Taste Buds Kitchen
Bottom line
- Total investment $426K – $550K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $701K/year (median $657K). Estimated payback in 2.8 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
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 Taste Buds Kitchen unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
18%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Taste Buds Kitchen units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$912K
on $4.6M purchase
Total debt
$3.6M
SBA $2.3M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Taste Buds Kitchen operates children's cooking classes and culinary education programs, with franchisees managing hands-on instruction, class scheduling, inventory management, and parent/student relations. Day-to-day activities include teaching age-appropriate cooking techniques, managing kitchen equipment and food safety, marketing to local schools and families, and overseeing staffing and administrative operations.
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 · 19 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
Early-stage franchise with unverified financial claims, high capital requirements, restrictive royalty structure, and unclear franchisor stability—suitable only for well-capitalized investors capable of independent due diligence.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $701,223 average revenue or $172,156 net income figures
- 02MEDHigh initial investment ($425,750–$549,650) against small unit base (14 locations) suggests limited franchisee success data and scalability concerns
- 03MINORMinimum royalty of $125/week ($6,500 annually) creates cash flow burden even for underperforming locations and indicates franchisor prioritizes fees over franchisee profitability
- 04MINOROnly 14 units with 20% YoY growth is modest expansion; insufficient scale to validate business model or support franchisee marketing/operational resources
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status FALSE appears contradictory — requires clarification on franchisor's financial stability and long-term viability
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
33 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Taste Buds Kitchen · FDD (2026) PDF