Salted Barber Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $254K – $390K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Salted Barber is a men's grooming franchise offering haircuts, beard grooming, and hot-towel shaves in an upscale shop. Franchisees run the shops, managing barbers, appointments, and retail.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Salted Barber franchise requires a total initial investment of $254K – $390K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2026. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $254K – $390K
- 28th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only2 outlets
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 12th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 2
- 5th pct Personal Care…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Personal Care & Beauty median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $254K – $390K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAn earlier version of this note quoted a dollar figure that APPEARS NOWHERE IN THE FILING - verified in comma, no-comma and period-for-comma form and against a de-punctuated digit stream, across every page. It was our own arithmetic published as the franchisor's disclosure. Item 19 discloses TWO OUTLETS IN THE SAME YEAR, so the range is genuine and stays - the endpoints sharing a year is what distinguishes it from the multi-year welds. No summary statistic is printed.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 48/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Salted Barber Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Co-Founder and President
- Danielle Hiser
- CEO experience
- 9 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 12853 El Camino Real P7, San Diego, California 92130
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Danielle Hiser
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 20% below the typical personal care & beauty franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $30K | $40K | |
| Initial Training Feenot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Training Programnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Attorney Term Sheet/Lease Reviewnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Security Deposits | $6K | $9K | |
| Soft Construction Costs (space planner, engineers, permits)not refundable | $12K | $18K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (inclusive of tenant improvement allowance)not refundable | $108K | $186K | |
| Signage and Graphicsnot refundable | $8K | $12K | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures (includes in-store artwork)not refundable | $55K | $65K | |
| Technology and POS Equipmentnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Utilities | $500 | $700 | |
| Startup Barber supplies, shop supplies, retail inventorynot refundable | $4K | $6K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $6K | $6K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Business and Industry Licenses, Permits, and Certificationsnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months)not refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $254K | $390K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $254K – $390K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- No separate advertising fund contribution; franchisor cha…
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $6K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Salted Barber is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Salted Barber unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
An earlier version of this note quoted a dollar figure that APPEARS NOWHERE IN THE FILING - verified in comma, no-comma and period-for-comma form and against a de-punctuated digit stream, across every page. It was our own arithmetic published as the franchisor's disclosure. Item 19 discloses TWO OUTLETS IN THE SAME YEAR, so the range is genuine and stays - the endpoints sharing a year is what distinguishes it from the multi-year welds. No summary statistic is printed.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on only 2 outlets
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 2 outlets
- vs category median 38 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $417K→$916KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 66 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 177 Personal Care & Beauty brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Personal Care & Beauty median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (1 opened, 0 closed).
Multi-unit rate
Only 25% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Personal Care & Beauty medians
How Salted Barber Compares
Category median of published Personal Care & Beauty brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 25.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +100.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- CA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Pre-opening franchisor (began franchising 2026) with only 2 company-owned units and 0 franchised. No litigation or bankruptcy, audited financials and Item 19 present, but limited operating history.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 2 units, 0 franchised
- 02MINORNo litigation or bankruptcy
- 03MINORAudited financials present
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2.5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 8 hrs
- Training location
- Off-site and on-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (with franchisor approval)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Salted Barber franchise?
The total investment to open a Salted Barber franchise ranges from $254K – $390K, 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 Salted Barber franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Salted Barber FDD discloses outlet figures from $417K to $916K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Salted Barber?
Salted Barber is franchised by Salted Barber Franchising, LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Salted Barber FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Salted Barber FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Salted Barber's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Salted Barber (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 Salted Barber franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Salted Barber has 2 total units in the United States. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Salted Barber a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Salted Barber as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 48 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.