Category
Food Retail Franchises, Graded (2026)
19 brands analyzed. Average starting investment (low end of each range): $362K. Average disclosed gross sales: $1.1M (5 of 19 brands disclose Item 19; gross sales, not profit).
How to evaluate food retail franchises
- Weigh investment against disclosed revenue — high revenue can require high capital.
- Read the SBA charge-off rate as one risk signal, not the whole picture.
- Verify figures against each brand's FDD (Item 7 costs, Item 19 gross sales) — gross sales are not profit.
- Shortlist a few, then talk to current and former owners before you commit.
- Brands
- 19
- Avg investment
- $362K – $887K
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Median $543K · 5 of 19 disclose Item 19 · 1 excluded as company-owned only
- Avg SBA charge-off rate
- 23.2%
- mean of 33 brands with adequate SBA coverage
- Avg franchise fee
- $38K
- Median two-year change
- -1.1%
- franchised outlets, Item 20 · mean 3.7% · 12 brands with 10+ outlets at the start
- Avg fee load
- 6.0%
- Royalty + ad fund
- Avg turnover
- 6.4%
- Franchisee churn
- A-rated
- 3
Investment vs. franchise fee
17 brands plotted. A brand whose FDD lacks an Item 7 investment range or an initial franchise fee is not plotted.
Plotted brands as a table (17)
| Brand | Investment (midpoint) | Franchise fee |
|---|---|---|
| Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution | $310K | $8K |
| Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co. | $16K | $8K |
| Supreme Produce | $125K | $5K |
| International Food Creations | $73K | $5K |
| Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt) | $204K | $30K |
| Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC | $172K | $50K |
| Green Food Solutions | $219K | $45K |
| Beef Jerky Outlet Franchise | $299K | $50K |
| Beef Jerky Experience | $300K | $50K |
| Pepper Palace | $250K | $50K |
| World Famous Meats | $281K | $25K |
| The Spice & Tea Exchange | $415K | $39K |
| Southern Steer Butcher | $587K | $60K |
| Cleavers Philadelphia | $599K | $40K |
| The New York Butcher Shoppe | $524K | $35K |
| Mgm Liquor | $787K | $50K |
| Apna Bazar | $2.3M | $100K |
Highest-graded Food Retail franchises
The New York Butcher Shoppe
The Spice & Tea Exchange
Supreme Produce
Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution
Sunoco Retail LLC – Area Representative Program
Pepper Palace
Piggly Wiggly
Mgm Liquor
Beef Jerky Experience
Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt)
Beef Jerky Outlet Franchise
International Food Creations
Southern Steer Butcher
Apna Bazar
Green Food Solutions
Cleavers Philadelphia
World Famous Meats
Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co.
The letter is the verdict grade, A (strongest tier) to F (weakest tier): an editorial assessment from public filings, not investment advice. The strip beside it is the A to F scale from low to high, each grade as wide as its score range, with a tick at the brand's verdict score (0 to 100, higher is better). Avg gross sales is the figure each FDD's Item 19 reports; the basis varies by brand (gross sales, net sales or another metric), and gross sales are not profit. SBA 7(a) charge-off is the share of resolved SBA loans that were charged off; lower is better. The year is the FDD the figures come from; an older filing may be out of date. A chip under the figure qualifies it: Outlet subset (reported for some outlets, not the whole system), Combined outlet types, Company-owned only, Incl. company outlets, Partial period (not a full year), or Per franchisee, not per outlet. Limited data means fewer than 42 of the fields we track are filled for that brand.
All 19 food retail franchises, A-Z
Every brand in this category with an FDD on file, with its verdict grade and Item 7 investment range. Brands without a filing (SBA lending data only) are on the browse page.
A
- Grade C, Middle tier.Apna Bazar4+ yrs 2022 FDD$1.5M – $3.1M
B
- Grade B, Second tier.Beef Jerky Experience$193K – $407K
- Grade B, Second tier.Beef Jerky Outlet Franchise$191K – $407K
- Grade B, Second tier.Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution$14K – $607K
C
- Grade C, Middle tier.Cleavers Philadelphia$428K – $770K
F
- Grade B, Second tier.Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC$58K – $286K
G
- Grade C, Middle tier.Green Food Solutions$186K – $253K
I
- Grade C, Middle tier.International Food Creations$25K – $121K
M
- Grade B, Second tier.Mgm Liquor$532K – $1.0M
- Grade D, Fourth tier.Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co.4+ yrs 2022 FDD$15K – $16K
P
- Grade B, Second tier.Pepper Palace$211K – $288K
- Grade C, Middle tier.Piggly Wiggly$2.0M – $6.7M
S
- Grade B, Second tier.Schmidt Baking Distribution (dba Schmidt)$45K – $364K
- Grade C, Middle tier.Southern Steer Butcher$376K – $797K
- Grade B, Second tier.Sunoco Retail LLC – Area Representative Program$20K – $39K
- Grade A, Strongest tier.Supreme Produce$22K – $229K
T
- Grade A, Strongest tier.The New York Butcher Shoppe$459K – $590K
- Grade A, Strongest tier.The Spice & Tea Exchange$299K – $532K
W
- Grade D, Fourth tier.World Famous Meats2023 FDD$255K – $308K
Browse all 19 food retail franchises
Filter and sort by investment range, revenue, SBA risk, and more.
Browse all 19 food retail franchises →Get franchisee phone numbers for any brand
Talk to real franchise owners before you invest. FDD-listed contact lists starting at $49 per brand.
View pricing →Food Retail franchises
Questions about food retail franchises
How many Food Retail franchise brands are there?
We publish 19 food retail franchise brands with FDD data, verdict grades and financial metrics, read from each brand's own Franchise Disclosure Document.
What is the average investment for a Food Retail franchise?
The average initial investment for a food retail franchise ranges from $361,635 to $887,440, based on FDD Item 7 disclosures across 19 brands.
What are average gross sales for Food Retail franchises?
The average gross sales reported by food retail franchises is $1,136,534, from Item 19 financial performance representations. Gross sales are revenue before expenses, not profit.
How many Food Retail franchises are in the strongest tier?
3 of 19 food retail franchise brands carry a grade A, which this site labels "Strongest tier". It is an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
What is the SBA loan charge-off rate for Food Retail franchises?
The average SBA 7(a) charge-off rate for food retail franchises is 23.2%, across the 66 brands in this category whose loan sample is large enough to publish (at least 10 matched loans). It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses.
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