VARA Juice Restaurant Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
VARA Juice is a quick-service franchise serving fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, and acai bowls. Franchisees run the shops, managing fresh prep, inventory, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A VARA Juice Restaurant franchise requires a total initial investment of $236K – $635K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $236K – $635K
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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 $236K – $635K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 51/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- VARA Juice Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- President and Director of Franchisee Training
- Ali Albadani
- Incorporated in
- Michigan
- HQ
- 3231 S. Gulley Road, Suite C, Dearborn, Michigan 48124
- Auditor
- Etiendem CPA
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $74K
- vs $484K prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ali Albadani
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 34% 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 Feenot refundable | — | — | |
| Professional Fees (Architect, Engineering, Legal, Design, Accounting) | — | — | |
| Leasehold Improvements | — | — | |
| Equipment, Furniture, and Fixtures | — | — | |
| Point-of-Sale (POS) System | — | — | |
| Licenses and Permits | — | — | |
| Signage | — | — | |
| Training Expenses (Travel, Food, Lodging, Wages)not refundable | — | — | |
| Grand Opening Advertising and Promotions | $15K | $25K | |
| Real Estate / Rent (First 3 Months) | $0 | $27K | |
| Total initial investment | $15K | $52K |
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
- $236K – $635K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $44K – $115K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
VARA Juice Restaurant 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 VARA Juice Restaurant unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
22%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- Historical
- Sample size
- 6
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $467K→$1.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- 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
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
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.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +125.0% over 3 years (5 opened, 1 closed).
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 VARA Juice Restaurant Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 12
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.1%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 69%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +125.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- 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 · 4 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
- Maryland
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Auditor raised a going-concern note, but this is an early-stage franchisor (began 2023, distress_is_early_stage=true) that is actually profitable — net income $53,556 on $521,427 revenue with 12 units. No litigation or bankruptcy; Item 19 disclosed (avg gross sales $777,487). Thin net worth ($18,869) and the early-stage going-concern flag are treated as minor.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
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 during or within on
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Etiendem CPAⓘ Going-concern language present, but this is an early-stage franchisor with limited operating history — common for new systems and not necessarily a sign of distress.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORGoing-concern note present but early-stage startup (began 2023)
- 02MINORThin net worth $18,869; but positive net income $53,556
- 03MED12 units, low turnover 11.1%, Item 19 disclosed
- 04MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 91 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
VARA Juice Restaurant · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a VARA Juice Restaurant franchise?
The total investment to open a VARA Juice Restaurant franchise ranges from $236K – $635K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do VARA Juice Restaurant franchise owners earn?
VARA Juice Restaurant 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 VARA Juice Restaurant 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 VARA Juice Restaurant FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is VARA Juice Restaurant's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for VARA Juice Restaurant (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 VARA Juice Restaurant franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, VARA Juice Restaurant has 12 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is VARA Juice Restaurant a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates VARA Juice Restaurant as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 51 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.