]. 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 scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.

Overview

Investment
$206K – $479K
25th pct Service Resta…
Avg gross sales
$280K
0th pct Service Resta…
Royalty
5.0%
12th pct Service Resta…
Units
154
81st pct Service Resta…
SBA charge-off
27.2%
% of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category

Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers

Total Investment
$206K – $479K
Median $486K
below median ↓, better than category
Franchise Fee
$15K – $25K
Median $35K
below median ↓, better than category
Liquid Capital Req'd
$5K – $15K
Median $33K
below median ↓, better than category
Avg Revenue
$280K
Median $975K
below median ↓, worse than category
Royalty Rate
5.0%
Median 5.5%
near median
Ongoing Fees
7.0% of rev
Median 7.5%
near median
SBA Charge-Off Rate
27.2%
120 loans · Median 14.3%
above median ↑, worse than category
System Size
154 units
Median 18 units
above median ↑, better than category
Turnover Rate
9.1%
Median 0.0%
Territory
None
The franchisor can open or license outlets nearby
Owner-Operator
Optional
Can hire a manager
Litigation
20 cases
Review carefully

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 $206K – $479K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $280K/year (median $260K).
  • RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 27.2% across 120 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
  • GROWTHNegative: net -4 franchised outlets in the latest year (10 opened, 14 closed) (Item 20).
  • LEGAL20 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Corporate structure & franchisor financials
Legal entity
Kahala Franchising, L.L.C.
Parent company
Kahala Brands, Inc.
FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
Ultimate parent
MTY Food Group, Inc.
FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
Predecessor
Tasti D-Lite LLC (formerly Tasti Acquisition LLC); Planet Smoothie, LLC
Prior franchisor entity
CEO title
Chief Executive Officer
Eric Lefebvre
CEO experience
2018 yrs
Years in role or industry
Incorporated in
AZ
HQ
9311 E. Via De Ventura, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$580.3M
vs $472.1M prior year

Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 7

26 other brands on this site name MTY Food Group, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.

Portfolio: MTY Food Group · Kahala Brands

Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.

Overview

About

CEO
Eric Lefebvre
Headquarters
AZ
Founded
2008
FDD year
2025
States available
28

Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?

Entry cost runs 30% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.

Total investment (Item 7)$206K – $479KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 43 of the 2025 FDD (Item 7). Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
Franchise fee$25,000Cited, not corroborated — printed on page 33 of the 2025 FDD (Item 5). Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
Royalty5.0%Cited, not corroborated — printed on page 36 of the 2025 FDD (Item 6). Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
Ad fund2.0%Cited, not corroborated — printed on page 36 of the 2025 FDD (Item 6). Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
Working capital$5K – $15K

Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7

Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items

Initial investment breakdown

Item 7 initial investment line items
Line itemLowHigh
Initial Franchise Fee (Traditional)$12K$25K
Lease Review Fee (Traditional)$0$3K
Rent/Security Deposit (3 months) (Traditional)$6K$20K
Travel and Living Expenses (3 persons) during training (Traditional)$4K$8K
Real Estate (Traditional)——
Architectural Fees (Traditional)$10K$21K
Leasehold Improvements (Traditional)$78K$220K
Restaurant Equipment, Furniture, Small Wares, Interior Signage and Menu Panels (Traditional)$56K$94K
Exterior Signage (Traditional)$8K$17K
Computer Hardware, Software (POS System) (Traditional)$3K$5K
PCI Compliance Costs (Traditional)$150$1K
Opening Inventory (food and paper) (Traditional)$5K$15K
Business Insurance (Traditional)$1K$5K
Miscellaneous Opening Costs (Traditional)$5K$17K
Grand Opening Marketing (Traditional)$10K$10K
Depository Account (Traditional)$3K$3K
Additional Funds - 3 month initial period (Traditional)$5K$15K
Total initial investment$206K$479K

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
$206K – $479K
Top 40% of category vs category
Liquid capital req'd
$5K – $15K
Top 40% of category vs category
Franchise fee
$15K – $25K
Top 40% of category vs category
Royalty
5.0%
typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Ongoing fees · Item 6

Planet Smoothie: Item 6 recurring fees
FeeAmount
Royalty5.0% of gross sales
Marketing / ad fund2.0%
Technology fee$150
Training fee$1K
Transfer fee$8K
Renewal fee$13K
Inventory (initial)$5K – $15K
Total fee load7.0% of rev

What do units actually make?

Average unit sales run 71% below the quick-service restaurants norm.

Avg gross sales$280KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 84 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
Median gross sales$260KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 84 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
Item 19 typegross sales
Sample size143 outlets

Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Planet Smoothie 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

$352K

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
Blue values = direct from FDD (Item 7 investment, Item 19 revenue, Item 6 fees)Not set = no filing supplies it and we will not substitute one. Enter your own

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 Planet Smoothie unit return on the cash you put in?

From FDDNot set — you supply itYou overrode an FDD value
Revenue · per unit, per yearFDD
FDD Item 19 reports $280,048 per unit
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fundFDD
typ 6–8%
typ 3–5%
Operating costs · not in any FDDnot set

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.

Total invested capital · what you put in to openFDD
FDD Item 7: $206K–$479K (midpoint used)
FDD reports $5K–$15K

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.


Store EBITDA · annual
—
EBITDA margin
—
Total invested
$352K
Payback
—
Single-unit 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 point.

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: 2025 FDD

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$280K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$260K

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
Sample size
143 outlets
vs category median 19 · large
Quartile band
$141K→$554K
Bottom 25% → top 25%
Reporting year
2024
Fiscal year the figures cover
Source filing
FDD 2025
Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
Transparency
4 / 10
vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Gross sales rank0th
Item 19 reporting methods vary across brands
Investment cost rank25th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank12th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank81th
vs Quick-Service Restaurants peers
Risk score rank74th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands

Showing the headline figures — all 148 extracted fields are in the Full FDD Report · $19 →
Revenue insight

Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.

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 $280K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.8x.

Fee burden

Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).

Disclosure

Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.

Operator retention

System roughly stable (+1.3% 3-year CAGR) with 154 units.

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 Planet Smoothie Compares

Metric
Planet Smoothie
Category median
vs median
Investment
$342K
$486Kmiddle half $342K–$748K · n=780
Below median, better than category
Revenue
$280K
$975Kmiddle half $664K–$1.4M · n=284
Below median, worse than category
Unit Count
154
18middle half 5–79 · n=755
Above median, better than category

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?

Total units154Cited, not corroborated — printed on page 85 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
3-yr growth-2.5% (worth scrutinizing)
Turnover rate9.1% (favorable vs category)

Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20

Unit growth

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
154
Opened
10
Last reporting year
Closed
14
Terminated
4
Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
Non-renewed
2
Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
Turnover rate
9.1%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (3-yr)
-2.5%
Net unit change over 3 years
3-yr CAGR
+1.3%
Compounded over last 3 years

Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers

Terminated
4
Not renewed
2
Transfer rate
7.1%
Owners selling to other franchisees
Continuity rate
91.7%
Units that stayed open
Termination rate
3.9%
Franchisor-initiated terminations
Ceased ops
5.2%
Units that stopped operating
2022
152
Franchised units
2023
158+6
Franchised units
2024
154-4
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 16 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
Active operators · 16 states
No contacts on file

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.

Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list

86 current owners across 16 states.

  • FL 38
  • GA 22
  • PA 5
  • SC 4
  • NC 3
  • TX 3
  • NY 2
  • AL 1
  • AZ 1
  • CA 1
  • HI 1
  • LA 1
  • +4 more states

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.

F
SBA Lending Health
Weak SBA lending record · 27.2% charge-off
Total loans
120
Loan volume
$22.1M
Median loan
$150K
50th percentile
Charge-off rate
27.2%
on 120 loans · rates vary by category · see methodology

Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated

Repayment rate (PIF)
73.1%
5-yr charge-off
9.1%
Loans approved 2021+
Active lenders
49
Defaults
22
Typical loan rate
7.4%
avg rate to borrowers
Franchised industry avg
21.5%
brand above franchise avg ↑
Jobs supported
1,660
8.7 per loan
Lender concentration
7%
top lender's share

Borrower mix: 76% went to startups / new businesses, 24% to established operators

Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.5% vs 25.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% lower SBA default risk in this category.

Vintage analysis

Planet Smoothie charge-off rate by loan vintage

BrandNational avg
Planet Smoothie charge-off rate by loan vintage. Showing 11 vintages from 2000 to 2021. Rates range from 0.0% to 50.0%.0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%'00'03'05'07'18'21

Top lenders financing Planet Smoothie franchisees

Readycap Lending, LLC7 loans57.1%
Wells Fargo Bank National Association6 loans60.0%
SouthState Bank, National Association6 loans0.0%

Showing 3 of 49 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.

Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.

Lender network · 7(a) + 504

SBA Lending Report

Full lending analysis for Planet Smoothie from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.

Principal loss rate
17.1%
Avg SBA guarantee
75%
Avg interest rate
7.44%
Avg chargeoff amount
$155K
Lender concentration
7.0%
Job velocity
8.7 per $100K
Startup risk premium
+9.1pp
NAICS benchmark
15.7%
NAICS 722211
Jobs supported
1,660

Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 7% of loans

#LenderLoansVolumeDefault %
1Readycap Lending, LLC7$1.3M57.1%
2Wells Fargo Bank National Association6$1.2M60.0%
3SouthState Bank, National Association6$586K0.0%
4Popular Bank6$1.2M16.7%
5Stearns Bank National Association6$1.1M0.0%
6Seacoast National Bank6$1.3M20.0%
7Cadence Bank5$859K33.3%
8Citizens Bank5$2.0MN/A
9The Huntington National Bank4$664K0.0%
10Textron Business Credit, Inc.3$452K66.7%

Geographic failure vector

StateLoansDefaultsRate
FLFlorida34414.3%
GAGeorgia10342.9%
CACalifornia9444.4%
ALAlabama600.0%
OHOhio500.0%
NCNorth Carolina4150.0%
TXTexas43100.0%
HIHawaii200.0%
ILIllinois200.0%
MNMinnesota20--

SBA 7(a) lending trend

1999
1
2000
11
2001
6
2002
2
2003
4
2004
12
2005
10
2006
5
2007
4
2008
1
2009
2
2011
1
2016
1
2017
5
2018
5
2019
10
2020
3
2021
6
2022
5
2023
1
2024
3
2025
2

Borrower profile

Startup25 (74%)
Existing (2+ yr)6 (18%)
Ownership change2 (6%)
New (< 2 yr)1 (3%)

Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict

Lending insight

A 27.2% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.

What could kill this investment?

SBA loans charge off at 27.2% — 70% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.

SBA charge-off27.2% · 120 loans
Verdict score40/100 (higher is better)
Litigation20 cases
Auditor going-concern doubtNo (favorable vs category)

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21

Risk analysis

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21

Risk & Legal

CAverage40Verdict score 40/100

Planet Smoothie presents a CAUTION-to-HIGH RISK profile: shrinking franchisee base, undisclosed profitability, litigation pattern involving fraud/misrepresentation claims, unprotected territories, and opaque earnings claims.

High confidence±4 pts
3644

Litigation (Item 3)

Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).

Two concluded litigation cases involving predecessor and affiliate entities. First case: Purav Enterprises, L.L.C., Balwant Bahia, and Paramjit Samra v. The Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc. (FIPA violations and misrepresentation) settled for $20,000 on March 11, 2016. Second case: KOHO, Inc. v. Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. (breach of contract, unjust enrichment) with cross-complaint filed; outcome status incomplete in provided text.

Bankruptcy (Item 4)

None disclosed

Audited financials (Item 21)

Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)

Franchisor revenue (Item 21)

Yr 1: $580.3MYr 2: $472.1MNon-royalty: $51.7M

Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)

Item 21 financial statements are the audited consolidated statements of the franchisor's parent/guarantor, MTY Franchising USA, Inc. (Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. is the franchisor). Figures are for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2023 (most recent set actually included in Exhibit V), with FY2022 comparatives. Statements stated in thousands of US dollars; all figures scaled x1000. Assets (1,459,449K) = liabilities (1,206,513K) + stockholder's equity (252,936K), reconciles. Auditor opinion dated February 2, 2024, signed in Montreal, Canada (PwC).

ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.

Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16

  • Franchisor sells you products: Yes
  • Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
  • Must buy proprietary products: Yes
  • Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
  • Can negotiate own supplier terms: No

Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.5% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or performance issues
  2. 02HIGHSignificant litigation history involving franchisor, predecessors, and affiliates with claims of breach of contract, misrepresentation, fraud, and franchise act violations—pattern of legal disputes is concerning
  3. 03MEDNo average net income disclosed in FDD—inability or unwillingness to provide profitability data is a major red flag for franchisee earnings potential
  4. 04MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees could face cannibalization from new units in same geographic area

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

Showing the headline figures — all 148 extracted fields are in the Full FDD Report · $19 →

Full litigation history from the FDD (Items 3 and 4) →

What are you signing up for?

Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.

Initial term10 yrs
Renewal term5 yrs
TerritoryNone (caution)
Initial training64 hrs

Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17

FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Initial term10 years
Renewal term5 years
Allowed renewalsℹ1
Territory typeNo territory protection
Protected territoryNo
Exclusive territoryℹNo
Online sales rightsℹGranted
Franchisor can competeYes
Hire a manager?Allowed
Owner-operatorOptional
Non-compete (years)ℹ2 years
Non-compete (miles)ℹ10 mi
Right of first refusalℹYes
Transfer requires consentYes
Termination notice14 days
Mandatory arbitrationYes
Arbitration locationCounty and state where franchised business is located
Jury trial waiverYes
Governing lawArizona
Litigation count20
View Item 3 litigation summary

Two concluded litigation cases involving predecessor and affiliate entities. First case: Purav Enterprises, L.L.C., Balwant Bahia, and Paramjit Samra v. The Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc. (FIPA violations and misrepresentation) settled for $20,000 on March 11, 2016. Second case: KOHO, Inc. v. Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. (breach of contract, unjust enrichment) with cross-complaint filed; outcome status incomplete in provided text.

Items 10, 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
24 hrs
Training location
Online or KTEC (Kahala Training & Education Center), Scottsdale, AZ; in-store training at franchisee's location
Ongoing training
Optional
Field support
0 hrs/yr
On-site visits per year
Time to open
6 mo
From signing to launch
Site selection
franchisee with franchisor approval
Franchisor financing
Not offered
Item 10
POS system
FOCUS POS System or NCR POS System
Operating tech stack

Items 5 & 11

Franchisor Support

✓Site selection assistance
✓Grand opening support
✓Lease negotiation help

Technology: FOCUS POS System or NCR POS System

Item 20 · call current owners

Franchisee Contacts

86 owners to call

Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20

Unlock 86 contacts · $49
Free preview
(864) 426-••••SC
Unlock all 86 contacts
(404) 403-••••GA
(832) 277-••••TX
(321) 695-••••FL
(770) 337-••••GA

Frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to open a Planet Smoothie franchise?

The total investment to open a Planet Smoothie franchise ranges from $206K – $479K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).

What do Planet Smoothie franchise owners earn?

According to Item 19 of the Planet Smoothie FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $280K. The median is $260K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.

Who owns Planet Smoothie?

Planet Smoothie is franchised by Kahala Franchising, L.L.C.. Its parent company is Kahala Brands, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is MTY Food Group, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.

What is Item 19 in the Planet Smoothie 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 Planet Smoothie FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.

What is Planet Smoothie's franchise failure rate?

Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Planet Smoothie has a charge-off rate of 27.2% across 120 loans, meaning 27.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.

How many Planet Smoothie franchise locations are there?

As of their most recent FDD filing, Planet Smoothie has 154 total units in the United States, including 154 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 10 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.

Is Planet Smoothie a good franchise to buy?

FranchiseVerdict rates Planet Smoothie as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 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.

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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.