The Honey Baked Ham Co. Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Honey Baked Ham Co. is a specialty-food franchise selling its signature spiral-sliced, glazed hams, turkey, and heat-and-serve sides. Franchisees run retail stores driven by holiday peaks plus year-round catering and lunch offerings.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchise requires a total initial investment of $514K – $830K, including a $5K – $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $514K – $830K
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 448
- 82nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $514K – $830K including a $5K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M), with an estimated 9% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 91/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The HBH Franchise Company, LLC
- Parent company
- The Franchise Holding Company, LLC (FHC)
- Ultimate parent
- HBH Ultimate Holdings, LP (controlled by Garnett Station Partners, LLC)
- Predecessor
- was The Habit Restaurants
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- James Dinkins
- 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
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- The Honey Baked Ham Company
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- James Dinkins
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1998
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 35
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $5K | $5K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $484K | $775K |
| Total initial investment | $514K | $830K |
Source: The Honey Baked Ham Co. 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $514K – $830K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- 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 FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.3% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $152 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 9.3% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 15% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
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
$161K
12.8% margin
Unlevered ROIC
23%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Avg ebitda
- $107K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 8.7%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- ebitda
- Sample size
- 418 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $309K→$3.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $586K→$1.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 485 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.3M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.3% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+1.4% 3-year CAGR) with 448 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How The Honey Baked Ham Co. Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 448
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.5%
- Company-owned
- 236
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 47%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +1.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 8
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 3
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 4.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 35 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
- Michigan
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.
- Total loans
- 17
- Loan volume
- $6.9M
- Median loan
- $364K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 11
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 8.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 116
- 1.9 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 25%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 33% went to startups / new businesses, 67% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 10.8% vs 10.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchisees
Showing 3 of 11 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into The Honey Baked Ham Co.'s SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 11 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Single concluded litigation matter (Sweetie Bell Hams v. HBH, 2025 — franchisee suit after termination). Otherwise strong: $50.4M net worth, $21.8M revenue, $1.3M net income, audited, Item 19 disclosed. 448 units with negligible 0.47% turnover.
Litigation (Item 3)
4 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $100,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Windham Brannon, LLC
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 91 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGH1 concluded litigation: franchisee post-termination suit
- 02MINORNet worth $50.4M, revenue $21.8M, net income $1.3M
- 03MINOR448 units, 0.47% turnover, audited, Item 19
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.3% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Geographic area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 175,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
4 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 33 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 158 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- HoneyBaked Proprietary CMS Point-of-Sale System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: HoneyBaked Proprietary CMS Point-of-Sale System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
219 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Honey Baked Ham Co. · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchise?
The total investment to open a The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchise ranges from $514K – $830K, with an initial franchise fee of $5K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Honey Baked Ham Co. FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Honey Baked Ham Co.'s franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, The Honey Baked Ham Co. has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many The Honey Baked Ham Co. franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Honey Baked Ham Co. has 448 total units in the United States, including 212 franchised units and 236 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Honey Baked Ham Co. a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Honey Baked Ham Co. as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 91 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.