Tifa Chocolate & Gelato Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $500K – $676K
- Disclosed sales
- $547K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- on 17 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Tifa Chocolate & Gelato is a dessert franchise serving artisan gelato and handcrafted chocolates. Franchisees run the shops, managing gelato and chocolate production, inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tifa Chocolate & Gelato franchise requires a total initial investment of $500K – $676K, including a $48K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $547K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $500K – $676K
- 75th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $547K
- 5th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 9
- 35th 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 median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $500K – $676K including a $48K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $547K/year (median $508K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 66/100 (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).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 11 agreements signed but not yet open against 9 open outlets (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Tifa Foods International, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Michael Ashamalla
- CEO experience
- 19 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 2060 D Avenida de los Arboles, #471, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362-1361
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $225K
- vs $313K prior year
Affiliated brands
- has previously offered franchises of any type
- Tifa
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael Ashamalla
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 21% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $48K | $48K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $432K | $599K |
| Total initial investment | $500K | $676K |
Source: Tifa Chocolate & Gelato 2025 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
- $500K – $676K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $48K – $48K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Inventory (initial) | $500 – $1K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 44% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Tifa Chocolate & Gelato until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$613K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Tifa Chocolate & Gelato unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $547K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $508K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 7 outlets
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $244K→$1.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 54 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 781 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.
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 $547K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +80.0% over 3 years (4 opened, 0 closed).
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 medians
How Tifa Chocolate & Gelato Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 9
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +80.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +80.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 11
- 1.22 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 11.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
23 current owners across 7 states.
- CA 15
- TX 3
- AZ 1
- NC 1
- NJ 1
- SD 1
- WV 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
- $4.8M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- on 17 loans · 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
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 9.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 184
- 3.9 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 59%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 82% went to startups / new businesses, 18% 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 Tifa Chocolate & Gelato franchisees
Showing 3 of 6 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Tifa Chocolate & Gelato from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 66%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.79%
- Lender concentration
- 58.8%
- Job velocity
- 3.9 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 8.7%
- NAICS 722513
- Jobs supported
- 184
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 59% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 10 | $2.4M | N/A |
| 2 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 2 | $284K | 0.0% |
| 3 | North State Bank | 2 | $539K | 0.0% |
| 4 | American Riviera Bank | 1 | $425K | 0.0% |
| 5 | First Bank of the Lake | 1 | $661K | N/A |
| 6 | Quaint Oak Bank | 1 | $500K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TXTexas | 3 | 0 | -- |
| COColorado | 2 | 0 | -- |
| VAVirginia | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Small gelato franchisor (9 units) with negative franchisor equity of -$149,393 as its single concern. No litigation or bankruptcy; positive net income of $45,333 on $224,711 revenue, audited financials, Item 19 disclosed.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this disclosure document.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor revenue figures (franchisor_revenue_yr1/yr2) are from Item 21 audited financials (franchisor's own revenue: franchise fees, royalties, marketing fund, other income), not franchisee unit sales.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 66 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative franchisor net worth: -$149,393
- 02MEDNo litigation, no bankruptcy, audited, Item 19 disclosed
- 03MINORPositive net income $45,333; 9 units; 80% growth
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 4 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Westlake Village, California |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this disclosure document.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 84 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- both
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Clover
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Clover
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
23 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tifa Chocolate & Gelato franchise?
The total investment to open a Tifa Chocolate & Gelato franchise ranges from $500K – $676K, with an initial franchise fee of $48K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Tifa Chocolate & Gelato franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Tifa Chocolate & Gelato FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $547K. The median is $508K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Tifa Chocolate & Gelato?
Tifa Chocolate & Gelato is franchised by Tifa Foods International, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Tifa Chocolate & Gelato FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Tifa Chocolate & Gelato FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tifa Chocolate & Gelato's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Tifa Chocolate & Gelato 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 Tifa Chocolate & Gelato franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tifa Chocolate & Gelato has 9 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tifa Chocolate & Gelato a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tifa Chocolate & Gelato as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 66 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.