Bottom line
- Total investment $111K – $659K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $519K/year (median $491K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 24 loans (below the industry average).
- 20 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
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 sweetFrog unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
20%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 sweetFrog units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$883K
on $4.4M purchase
Total debt
$3.5M
SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
sweetFrog franchisees operate frozen yogurt retail locations where customers self-serve yogurt from dispensers, add toppings, and pay by weight. Daily operations include inventory management, equipment maintenance, customer service, cleaning, staffing, and managing point-of-sale systems. Franchisees are responsible for local marketing, lease management, and meeting corporate standards for store appearance and food safety.
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 · 23 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
sweetFrog represents HIGH RISK due to a contracting franchise system, extensive franchisor litigation for violations, non-protected territories, undisclosed profitability, and parent company going concern issues, despite moderate investment and reasonable royalty rates.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSignificant unit decline of 6.8% YoY (206 units) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or operational issues
- 02HIGHExtensive litigation history involving MTY USA across multiple brands (Famous Dave's, Papa Murphy's, Wetzel's) for franchise law violations, misrepresentations, and breach of contract raises systemic compliance concerns
- 03MEDNo protected territory disclosed, creating direct competition risk where multiple franchisees can operate in same area and cannibalize sales
- 04MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19, preventing franchisees from validating actual profitability claims; only gross revenue of $519k provided
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is False, suggesting potential financial instability of the parent company (MTY USA) and uncertainty about franchisor support
- 06MEDHigh investment ceiling of $658,500 paired with declining unit count and undisclosed net margins creates significant ROI uncertainty
- 07MINOR5% royalty on gross sales means no reduction during low-revenue periods, pressuring franchisees during economic downturns
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
sweetFrog · FDD (2025) PDF