Bottom line
- Total investment $256K – $1.0M including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 120 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 91.9% CAGR over 3 years with 290 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 Playa Bowls unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
26%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Playa Bowls units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.8M
on $9.0M purchase
Total debt
$7.2M
SBA $4.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual açai bowl and smoothie cafes, managing daily food preparation, inventory, POS systems, and customer service in high-traffic locations. Operations typically involve 8-15 employees across shifts, sourcing specialty ingredients, maintaining food safety compliance, and driving sales through local marketing and social media engagement.
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 · 18 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
Playa Bowls presents moderate-to-caution risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, explosive growth that may not be sustainable, and opaque unit economics across a wide investment spectrum.
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability claims against $1.29M average revenue
- 02MINORExtreme unit growth rate of 38.8% YoY raises sustainability concerns and market saturation risks
- 03MINORWide investment range ($255K-$1M+) indicates inconsistent unit economics across locations
- 04MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) creates cash flow pressure during low-margin periods
- 05MINORRapid expansion may strain franchisor support infrastructure and quality control
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
68 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Playa Bowls · FDD (2025) PDF