Bottom line
- Total investment $196K – $471K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $552K/year (median $528K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 15 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
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 SoBol unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
26%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 SoBol units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.1M
on $5.5M purchase
Total debt
$4.4M
SBA $2.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
SoBol franchisees operate fast-casual açai bowl and smoothie shops, preparing and selling customizable cold beverages and grain bowls. Day-to-day operations involve inventory management, food prep, customer service, and managing 3-8 employees in a QSR environment with minimal cooking equipment.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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
SoBol presents moderate-to-high risk due to missing profitability data, stagnant unit growth, and unclear path to ROI on a $195k-$470k investment in a crowded açai bowl market.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to assess actual profitability against $195k-$470k investment
- 02MINORAnemic unit growth of 3.2% YoY with only 67 locations suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles
- 03MINORWide investment range ($275k spread) indicates inconsistent build-out costs or hidden variables not explained
- 04MINORAverage revenue of $551k against 5% royalty + operating costs may leave franchisees with razor-thin margins
- 05MINOR10-year term is lengthy given lack of financial performance transparency and slow system growth
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
70 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
SoBol · FDD (2025) PDF