Protein Bar & KitchenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Protein Bar & Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $370K – $685K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $370K – $685K
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 16
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Franchised units fell from 3 to 0 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
36% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDAR). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $370K – $685K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year, with an estimated 36% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDAR).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 65/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Protein Bar and Kitchen Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Protein Bar, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Catterton Growth Partners II, L.P.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 231 South LaSalle Street, Suite 2100, Chicago, Illinois 60604
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- PB Restaurants
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual health-focused restaurants serving protein-based meals, smoothies, and nutritional products. Day-to-day operations involve food preparation, inventory management, POS systems, staffing, and marketing within a protected territory. Revenue heavily dependent on foot traffic, local marketing effectiveness, and consistency with brand standards.
- CEO
- Jeff Drake
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Expenses Associated with Initial Training Program | $10K | $25K | |
| Real Property (Rent, Security Deposit) | $25K | $50K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $75K | $120K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $135K | $290K | |
| Architectural Design | $20K | $30K | |
| Professional Fees | $1K | $5K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $2K | $10K | |
| Computer System and Technology Fee | $10K | $20K | |
| Opening Inventory, Supplies and Smallwares | $15K | $25K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $10K | $15K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $5K | |
| Signage | $8K | $20K | |
| Other Deposits | $2K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $15K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $370K | $685K |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$126K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
23%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $370K – $685K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 2.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $400 |
| Training fee | $9K |
| Transfer fee | $40K |
| Renewal fee | $40K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg ebitdar
- $191K
- Reported as EBITDAR in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 36.2%
- Based on EBITDAR / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned outlets
- Sample size
- 5 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $957K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Protein Bar & Kitchen Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 16
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 13
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 19%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 10.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +200.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 12.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Michigan
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rapidly expanding early-stage franchise with attractive unit economics but limited proven track record and high capital requirements relative to profits.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtain
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExplosive 200% YoY unit growth (16 units) suggests early-stage instability and unproven scalability
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($369.5K-$685K) relative to average net income ($191K) yields 1.8-3.6 year payback with no margin for error
- 03MINORModest 6% royalty may indicate underpricing or insufficient franchisor support infrastructure for rapid expansion
- 04MINOROnly 16 operating units limits statistical reliability of average revenue/income data; outliers heavily skew results
- 05MEDNo disclosed Item 19 (financial performance representations) requires heavy reliance on unverified averages
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 240 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Protein Bar & Kitchen · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Protein Bar & Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a Protein Bar & Kitchen franchise ranges from $370K – $685K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Protein Bar & Kitchen franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Protein Bar & Kitchen FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Protein Bar & Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Protein Bar & Kitchen (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Protein Bar & Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Protein Bar & Kitchen has 16 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 13 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Protein Bar & Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Protein Bar & Kitchen as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 65 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.