U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt
Formerly known as U.S. Franchise Systems
Bottom line
- Total investment $419K – $630K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 71/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -19.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
21%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
U-Swirl franchisees operate self-serve frozen yogurt shops where customers select base flavors, toppings, and mix-ins before paying by weight. Daily operations include inventory management, equipment maintenance, food safety compliance, customer service, and staffing. Success depends on foot traffic, location quality, and managing food costs in a declining category.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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
U-Swirl presents HIGH RISK due to a contracting unit base (-6.6% YoY), missing financial disclosures preventing ROI validation, false Going Concern status, prior litigation for franchise violations, and the structural headwinds facing the frozen yogurt category.
Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem is contracting sharply: -6.6% unit decline YoY with only 57 locations remaining, indicating weak demand and franchisee struggles
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents accurate ROI assessment and suggests franchisor may be hiding poor unit economics
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial distress at corporate level and risk of franchisor support degradation
- 04HIGH2018 litigation settlement ($55,000) for franchise disclosure violations and fraudulent misrepresentation shows pattern of compliance issues and broken franchisee relationships
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($418.5K-$630K) combined with declining unit count creates significant downside risk if location underperforms
- 06MEDFrozen yogurt category has faced secular decline post-2014; mature/saturated market with limited growth prospects
- 07MED6% royalty on undisclosed revenue means franchisees cannot benchmark their performance against system averages
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
13 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt · FDD (2024) PDF