Tropical Smoothie Cafe Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a fast-casual franchise pairing made-to-order smoothies with wraps, sandwiches, and bowls under a health-forward positioning. Franchisees run cafes managing food and beverage prep, staffing, and high-margin smoothie sales.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise requires a total initial investment of $341K – $815K, including a $15K – $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.0M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 11.2% charge-off rate across 653 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $341K – $815K
- 56th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.0M
- 16th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1,515
- 94th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 11.2%
- % 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
- COSTTotal investment $341K – $815K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.0M/year (median $955K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 86/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 11.2% across 653 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAGBankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- TSC Franchisor, LLC
- Parent company
- TSC SPV Funding, LLC / TSC SPV Guarantor, LLC / Peach TopCo LP
- Ultimate parent
- Blackstone Inc. (via investment funds managed by affiliates)
- Predecessor
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Christopher Maxwell Wetzel
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 1117 Perimeter Center West, Suite W200, Atlanta, Georgia 30338
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $33.3M
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- of Servpro
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Christopher Maxwell Wetzel
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2012
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 45
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 12% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $18K | $35K | |
| Professional Fees | $9K | $19K | |
| Restaurant Fixtures, Furniture and Equipment (including POS/cash register system)not refundable | $142K | $175K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $145K | $426K | |
| Signage | $6K | $23K | |
| Initial Inventory | $7K | $21K | |
| Initial Training Expenses | $500 | $20K | |
| Initial Deposits | $250 | $31K | |
| Grand Opening Contribution | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds (Working Capital) (3 to 6 months) | $10K | $57K | |
| Total initial investment | $341K | $815K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $341K – $815K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $57K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $179 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 11.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 17% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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
$111K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Tropical Smoothie Cafe unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
18%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Tropical Smoothie Cafe units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$804K
on $4.0M purchase
Total debt
$3.2M
SBA $2.0M + senior + seller note
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
- $1.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $955K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- segmented cohorts (top/bottom percentile bands) by year
- Sample size
- 1,268 outlets
- vs category median 20 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $288K→$2.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $613K→$1.5M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- 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 782 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 $1.0M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 11.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
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
System expanding at 26.5% CAGR over 3 years across 1,515 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1,515
- Opened
- 161
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 13
- Terminated
- 5
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.2%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +26.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +26.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 143
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 4
- Transfers (3yr)
- 79
- Transfer rate
- 5.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 45 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 653
- Loan volume
- $224.2M
- Median loan
- $397K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 11.2%
- 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)
- 88.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 1.1%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 159
- Defaults
- 40
- Typical loan rate
- 7.6%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 7,857
- 5.3 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 11%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 74% went to startups / new businesses, 26% 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.
Vintage analysis
Tropical Smoothie Cafe charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchisees
Showing 3 of 159 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 Tropical Smoothie Cafe'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 10-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 11.2% — 30% 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
Large, healthy system: 1,515 units, net worth $1.43B, net income $28.3M, audited, Item 19 disclosed (avg gross sales $1,005,063), growing 26.5%. The single litigation matter (JSG arbitration) was settled in 2016 for $62,500 — routine for a system this size.
Litigation (Item 3)
JSG Management Co. v. Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC (Case No. 01-16-0001-4215), American Arbitration Association in Atlanta, Georgia, filed April 18, 2016. Former single-unit franchisee alleged breach of franchise agreement and fraudulent financial performance misrepresentations regarding 2009 breakfast initiative. Franchisor asserted counterclaim for unauthorized early closure and breach of post-termination obligations. Settled November 22, 2016 for $62,500 with no admission of liability by Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC.
Largest disclosed settlement: $62,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; B. Obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or C. Was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a di
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 86 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 1 old settled arbitration (2016, $62,500) — routine for 1,515 units
- 02MINORStrong financials: net worth $1.43B, net income $28.3M
- 03MINORClean: no bankruptcy, no going-concern, audited, Item 19 present, +26.5% growth
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 11.0% 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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
JSG Management Co. v. Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC (Case No. 01-16-0001-4215), American Arbitration Association in Atlanta, Georgia, filed April 18, 2016. Former single-unit franchisee alleged breach of franchise agreement and fraudulent financial performance misrepresentations regarding 2009 breakfast initiative. Franchisor asserted counterclaim for unauthorized early closure and breach of post-termination obligations. Settled November 22, 2016 for $62,500 with no admission of liability by Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 210 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Designated hardware-as-a-service and software-as-a-service POS programs
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Designated hardware-as-a-service and software-as-a-service POS programs
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1,970 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Tropical Smoothie Cafe · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise?
The total investment to open a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise ranges from $341K – $815K, 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 Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.0M. The median is $955K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe 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 Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tropical Smoothie Cafe's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a charge-off rate of 11.2% across 653 loans, meaning 11.2% 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 Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has 1,515 total units in the United States, including 1,514 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 161 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tropical Smoothie Cafe a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tropical Smoothie Cafe as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 86 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.