Scooter's Coffee vs Tropical Smoothie Cafe: franchise research comparison

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$20,000 to $40,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

6% · 6% of Net Sales, paid by ACH every Tuesday for the preceding weekly Reporting Period

Marketing contribution

2% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

$350/month, subject to up to 15% annual compounding increase

Other fees

Regional Marketing Co-op (currently none, up to 3% of Net Sales); Inventory Management Program fee (currently none, up to 0.25% of Net Sales); IT Equipment Assessment Fee ($1,000 at transfer/renewal/relocation/upgrade)

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$29,000 to $119,000 for 3 months of working capital (rent, employee salaries, insurance, debt service, and $10,000-$30,000 of grand opening advertising); does not include owner's salary

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average/median Gross Sales, average customer ticket, average Sales/Expenses/EBITDA by quartile, same-store net sales growth, and average first-month Gross Sales for new stores, disclosed separately for Kiosk Stores and End Cap Stores

Reporting period

2025 Measurement Period (calendar year ended 12/31/2025), with 5-year history 2021-2025 for Sections A, B, D and E

Sample

Section A/B: 761 Participating Kiosk Stores and 45 Participating End Cap Stores (open the full 2025 year). Section C: 621 Reporting Kiosk Stores (of 768 franchised) and 45 Reporting End Cap Stores (of 62 franchised) that also submitted expense data.

Reported average

$999,869

Reported median

$966,739

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

825

Year-end outlets

882

Net change

+57

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

85

Terminations

2

Non-renewals

1

Other closures

24

Reacquisitions

1

Transfers

38

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

SBA loan history

Loan activity

252 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$1,241,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

146 loans

Historical charge-off share

Suppressed: fewer than 10 seasoned loans

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

0 / 8

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$1 to $35,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

6% · 6% of Gross Sales, payable weekly for the prior week's Gross Sales via EFT

Marketing contribution

5% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

BOH (back of house) system: $145 one-time implementation fee plus $179/month subscription fee

Other fees

Digital Ordering (website/mobile app) $54/month; Loyalty Platform & Owned Digital Marketing $75/month per cafe; Gift Card Transaction fee $0.16 per transaction or $18/month per cafe, whichever is less

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$1,500 to $52,500 estimated for 3 months of working capital, intended to cover possible initial operating losses, additional insurance, rent/security deposits, payroll, utilities, legal/accounting fees, and government payments; franchisee should also have personal living expenses for 3-6 months.

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average and median annual Net Revenue by revenue decile/quartile grouping (top 10/25/50/75%, bottom 10/25/50/75%, and total) for individual franchised restaurants open at least one full year

Reporting period

Calendar years 2025, 2024, and 2023 (most recent: 2025)

Sample

1,431 franchised Restaurants (2025); 1,268 (2024); 1,151 (2023) — restaurants open at least one full year, excluding non-traditional/seasonal locations

Reported average

$978,298

Reported median

$931,173

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025 (year ended December 28, 2025)

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

1514

Year-end outlets

1650

Net change

+136

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

170

Terminations

21

Non-renewals

1

Other closures

12

Reacquisitions

0

Transfers

81

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

SBA loan history

Loan activity

231 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$507,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

133 loans

Historical charge-off share

2.68%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

6 / 224

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.