FranchiseVerdict
The Honey Baked Ham Co. logo
FV-02651·STRONGExcellent100

The Honey Baked Ham Co.

Food & Beverage - Coffee & TeaFranchising since 1998Website
Investment
$514K – $830K
79th pct Coffee & Tea
Avg revenue
$1.3M
38th pct Coffee & Tea
Royalty
6.0%
50th pct Coffee & Tea
Units
448
98th pct Coffee & Tea
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $514K – $830K including a $20K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M). Estimated payback in 6.3 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 45/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 28 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
The HBH Franchise Company, LLC
Parent company
The Franchise Holding Company, LLC
Incorporated in
Georgia
HQ
3875 Mansell Road, Alpharetta, Georgia 30022-1532
Auditor
Windham Brannon, LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$22.2M
vs $21.8M 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 The Honey Baked Ham Co. unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,265,568
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $514K–$830K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

16%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$111K
EBITDA margin
8.7%
Total invested
$709K
Payback
77 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 The Honey Baked Ham Co. units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$443K

on $2.2M purchase

Total debt

$1.8M

SBA $1.1M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate retail locations selling premium honey-baked ham and complementary holiday/specialty meat products, focusing on seasonal peak periods (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) and year-round gourmet offerings. Operations include inventory management, food handling compliance, customer service, and local marketing to drive traffic during high-demand windows.

CEO
James Dinkins
Founded
1998
FDD year
2026
States available
35

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$514K – $830K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$20K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.3%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.3%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
6.3 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.3M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.2M
Item 19 type
Historical Sales and EBITDA
Sample size
418 units
vs category median 13 · large
Range (low → high)
$309K$3.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Revenue rank38th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Investment cost rank79th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank50th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank98th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Risk score rank11th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
448
Opened
8
Last reporting year
Closed
4
Turnover rate
0.9%
Company-owned
236
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
47%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+1.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+1.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
212+4
Franchised units
2025
208
Franchised units
2026
209
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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 · 17 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.

Total loans
28
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

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

Risk & Legal

45
Risk · 0-100
STRONG45 / 100

Mature, slow-growing franchise system with recent litigation history, modest profit margins, and limited financial disclosure—suitable only for operators with deep industry experience and capital reserves.

Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.9% YoY) suggests market saturation or system challenges in a mature 448-unit chain
  2. 02HIGHRecent litigation (settled July 2025) indicates franchisor-franchisee relationship friction and potential operational delays
  3. 03MINORNet income of $106,752 on $1.27M revenue (8.4% margin) is modest given seasonal business concentration and high initial investment of up to $829,600
  4. 04HIGHNo Item 19 (going concern = False) limits financial transparency and raises questions about franchisor's willingness to disclose performance data
  5. 05MINOR6% royalty + seasonal revenue fluctuations create cash flow pressure during off-peak months

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 area
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Georgia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
33 hrs
On-the-job training
158 hrs
POS system
HoneyBaked Proprietary CMS Point-of-Sale 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
(407) 851-••••
FL
(317) 580-••••
IN
(970) 225-••••
CO

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

The Honey Baked Ham Co. · FDD (2026) PDF

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