Wild Birds UnlimitedFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED franchise requires a total initial investment of $227K – $379K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $858K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 4.0% charge-off rate across 161 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $227K – $379K
- 23rd pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $858K
- 12th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Retail
- Units
- 341
- 37th pct Retail
- SBA default
- 4.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Retail avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchising since 1983. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
50% cash-on-cash return (based on Cash Flow). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $227K – $379K including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $858K/year (median $773K), with an estimated 50% cash-on-cash return (based on Cash Flow).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 4.0% across 161 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- IN
- HQ
- 11711 N. College Avenue, Suite 146, Carmel, Indiana 46032
- Auditor
- Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18.8M
- vs $20.7M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees operate specialty retail stores selling bird seed, feeders, bird baths, and related supplies to backyard bird enthusiasts. Day-to-day operations include customer service, inventory management, store merchandising, and community education events (bird walks, feeding seminars). The business model relies on repeat customers and seasonal demand fluctuations (peak spring/fall migration).
- CEO
- James R. Carpenter
- Headquarters
- IN
- Founded
- 1983
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 44
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 38 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Training | $5K | $5K | |
| Travel, Meals, Lodging | $500 | $6K | |
| Lease Deposit | $4K | $8K | |
| First Month's Rent | $4K | $8K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $27K | $106K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $4K | |
| Legal/Accounting | $750 | $7K | |
| Office Equipment | $13K | $14K | |
| Signs | $3K | $10K | |
| Advertising | $7K | $13K | |
| Retail Fixtures | $22K | $34K | |
| Opening Inventory | $40K | $49K | |
| Technology | $2K | $2K | |
| Misc. Expenses | $6K | $11K | |
| Additional Funds for first 3 months | $52K | $63K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Existing Franchisee - Additional New Store) | $20K | $20K | |
| Training (Existing Franchisee - Additional New Store) | — | — | |
| Travel, Meals, Lodging (Existing Franchisee - Additional New Store) | $500 | $3K | |
| Lease Deposit (Existing Franchisee - Additional New Store) | $4K | $8K | |
| Total initial investment | $467K | $751K |
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.
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
$86K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
24%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $227K – $379K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $52K – $63K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 2.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $350 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $858K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $773K
- Avg cash flow
- $150K
- Reported as Cash Flow in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 49.5%
- Based on Cash Flow / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 320 units
- vs category median 49 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $169K→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Compared against 304 Retail brands
vs Retail averages
How Wild Birds Unlimited Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 341
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Turnover rate
- 1.8%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 15
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 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
- 161
- Loan volume
- $35.0M
- Median loan
- $127K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 4.0%
- 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)
- 95.9%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 71
- Defaults
- 4
Vintage analysis
Wild Birds Unlimited charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Wild Birds Unlimited'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
- 33-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Mature specialty retail franchise with solid unit base but undisclosed financial performance data, unknown growth trajectory, and unverified profitability claims create moderate-to-cautious due diligence burden.
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 or that obtained a
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP
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
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed despite 341 existing units — inability to verify claimed $858k revenue and $149k net income averages
- 02MEDStagnant unit count (341 units with 'unknown growth') suggests mature/declining system with no disclosed expansion trajectory
- 03MINOR17.5% net margin appears optimistic for retail without substantiation — actual franchisee profitability unverified
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($226-379k) relative to disclosed net income ($149.7k avg) creates 1.5-2.5 year break-even window with operational risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Geographic |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Indiana |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 72 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 45 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and franchisor's facility
- POS system
- ERPLY
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ERPLY
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
99 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED franchise?
The total investment to open a WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED franchise ranges from $227K – $379K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $858K. The median is $773K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED has a charge-off rate of 4.0% across 161 loans, meaning 4.0% 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 WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED has 341 total units in the United States, including 333 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 42 out of 100, 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.
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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.