Tutu School Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Tutu School is a children's franchise teaching whimsical ballet and creative-movement classes to toddlers and young kids. Franchisees run a charming studio managing instructors, class enrollment, and dancewear sales.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tutu School franchise requires a total initial investment of $115K – $216K, including a $48K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). 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
- $115K – $216K
- 36th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 2nd pct Education
- Units
- 97
- 64th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education 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 $115K – $216K including a $48K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports gross revenue by segment/tenure with quartile breakdowns rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 78/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 72.2% CAGR over 3 years with 97 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Tutu School Franchises, LLC
- CEO title
- President
- Genevieve Custer Weeks
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- HQ
- 3717 North Ravenswood Avenue, #237, Chicago, IL 60613
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.3M
- vs $2.1M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Genevieve Custer Weeks
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 19
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 75% below the typical education 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) | $8K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $59K | $143K |
| Total initial investment | $115K | $216K |
Source: Tutu School 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
- $115K – $216K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $8K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $48K – $48K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $24K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Tutu School did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Tutu School unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
70%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue by segment/tenure with quartile breakdowns
- Sample size
- 70
- vs category median 17 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $51K→$712K
- 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 204 Education brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Education average of 10.6%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross revenue by segment/tenure with quartile breakdowns rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 72.2% CAGR over 3 years across 97 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 5% 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 Education averages
How Tutu School Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 97
- Opened
- 23
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.1%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +72.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +72.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 10
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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.
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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $825K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (5 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 78 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORLarge negative net worth -$2.46M
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed
- 03MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy/going-concern
- 04MINORMitigating: 97 units, +72.2% growth, audited
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 |
| Territory type | Radius/Drive Time/City Block |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 22 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 10 hrs
- POS system
- Classbug
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Classbug
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
75 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Tutu School · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tutu School franchise?
The total investment to open a Tutu School franchise ranges from $115K – $216K, 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 Tutu School franchise owners earn?
Tutu School does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Tutu School 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 Tutu School FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tutu School's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Tutu School (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Tutu School franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tutu School has 97 total units in the United States, including 93 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 23 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tutu School a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tutu School as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 78 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
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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.