The Human BeanFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A THE HUMAN BEAN franchise requires a total initial investment of $572K – $1.3M, including a $35K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $848K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 35.7% charge-off rate across 51 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $572K – $1.3M
- 86th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $848K
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 177
- 80th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 35.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants 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
35.7% of SBA loans charged off across 51 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 165 to 133 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $572K – $1.3M including a $35K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $848K/year (median $800K), with an estimated 9% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 35.7% across 51 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 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
- Legal entity
- Casey Hawkins, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- None
- CEO title
- President & CEO
- Dan Hawkins
- CEO experience
- 22 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- OR
- HQ
- 623 Rossanley Drive, Medford, OR 97501
- Auditor
- A&G LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $11.1M
- vs $12.1M prior year
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.
- CEO
- Dan Hawkins
- Headquarters
- OR
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 23
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site Analysis Feenot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $35K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $9K | $25K | |
| Real Property (purchased or leased)not refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures, Construction, Remodeling, Leasehold Improvements, and Decoratingnot refundable | $467K | $1.1M | |
| Inventorynot refundable | $26K | $28K | |
| POS & Delivery Integration Softwarenot refundable | $375 | $523 | |
| Digital Menu Board Management Systemnot refundable | $15 | $60 | |
| Security deposits, utility deposits, business licenses and other prepaid expensesnot refundable | $6K | $10K | |
| Working Capitalnot refundable | $5K | $20K | |
| Advertising and Promotionnot refundable | $10K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds (Initial 90 day period)not refundable | $15K | $50K | |
| Optional Area Development Feenot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Balance of Franchise Fee for Outlets under an ADAnot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $617K | $1.3M |
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
$127K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $572K – $1.3M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- None
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 1.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 11.1 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | No royalty fee - revenue from supply sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 1.0% of rev |
A 1.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $848K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $800K
- Avg ebitda
- $85K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 9.0%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- ebitda
- Sample size
- 140 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $378K→$1.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How The Human Bean Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 177
- Opened
- 21
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Turnover rate
- 1.1%
- Company-owned
- 12
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +13.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +24.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Transfer rate
- 1.7%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 98.8%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 1.1%
- Units that stopped operating
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 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
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
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
- 51
- Loan volume
- $27.8M
- Median loan
- $511K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 35.7%
- 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)
- 61.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 50.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 26
- Defaults
- 5
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into The Human Bean'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 14 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 10-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 35.7% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information provided in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · A&G LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 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
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Medford, Oregon |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Oregon |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information provided in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 11 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 29 hrs
- Training location
- Medford, OR or Portland, OR training facility
- Field support
- 21 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
89 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
THE HUMAN BEAN · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a THE HUMAN BEAN franchise?
The total investment to open a THE HUMAN BEAN franchise ranges from $572K – $1.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do THE HUMAN BEAN franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the THE HUMAN BEAN FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $848K. The median is $800K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is THE HUMAN BEAN's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, THE HUMAN BEAN has a charge-off rate of 35.7% across 51 loans, meaning 35.7% 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 HUMAN BEAN franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, THE HUMAN BEAN has 177 total units in the United States, including 165 franchised units and 12 company-owned units. 21 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is THE HUMAN BEAN a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates THE HUMAN BEAN as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 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.