FranchiseVerdict
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FV-02124·MODERATEStandard76

Redstraw

Food & Beverage - Coffee & TeaFranchising since 2020Website
Investment
$277K – $493K
50th pct Coffee & Tea
Avg revenue
49th pct Coffee & Tea
Royalty
5.0%
17th pct Coffee & Tea
Units
4
27th pct Coffee & Tea
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $277K – $493K including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — 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
Red Straw Franchise, Inc.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
14031 Jeffrey Road, Irvine, CA 92620
Auditor
Irvine CPAs & Associates, Inc.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$32K
vs $38K prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2025
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

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 Redstraw unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $277K–$493K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

21%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$400K
Payback
58 mo
Unit-level 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 Yale describes.

Overview

About

Redstraw appears to be a beverage/restaurant concept focused on sustainable or eco-friendly products (likely reusable straw merchandising or sustainable drink service). Franchisees would manage daily operations including customer service, inventory management, supplier relationships, and local marketing, with operational oversight from a nascent 4-unit franchisor.

CEO
Lauren Yi
Founded
2018
FDD year
2025
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$277K – $493K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$45K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

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

Total units
4
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
3
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
25%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
2023
1±0
Franchised units
2024
1
Franchised units
2025
0
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 4 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
Registered · 4 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Early-stage system with 4 units, no financial transparency, unprotected territory, and unproven unit economics presents material risk despite absence of litigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDOnly 4 units system-wide indicates extremely early stage with minimal track record and limited peer learning
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average revenue/net income) prevents ROI validation and profitability assessment
  3. 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential within same market
  4. 04MINORHigh investment range ($277k-$493k) with 5% royalty creates significant break-even pressure for early franchisees
  5. 05MINORUnknown unit growth trajectory raises concerns about system viability and franchisee retention
  6. 06MINORMinimal franchise fee ($45k) relative to total investment suggests franchisor may rely on franchisee-funded growth rather than proven model

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
16 hrs
On-the-job training
27 hrs

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

5 numbers

Locked
(971) 330-••••
OR
(317) 232-••••
IN
(212) 416-••••
NY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Redstraw · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above