FranchiseVerdict
Zenshi / AFC / Wild Blue logo
FV-03040·CAUTIONExcellent81

Zenshi / AFC / Wild Blue

Formerly known as Wild Blue Car Wash

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2002Website
Investment
$3K – $239K
0th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
8.0%
90th pct Full Service
Units
4,438
100th pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $3K – $239K including a $6K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 69/100.
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Advanced Fresh Concepts Franchise Corp.
Parent company
Zensho Holdings Co., Ltd.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
19700 Mariner Avenue, Torrance, California 90503
Auditor
SingerLewak LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$588.2M
vs $648.3M prior year

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 Zenshi / AFC / Wild Blue unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $3K–$239K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $6K–$25K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

66%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$90K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$136K
Payback
18 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual seafood restaurants (primarily sushi/poke or fried chicken concepts under the AFC/Wild Blue brands) serving prepared meals in quick-service format. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staff scheduling, and customer service across a compressed service model with royalty obligations to the parent franchisor.

CEO
Jeffery Seiler
Founded
2002
FDD year
2024
States available
30

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$3K – $239K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$6K – $25K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$6K
Royalty
8.0%
percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

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

Total units
4,438
Opened
2,659
Last reporting year
Closed
2,311
Turnover rate
52.1%
Company-owned
238
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
95%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+1.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+3.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
4,200+89
Franchised units
2023
4,135
Franchised units
2024
4,057
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 12 · 30 states reported

The Territory Map

FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.

30

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

69
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION69 / 100

This QSR franchise operates a stagnant, litigation-prone system with non-transparent financials, unprotected territories, and questionable food safety compliance—making it a high-risk investment despite low entry fees.

Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDStagnant unit growth (1.6% YoY) suggests system maturity or decline despite 4,438 locations
  2. 02MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income prevents ROI validation and suggests franchisor opacity
  3. 03HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving joint employment, food safety violations (carbon monoxide treated tuna), and wrongful termination indicate operational and legal compliance issues
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk within franchise system
  5. 05HIGHNo going concern statement raises questions about franchisor financial stability and long-term viability
  6. 06MINORWide investment range ($3,350–$238,804) suggests inconsistent unit economics or unclear fee structure
  7. 07MED8–11% royalty on undisclosed revenue makes profitability assessment impossible

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Specific location
Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
6
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
32 hrs
On-the-job training
52 hrs

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

95 numbers

Locked
(205) 250-••••
AL
(256) 230-••••
AL
(334) 821-••••
AL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Zenshi / AFC / Wild Blue · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above