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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  FWeakest tierSmoothie Factory / Smoothie Factory+Kitchen Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |  AStrongest tierErik’s DeliCafe Quick-Service Restaurants Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
Investment range | $279K – $475K | $201K – $552K |
Liquid capital | $10K – $20K | $10K – $30K |
Franchise fee | $30K | $35K |
Royalty rate | 6.0% | 5.0% |
Ad fund rate | 3.0% | 2.5% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | N/A | $851KOutlet subset |
Median gross sales | N/A | $844KOutlet subset |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | N/A | N/A |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | FWeakest tier | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 5 / 100 | 89 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 40.5% | 0.0% |
SBA loans on record | 43 | 11 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 7 | 28 |
Net change (latest yr) | N/A | N/A |
Turnover rate | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 10 |
Renewal term (years) | 5 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | 48 | 176 |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 21 | 30 |
Looking for a detailed head-to-head breakdown?
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