Bottom line
- Total investment $572K – $1.3M including a $35K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $848K/year (median $800K). Estimated payback in 9.9 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 39/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 14 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 24.1% CAGR over 3 years with 177 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 THE HUMAN BEAN unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 THE HUMAN BEAN units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$678K
on $3.4M purchase
Total debt
$2.7M
SBA $1.7M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
THE HUMAN BEAN franchisees operate specialty coffee/beverage drive-thru and café locations, focusing on premium espresso drinks, smoothies, and customizable beverages. Day-to-day operations include managing barista staff, handling peak drive-thru traffic, inventory management, and maintaining brand consistency across product quality and customer service.
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 · 32 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
THE HUMAN BEAN presents moderate-to-caution risk due to unclear franchisor incentive alignment (no royalties), unvalidated financial claims, and thin unit-level margins relative to capital requirements.
Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo royalty fees create unclear franchisor revenue model and potential misaligned incentives for corporate support
- 02MINORSignificant gap between average revenue ($847,648) and net income ($94,115) suggests ~11% net margin, indicating high operating costs or competitive pricing pressure
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($572K-$1.3M) requires strong unit economics to achieve acceptable ROI payback period
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed, limiting ability to validate claimed average revenue figures
- 05MINORModest unit growth of 13% YoY may indicate market saturation in coffee/beverage category or franchisee recruitment challenges
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
89 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
THE HUMAN BEAN · FDD (2025) PDF