SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp)Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) franchise requires a total initial investment of $89K – $191K, including a $10K franchise fee and an ongoing 0.3% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $147K[2]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $89K – $191K
- 27th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $147K
- 1st pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 0.3%
- 0th pct Home Services
- Units
- 5
- 11th pct Home Services
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Started franchising in 2024. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $89K – $191K including a $10K franchise fee, 0.3% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $147K/year (median $134K).
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 71/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which 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
- Sweetwater Technologies Franchise, LLC
- Incorporated in
- IL
- HQ
- 401 West Main Street, Wyanet, Illinois 61379
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $106K
- Most recent fiscal year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- does
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
SweetWater Technologies franchisees provide agricultural irrigation services, likely including system design, installation, maintenance, and consulting for farms and rural properties. Daily operations involve field assessments, equipment servicing, customer billing for acreage-based or hourly services, and ongoing account management within their protected territory.
- CEO
- Chad R. Gripp
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Rent Depositnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Rent (3 months)not refundable | $0 | $15K | |
| Vehicle, Equipment, Signagenot refundable | $65K | $165K | |
| Office Set-Up, Technology, Hardware and Softwarenot refundable | $5K | $6K | |
| Business Licenses & Permitsnot refundable | $575 | $700 | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $2K | $8K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $2K | $10K | |
| Opening Marketing Packagenot refundable | $520 | $1K | |
| Additional Fundsnot refundable | $2K | $15K | |
| Total initial investment | $89K | $246K |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$23K
15.7% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $89K – $191K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $15K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $10K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 0.3%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 36.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 0.3% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 36.0% of rev |
At 36.0% total fee load, roughly $53K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $147K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $134K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 4 units
- vs category median 25 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $89K→$232K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $89K→$232K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
vs Home Services averages
How SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 20.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 80%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Virginia
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage irrigation/agricultural services franchise with predatory multi-tiered royalties, minimal unit count, and undisclosed profitability creates elevated financial and operational risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $102,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExtremely high royalty burden at 33% of gross sales plus per-acre/hourly fees creates dual-layer extraction that could exceed 40-50% of gross revenue
- 02MEDNet income deliberately not disclosed in FDD — inability to verify profitability claims against the $147,279 average revenue figure
- 03MINOROnly 5 franchised units with unknown growth trajectory suggests nascent or stalled system expansion
- 04MINORDual royalty structure (acreage-based AND sales-based options) is unnecessarily complex and suggests franchisor revenue optimization over franchisee profitability
- 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation limits ability to validate the $147,279 average revenue claim independently
- 06MINORProtected territory language provided but scope/definition not detailed — potential for encroachment disputes
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | ZIP Codes/Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 25 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NetSuite and Flight Plan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NetSuite and Flight Plan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
19 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) franchise?
The total investment to open a SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) franchise ranges from $89K – $191K, with an initial franchise fee of $10K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $147K. The median is $134K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp)'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) (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 SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SweetWater Technologies (powered by Gripp) as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 71 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.