Planet Smoothie
Bottom line
- Total investment $84K – $479K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $280K/year (median $260K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 56/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 142 loans (below the industry average).
- 12 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
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 Planet Smoothie unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
14%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Planet Smoothie units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$448K
on $2.2M purchase
Total debt
$1.8M
SBA $1.1M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Planet Smoothie franchisees operate quick-service beverage retail locations selling smoothies, juices, and blended drinks. Day-to-day operations include managing inventory (fresh fruit, bases, supplements), staffing point-of-sale transactions, maintaining food safety/equipment, and driving local marketing/promotions to compete in the crowded smoothie/juice category.
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 · 26 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
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.5% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or performance issues
- 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
- 03MEDNo average net income disclosed in FDD—inability or unwillingness to provide profitability data is a major red flag for franchisee earnings potential
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($84,150–$478,500) with low franchise fee ($25,000) suggests majority costs are in startup/build-out; unclear ROI timeline
- 05MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk; franchisees could face cannibalization from new units in same geographic area
- 06MEDRoyalty structure (5% + $10/week surcharge) on disclosed $280,048 average revenue generates approximately $14,402–$16,002 annual franchisor revenue per unit—sustainability concern if units continue declining
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Planet Smoothie · FDD (2025) PDF