Popbar
Bottom line
- Total investment $217K – $461K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 74/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
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 Popbar unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
20%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Popbar franchisees operate fast-casual gelato and sorbet dessert shops, selling hand-crafted frozen treats served on wooden sticks or in cups. Day-to-day operations include product production, customer service, inventory management, and location-based retail sales in shopping centers or high-traffic areas.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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
Popbar exhibits high-risk characteristics with a collapsing unit base (-25% YoY), undisclosed financials, fraud-adjacent litigation, and questionable franchisor solvency—making it unsuitable for most franchise investors.
Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 rating
- 01MED25% unit decline YoY (16 units) indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHLitigation involving fraud and unjust enrichment claims suggests franchisor-franchisee trust issues and possible operational/contractual problems
- 03MINORNo Item 19 (average revenue/profit disclosure) prevents validation of investment ROI claims
- 04HIGHGoing concern status is False, indicating potential financial instability at corporate level
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($217k-$461k) combined with 6% royalty creates significant break-even pressure in declining system
- 06MINORSettlement of $17,500 (41% of claimed $42,500) suggests franchisor liability but weak legal position
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
24 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Popbar · FDD (2023) PDF