FranchiseVerdict
Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt) logo
FV-02248·CAUTIONStandard67

Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt)

OtherFranchising since 2011Website
Investment
$45K – $364K
13th pct Other
Avg revenue
50th pct Other
Royalty
Units
460
94th pct Other
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $45K – $364K including a $30K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 71/100.
  • 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

Legal entity
Schmidt Baking Distribution, LLC
Parent company
Schmidt Baking Company, Incorporated
Incorporated in
Maryland
HQ
601 S. Caroline Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Auditor
Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, P.A.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$254.5M
vs $249.2M prior year

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 Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt) 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: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $45K–$364K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $2K–$6K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

50%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$105K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$208K
Payback
24 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

Schmidt Baking franchisees operate as independent distributors of fresh baked goods and related products through a network of 460 units. Day-to-day operations involve wholesale delivery, route management, account servicing, and inventory management across protected territories. Franchisees are currently classified as independent contractors, though this classification is contested in multiple active lawsuits.

CEO
Stephen J. Paterakis
Founded
2010
FDD year
2025
States available
9

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$45K – $364K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$2K – $6K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
n/d
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
42.5%
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
460
Opened
45
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
0.2%
Company-owned
24
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
95%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-0.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+4.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
436-2
Franchised units
2024
438
Franchised units
2025
418
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 9 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 · 9 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

71
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION71 / 100

Schmidt Baking presents HIGH RISK due to system contraction, pervasive wage/employment litigation, regulatory violations, and opaque financial disclosures that prevent due diligence.

Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-0.5% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential saturation or performance issues
  2. 02MINORMultiple active wage/overtime misclassification lawsuits create ongoing legal and financial exposure for franchisees
  3. 03MED2019 Maryland Securities Commissioner consent order indicates prior regulatory violations and disclosure failures
  4. 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance disclosures (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents informed ROI analysis
  5. 05MINORWide investment range ($44K-$364K) with unknown royalty structure creates unpredictable cost burden
  6. 06MINORUnknown franchise term length limits ability to assess investment recovery timeline
  7. 07MINORIndependent contractor classification disputes suggest potential reclassification liability and wage law compliance risks
  8. 08MEDRoyalty structure undisclosed creates uncertainty about actual unit economics and profitability threshold

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Geographic
Protected territory
Yes
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
8
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Maryland

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
hand-held computer system
Operating tech stack

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

100 numbers

Locked
(541) 000-••••
Arbitration Office, No.
OR
(545) 000-••••
Office, No.
(541) 000-••••
Arbitration Office, No.
OR

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt) · FDD (2025) PDF

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