Scooter's Coffee franchise
Franchisees operate a quick-service coffee store — most often a small drive-thru kiosk of roughly 650 to 700 square feet, or an end-cap store in a strip center — selling espresso drinks, smoothies, baked goods and other food and beverage items under the SCOOTER'S COFFEE marks.
Manager-run permitted Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-07-14
- Item
- Item 15
- Page
- PDF p. 42
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 642104
Principal Owners are not required to manage the store personally, but if they do not, a Designated Manager must be responsible for management and operation. A Principal Owner, Designated Manager or shift supervisor must be present whenever the store is open. The franchisee must be a corporation, LLC or partnership, formed within 90 days of the Franchise Agreement and before signing a lease or purchase agreement. The Designated Manager need not hold equity but must complete training and sign confidentiality and, if requested, non-competition agreements. Owners of multiple stores may be required to employ Multi-Unit Leaders.
What stands out
- Total investment for the standard drive-thru kiosk is $1,163,650 to $1,345,750 on a leased site; the smaller end-cap format runs $658,898 to $1,068,525. Land or building purchase is excluded from both.
- $60,000 is payable to the franchisor at signing: a $40,000 initial franchise fee plus a $20,000 initial opening support fee. Veterans receive a $20,000 product credit from the affiliate supplier.
- Ongoing fees are 6% of Net Sales royalty, a 2% national marketing contribution that may rise to 4%, and a $350 monthly technology fee subject to compounding 15% annual increases; combined marketing spend is capped at 5% of Net Sales.
7 more observations
- Item 19 reports 2025 average gross sales of $999,869 for 761 participating franchised kiosks (median $966,739) and $1,082,458 for 45 participating end caps.
- Item 19 also reports average EBITDA of $134,457 for 621 reporting kiosks, but with imputed fees, estimated overhead and card processing, no owner compensation, and a bottom quartile averaging $4,524.
- Franchised outlets grew from 525 to 882 between 2023 and 2025, but annual openings fell from 209 to 85 and outlets ceasing operations for other reasons rose from 2 to 24.
- 242 franchise agreements were signed but unopened at December 31, 2025, a backlog the FDD's own special-risk page highlights.
- No exclusive territory is granted under the single-store agreement, and the franchisor retains the right to open or license stores at any location.
- Nearly all inventory and key equipment must be bought from the franchisor's affiliate or designated suppliers; that affiliate booked $247,244,700 of franchisee revenue in 2025 and rebates from suppliers ran up to 10% or more of prices paid.
- Items 3 and 4 disclose no litigation and no bankruptcy, though the franchisor entity itself was only formed in April 2026.
Things to verify
- Ask the franchisor to reconcile the 2025 Item 19 kiosk population: the participating count of 761 conflicts with the 697 kiosks stated to have operated for the entire year, and the attainment counts match the 621 reporting stores.
- Ask why Section A reports average kiosk gross sales of $999,869 while Section C reports $998,869 for the same year, and why the overhead note states $49,800 while the tables apply $52,500.
- The Item 19 earnings figures exclude depreciation, interest, taxes and any owner salary, and impute rather than measure royalty, marketing and technology fees. Rebuild them with your own debt service and compensation assumptions.
7 more questions
- Site and building improvements are the largest single cost and vary by more than $250,000 between the kiosk low and high estimates. Get local contractor and site-work quotes before relying on the Item 7 range.
- The kiosk estimates exclude land; confirm whether your site will require a purchase, which the FDD says has ranged from $250,000 to $1,300,000.
- Openings fell from 209 to 85 a year while 242 signed agreements remain unopened. Ask franchisees in the pipeline how long site approval, permitting and construction actually took.
- Outlets ceasing operations for reasons other than termination rose to 24 in 2025, including 11 in Texas and 6 in South Carolina. Ask the franchisor and former franchisees what drove those closures.
- There is no exclusive territory. Ask how close another Scooter's Coffee store may be placed and what the search-area addendum actually restricts.
- Confirm the total cost of required purchases from the affiliate supply company and how supplier rebates, which can exceed 10% of prices paid, affect what you pay.
- Item 21 provides an audited balance sheet only for a guarantor affiliate formed in April 2026; the operating financial statements are those of the predecessor. Have an accountant review both.
Category cost placeholders, not a forecast. This snapshot uses the default inputs; the calculator below updates when you edit them.
Evidence confidence: High. This describes source support, not investment quality. AI-extracted and machine-verified where stated; no human line-by-line review. Source and review record.
Read the full research overview
Scooter's Coffee franchisees operate quick-service coffee stores selling espresso drinks, smoothies and baked goods. The dominant format is a 650 to 700 square foot drive-thru kiosk with no seating; an end-cap store in a strip center and a catch-all "other" format are also offered. The concept dates to 1998 and franchising to 2002, but the franchisor named in this document, Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC, was formed in April 2026 in a securitization that moved all U.S. franchise agreements and trademarks to it. It has never operated a store; the predecessor, Scooter's Coffee, LLC, provides franchisee support under a management agreement.
A new kiosk is estimated at $1,163,650 to $1,345,750 and an end cap at $658,898 to $1,068,525, both assuming a leased site; buying land or a building is extra and the FDD says such purchases have run $250,000 to $1,300,000. Of that, $60,000 goes to the franchisor at signing as a $40,000 initial franchise fee plus a $20,000 initial opening support fee. Ongoing fees are 6% of Net Sales in royalty, a national marketing contribution currently 2% and capped at 4%, and a $350 monthly technology fee that can rise 15% a year on a compounding basis, with total marketing spend capped at 5% of Net Sales. Nearly all inventory and much of the equipment must come from the franchisor's affiliate or designated suppliers, which took in $247.2 million from franchisees in 2025.
Item 19 is detailed. Franchised kiosks open the full 2025 calendar year averaged $999,869 in gross sales with a median of $966,739 and a range from $337,233 to $2,458,874; end caps averaged $1,082,458 across 45 stores. For the 621 kiosks that also submitted cost data, average EBITDA was $134,457, or 14.6% of Net Sales, but the top quartile averaged $273,683 and the bottom quartile $4,524, with one store at negative $250,144. Those earnings figures impute royalty, marketing and technology fees at contract rates, estimate card processing and overhead, exclude depreciation, interest and taxes, and include no owner compensation, so they are not net profit. Non-traditional and coffeehouse stores, affiliate-owned stores, closed stores and non-reporting stores are all excluded. Two figures in the item do not reconcile: the 2025 participating kiosk count of 761 conflicts with the 697 kiosks stated to have operated all year, and Section A and Section C give average kiosk gross sales of $999,869 and $998,869.
Item 20 shows franchised outlets rising from 525 to 882 over three years, with company-owned outlets flat at 24. Growth is decelerating: 209 franchised openings in 2023, 121 in 2024 and 85 in 2025, while outlets ceasing operations for reasons other than termination rose from 2 to 20 to 24, and transfers between franchisees rose from 20 to 38. At year end 242 signed franchise agreements had no open outlet, a backlog the FDD's own risk page flags. Items 3 and 4 disclose no litigation and no bankruptcy. Territory is non-exclusive, the term is 10 years with one renewal option, 20% owners must personally guarantee the agreement, and disputes are mediated and arbitrated in Omaha, Nebraska.
View ratings and their supporting evidence
Transparent ratings
How these are computedEach dimension is scored 1–5 from published formulas. Missing data yields “Not enough evidence to rate”, never a low score. There is no composite score by design.
How the system has performed, computed from the disclosed Items 7, 19 and 20. Figures a documented material source inconsistency puts in doubt are excluded, and the dimension shows “Not rated”.
Inputs
- Franchised outlets 525 → 882 (Item 20, Table 3)
- Thresholds: ≥15% → 5; 5–15% → 4; 0–5% → 3; −5–0% → 2; below −5% → 1
Inputs
- Attrition = (terminations + non-renewals + reacquisitions + ceased-other) ÷ start-of-year franchised units, averaged over 3 fiscal years
- Thresholds: <2% → 5; 2–4% → 4; 4–6% → 3; 6–10% → 2; >10% → 1
Inputs
- AUV $999,869 (disclosed) ÷ midpoint investment $1,254,700 = 0.80×
- Thresholds: ≥2.0 → 5; 1.5–2.0 → 4; 1.0–1.5 → 3; 0.7–1.0 → 2; <0.7 → 1
How much this brand’s FDD discloses, and how well-supported our data on it is. This measures transparency, not business performance — a strong business that discloses little scores low here and stays unrated above.
Inputs
- Item 19 present (+1)
- Average plus median or a distribution (+1)
- Population 86% of franchised units, clearly described (+1)
- Cost or profit data disclosed (+1)
- Multi-year or cohort data (+1)
- Franchisor Track Record
- Franchising 24 years (since 2002) · 906 outlets · Item 3: no litigation disclosed · Item 4: none disclosed
- Multi-Unit Scalability
- A Multiple Store Development Agreement covers a minimum of two stores, with development schedules typically for two to five stores and no stated maximum. The… · Manager-run permitted
- Operational Intensity
- Manager-run permitted
Initial investment
FDD Items 5 and 7Format shown: Drive-Thru Kiosk Store — new build on a leased site (Item 7 Kiosk table). The Kiosk is the predominant format: 781 of 906 stores systemwide at Dec 31, 2025.
$1,163,650–$1,345,750 total initial investment. Excludes real estate purchase. Includes 3 months of additional funds.
View full investment breakdown — Items 5 & 7
| Initial franchise fee (the named Item 5 fee only) | $40,000 Disclosed
Historical range ($20,000-$40,000) reflects Development Fee credits applied to stores beyond the first under a Multiple Store Development Agreement, not a discount on the standalone single-Store price. Other required Item 5 payments to the franchisor are listed separately below — this figure is the named fee only. |
|---|---|
| Other required initial payments to the franchisor (Item 5) |
|
| Total Item 5 payments to franchisor/affiliates | $220,000 Disclosed
Cover page: total investment 'includes $220,000 to $286,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or an affiliate,' matching the franchise fee plus Opening Support Fee plus inventory/equipment purchase. $286,000 Disclosed
Cover page: total investment 'includes $220,000 to $286,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or an affiliate,' matching the franchise fee plus Opening Support Fee plus inventory/equipment purchase. |
| Total initial investment — low | $1,163,650 Disclosed
|
| Total initial investment — high | $1,345,750 Disclosed
|
| Midpoint of range | $1,254,700 Derived
|
| Real estate purchase included? | No — assumes a leased site |
| Additional funds assumed | 3 months |
| Required liquid capital | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC; we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No minimum liquid-capital requirement appears on the cover pages or in Items 1, 5, 7, 11 or 15 of the reviewed document. |
| Required net worth | Not disclosed in the reviewed source Not disclosedNot disclosed in the reviewed source. We did not find this value in 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC; we do not fill gaps with estimates or third-party figures. No minimum net-worth requirement appears in the reviewed document. |
Two single-store formats are disclosed. The Kiosk table ($1,163,650 to $1,345,750) is recorded here as the primary format because kiosks were 781 of 906 systemwide stores at December 31, 2025; the End Cap table ($658,898 to $1,068,525) is in alternative_formats. The cover page combines both into a stated range of $658,898 to $1,345,750, of which $220,000 to $286,000 goes to the franchisor or an affiliate. Both tables assume a leased site: the purchase of land or a building is optional and excluded, and the FDD says real estate purchases by franchisees and affiliates ranged from $250,000 to $1,300,000. Rent in 2025 ran $3,500 to $10,000 per month for kiosks and $3,700 to $7,800 for end caps. Additional funds cover three months only and exclude an owner's salary. Both tables foot exactly to their stated totals. The franchisor offers no direct or indirect financing (Item 10).
Item 7 line items (11)
| Expenditure | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee — Paid to the franchisor at signing of the Franchise Agreement. | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| Initial Opening Support Fee — Paid to the franchisor at signing of the Franchise Agreement. | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Site and building improvements — Excludes any purchase of land; the FDD states real estate purchased by franchisees and affiliates ranged from $250,000 to $1,300,000. | $725,200 | $772,000 |
| Architectural and engineering fees — Includes a required site investigation report of about $5,000. | $46,700 | $56,500 |
| Equipment, fixtures and furniture — Required equipment only; several categories must come from the franchisor's affiliate. | $181,750 | $191,300 |
| Signs — Assumes a pole or monument sign. | $52,500 | $58,400 |
| Technology systems and software — POS system, back-office and security systems, menu boards, drive-thru equipment, internet access. | $34,500 | $41,000 |
| Deposits and licenses | $1,200 | $7,750 |
| Initial training travel and living expenses — High end assumes owners attend a three-day session plus four people attending the four-week program. | $5,000 | $8,000 |
| Opening inventory, supplies and smallwares | $27,800 | $31,800 |
| Additional funds — 3 months — Includes $10,000 (low) to $30,000 (high) of grand-opening promotion and three months of rent; excludes an owner's salary. | $29,000 | $119,000 |
Source for every row: the Item 7 estimated-initial-investment table of 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC (table begins PDF p. 18) — rows inherit the table's citation rather than carrying fifteen identical ones.
Other formats disclosed in Item 7 (2)
| Format | Low | High | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| End Cap Store (strip-center in-line space with drive-up window) | $658,898 | $1,068,525 | $60,000 |
| Multiple Store Development Agreement (typically 2 to 5 Stores) | $678,898 | $1,465,750 | — |
Ongoing fees
FDD Item 6Royalty
6% of net sales Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-07-14
- Item
- Item 6
- Page
- PDF p. 13
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 642104
Debited by electronic funds transfer every Tuesday for the preceding Saturday-to-Friday reporting period. Net Sales covers all products and services sold from or through the store, in-store or off-site, excluding discounts.
Brand advertising fund
2%–4% of net sales Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-07-14
- Item
- Item 6
- Page
- PDF p. 13
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 642104
National Marketing and Advertising Contribution, currently 2% of Net Sales, which the franchisor may raise to as much as 4% on 60 days' written notice. Collected weekly with the royalty.
Local marketing
0%–2% of net sales Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-07-14
- Item
- Item 6
- Page
- PDF p. 14
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 642104
No local advertising spend is required at present; the franchisor may impose up to 2% of Net Sales per calendar quarter on 60 days' written notice.
Core requirements shown separately; caps, credits and conditions may overlap. Check the full schedule for technology, cooperative, transfer and other charges.
View all recurring fees and conditions
| Royalty | 6% of net sales Disclosed
Debited by electronic funds transfer every Tuesday for the preceding Saturday-to-Friday reporting period. Net Sales covers all products and services sold from or through the store, in-store or off-site, excluding discounts. Debited by electronic funds transfer every Tuesday for the preceding Saturday-to-Friday reporting period. Net Sales covers all products and services sold from or through the store, in-store or off-site, excluding discounts. |
|---|---|
| Advertising / brand fund | 2%–4% of net sales Disclosed
National Marketing and Advertising Contribution, currently 2% of Net Sales, which the franchisor may raise to as much as 4% on 60 days' written notice. Collected weekly with the royalty. National Marketing and Advertising Contribution, currently 2% of Net Sales, which the franchisor may raise to as much as 4% on 60 days' written notice. Collected weekly with the royalty. |
| Required local marketing | 0%–2% of net sales Disclosed
No local advertising spend is required at present; the franchisor may impose up to 2% of Net Sales per calendar quarter on 60 days' written notice. No local advertising spend is required at present; the franchisor may impose up to 2% of Net Sales per calendar quarter on 60 days' written notice. |
| Technology / software | $350/month Disclosed
Covers the mobile application, the Dashboard Software and social-media management software. The fee is subject to an annual increase of 15%, compounded and cumulative, so a year in which no increase is taken can be caught up later. Covers the mobile application, the Dashboard Software and social-media management software. The fee is subject to an annual increase of 15%, compounded and cumulative, so a year in which no increase is taken can be caught up later. |
| Advertising cooperative | 0%–3% of net sales Disclosed
No cooperatives were established as of the issuance date. If formed, recurring contributions may run up to 3% of Net Sales, offset by any local marketing requirement. Total marketing and advertising expense is capped at 5% of Net Sales across national, local and cooperative obligations. No cooperatives were established as of the issuance date. If formed, recurring contributions may run up to 3% of Net Sales, offset by any local marketing requirement. Total marketing and advertising expense is capped at 5% of Net Sales across national, local and cooperative obligations. |
| Transfer fee | $10,000 one-time Disclosed
The greater of $10,000 or 25% of the then-current initial franchise fee for a new store. Transfer of an MSD Agreement costs $10,000 times the number of franchises operated under it. Waived when a Principal Owner transfers to a spouse, son or daughter. The greater of $10,000 or 25% of the then-current initial franchise fee for a new store. Transfer of an MSD Agreement costs $10,000 times the number of franchises operated under it. Waived when a Principal Owner transfers to a spouse, son or daughter. |
| Renewal fee | $10,000 one-time Disclosed
The greater of $10,000 or 25% of the then-current initial franchise fee for a new store, payable when the then-current franchise agreement is signed. The greater of $10,000 or 25% of the then-current initial franchise fee for a new store, payable when the then-current franchise agreement is signed. |
| Royalty + ad fund (% of sales) | 8% Derived
|
Fee schedule (31 fees; 13 verified against the source, 18 single-pass)
Every recurring, conditional and one-time fee found in this FDD's Item 6 table (plus mandatory recurring costs disclosed in Items 7/11), each cited to its page and carrying its verification status: verified means two independent readings agreed or a tie-break re-inspection of the page decided it; single-pass means one reading captured it and it has not been independently confirmed (permitted only for fees that cannot move modeled economics — see the materiality rule). Amounts marked “not stated” are charged at then-current rates the FDD does not quantify and are never modeled as $0.
| Fee | Amount | Frequency | Mandatory | Verification | Cite | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% of net sales | weekly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 13 | Matches fields_A.json record exactly. |
| National Marketing and Advertising Contribution | 2%–4% of net sales | weekly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 13 | |
| Local Marketing and Advertising Contribution | 0%–2% of net sales | quarterly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 14 | Not currently imposed. The franchisor must give 60 days' written notice to impose the requirement. Item 11 confirms no minimum local spend is currently required. Passes agreed on value (0), range_high (2), basis, frequency and cap; they differed only on amount_type. Pass B is right: the FDD states a definite percentage of Net Sales with a stated ceiling, which is `percent`, not an amount that merely `varies`. |
| Regional Marketing and Advertising Cooperatives | 0%–3% of net sales | monthly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 14 | Only applies if and when the franchisor establishes a regional cooperative; none exists as of the issuance date. Once a cooperative is designated, participation and a proportionate contribution are compulsory (Item 11). Note 3 on page 17 sets the 5% of Net Sales aggregate ceiling covering the National Contribution, this cooperative contribution and any Local Contribution. The passes differed only on amount_type; the stated 3% of Net Sales ceiling makes `percent` the accurate encoding. |
| Cost of Marketing, Advertising and Promotional Materials | $50–$200 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 14 | Only if the franchisee elects to purchase marketing materials from the franchisor. |
| Inventory Purchases from Franchisor or Affiliate | Not stated | varies | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 14 | Franchisee must purchase inventory/equipment from Supply Chain and other approved suppliers (Item 8). |
| Interest and Late Charges | Not stated | varies | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 14 | Only charged if a payment to the franchisor is late. The late fee is assessed automatically; interest is payable on demand. Distinct from the Inspection and Audit Fee on the same page, which carries 18% interest and applies only on understated Net Sales. |
| Transfer Fee | Not stated (min $10,000) | one time | Yes | single-pass | Item 6, p. 14 | Only payable if the franchisee transfers the Franchise Agreement or MSD Agreement. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Territory/Search Area Modification Fee | $3,000 | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 14 | Only after the franchisee has already used its two free modification requests. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] Also confirmed verbatim in Item 12, p.38. |
| Renewal Fee | Not stated (min $10,000) | one time | Yes | single-pass | Item 6, p. 14 | Only payable if the franchisee opts for and qualifies for a renewal franchise at the end of the initial 10-year term (one 10-year renewal option is available). [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Real Estate Assistance Fee | $150 | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 14 | Only if the franchisee requests assistance with site selection, feasibility studies, or lease negotiations. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Inspection and Audit Fee | Not stated | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 14 | Only if an audit is conducted and finds an underpayment/understatement. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Alternative Item/Supplier Approval Fee | $2,500 | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | Only if the franchisee requests approval of a supplier/item not on the Approved Suppliers/Supplies List. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Technology Fee | $350 | monthly | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 15 | Matches fields_A.json record exactly. |
| Brand Protection Committee Default Fee | Not stated | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | Only if a Brand Protection Committee is established and a breach is found (and not cured, for the higher tier). [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Standard Default Fee | Not stated | monthly | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | Only upon an uncured breach. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Costs and Attorneys' Fees | Not stated | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | Only if the franchisee does not comply with the Franchise Agreement. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Indemnification | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] Calculator audit 2026-09-03: The obligation is conditional on SCI being held liable for a franchisee-caused claim, not a cost every franchisee incurs in ordinary operation - model_treatment is already excluded_immaterial so this doesn't change the calculator, but mandatory:true misrepresents the FDD's conditional language. (p. 15; "You must reimburse us if we are held liable for claims arising from your Store's") |
| Insurance Premiums | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | Only if the franchisee fails to obtain or maintain required insurance. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Relocation Fees | $500–$1,000 (min $500) | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 15 | Only if the franchisee relocates the Store during the term. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Conference Fee | $499 | annual | Yes | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 16 | A Principal Owner or Designated Manager must attend each year (Item 11 also references 1-4 required meetings/seminars per year at franchisee's expense, in addition to the annual conference). Also confirmed at Item 11, p.30 ('currently $499 per attendee'). |
| Additional Training Fee | $500 | per event | No | verified (2-pass) | Item 6, p. 15 | Only if a replacement Designated Manager needs NSO Training during the Franchise Agreement term. Also confirmed at Item 11, p.38 ('currently, $500 per person'). |
| Development Default Fee | Not stated | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 16 | Only upon default under the MSD Agreement not resolved under the Franchise Agreement. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| NSO Training Cancellation Fee | $500 | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 16 | Only on late cancellation, no-show, or an unprepared attendee for any scheduled mandatory training. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Designated Manager Training Cancellation Fee | $150 | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 16 | Only on no-show after registering. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Tax Indemnification | Not stated | varies | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 16 | Only imposed if the state collects these taxes or assessments from the franchisor. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] Calculator audit 2026-09-03: The FDD's own remarks column says this only applies if a state actually assesses the tax against the franchisor - conditional, not universally mandatory (model_treatment excluded_immaterial already keeps it out of the calculator either way). (p. 16; "Only imposed if the state collects these taxes or assessments from us.") |
| Site Concept Plan | Not stated | one time | Yes | single-pass | Item 6, p. 16 | Required before signing a ground lease or purchase agreement for the Franchised Location. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Payment for Amounts due to Third-Party Vendors | Not stated | varies | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 17 | Only arises if the franchisor, predecessor or an affiliate negotiates a single-payer vendor agreement. As of the issuance date none has been negotiated and the franchisor does not currently plan to charge the 10% administrative fee. Payable on receipt of invoice. The fee row is on page 17; the detail is in Explanatory Note 5 on page 18, which adds: "While we do not currently plan to charge an administrative fee for this arrangement, we can charge you an administrative fee equal to 10% of each payment we collect from you. As of the date of this Disclosure Document, we have not negotiated any of these agreements." Both passes cited page 17 for the Note 5 language; the note itself is printed on page 18. |
| Inventory Management Program | 0%–0.25% of net sales | weekly | No | verified (tie-break) | Item 6, p. 17 | Only if the franchisor establishes an inventory management program; none is in place as of the issuance date. Passes agreed on value, range_high, basis, frequency and conditions and differed only on amount_type; the stated 0.25% of Net Sales ceiling makes `percent` the accurate encoding. Paid to the franchisor, unlike the Local Marketing Contribution. |
| IT Equipment Assessment Fee | $1,000 | per event | No | single-pass | Item 6, p. 17 | Triggered by a transfer, renewal, relocation, or required IT upgrade. [Listed by one verification pass only (A); not independently confirmed.] |
| Technology Systems maintenance, support and upgrades | $1,000–$10,000 (min $1,000/annual) | annual | Yes | verified (tie-break) | Item 11, p. 35 | Higher with more expensive equipment or higher levels of support and training. Upgrades must be implemented at the franchisee's expense whenever the franchisor requires them, with no contractual limit on their frequency or cost. Verified verbatim at Item 11, page 35. Item 11 also states that neither the franchisor, its affiliates, nor to its knowledge any third party is obligated to provide ongoing maintenance, repairs, upgrades or updates. Not an Item 6 fee because it is not paid to the franchisor, but it is a compulsory recurring cost of operating and is not duplicated by any Item 6 row. Calculator audit 2026-09-03: amount_type 'variable' with no minimum object means the requires_assumption engine branch (src/lib/economics.ts) finds no numeric seed and silently drops this mandatory, disclosed Item 11 cost instead of computing it. (p. 35; "The annual estimated cost of computer maintenance, support, and upgrades is $1,0") |
Royalty and marketing contributions are swept weekly by electronic funds transfer, and the franchisee must authorize direct debit at signing. Combined marketing and advertising expense is capped at 5% of Net Sales. Item 6 also lists a real estate assistance fee of $150 per hour plus expenses, audit costs and 18% interest if Net Sales are understated by 3% or more, a Site Concept Plan cost of up to $1,000, marketing materials at $50 to $200 per item, an NSO training cancellation fee of $500 per person, a $150 designated-manager training cancellation fee, and a potential Brand Protection Committee default fee of $500 to $1,000 per violation that is not currently charged. All fees are non-refundable.
Financial performance (Item 19)
What the franchisor actually disclosedWho is represented: Item 19 covers only franchised drive-thru Kiosk Stores and franchised End Cap Stores. Non-traditional and Coffeehouse stores are excluded, as are all affiliate-owned stores and any store that did not report financial data (in 2025 that excluded 76 franchised kiosks and 7 franchised end caps). Sections A and B report 'Participating' stores, defined as those open and operated for the entire calendar year; the 2025 table shows 761 participating kiosks and 45 participating end caps. Section C reports 'Reporting' stores, which also supplied cost and expense data: 621 of the 768 franchised kiosks and 45 of the 62 franchised end caps open at year end. Section D covers 525 comparable kiosks and 43 comparable end caps open for a full 24 months, and Section E covers the 70 kiosks and 6 end caps that opened during 2025.
Qualifications: Coverage is partial. Non-traditional and Coffeehouse stores (62 outlets at year end) and all affiliate-owned stores are excluded, as are stores that did not report data — 76 franchised kiosks and 7 franchised end caps in 2025 — and stores that closed during the measurement period (22 kiosks and 2 end caps in 2025), so closures are removed from the averages. Gross Sales is defined as Net Sales plus discounts, so it exceeds the royalty base; average discounts were $75,064 per reporting kiosk. In Section C the royalty, marketing contribution and technology fee are imputed at contract rates rather than actual payments, and card processing (2.6% of gross sales) and overhead are estimates, not reported costs. EBITDA is stated before financing costs and before depreciation and amortization on the initial investment, and labor excludes employee benefits and any overhead staff; no owner compensation line is presented. The spread is wide: reporting kiosks ranged from $337,233 to $2,458,874 in gross sales, and the bottom quartile averaged $4,524 of EBITDA with a low of negative $250,144. Two internal inconsistencies should be noted. First, the 2025 participating-store counts (761 kiosks) do not reconcile with the 697 kiosks the FDD says operated for the entire year, and the 2025 attainment counts and median, high and low figures in Section A are identical to those for the 621 Reporting Kiosk Stores. Second, Section A reports average kiosk gross sales of $999,869 while Section C reports $998,869. The document also states overhead averaged $49,800 while the tables apply $52,500. Figures are unaudited and drawn from franchisee reporting to the predecessor.
View full Item 19 disclosure and tables
The Item 19 is unusually detailed: five sections covering average and median gross sales over five years, average customer ticket, a full sales-expenses-earnings table split into quartiles, same-store sales growth, and first-month sales for new stores. It reports sales and an EBITDA-style earnings figure for two store formats. In 2025 the average franchised kiosk open all year recorded $999,869 in gross sales with a median of $966,739, and the 621 kiosks that also submitted cost data averaged $134,457 of EBITDA. What it does not show: any figure for non-traditional or coffeehouse stores, any figure for affiliate-owned stores, results for stores that closed or that did not report, actual overhead and card-processing costs (both are estimated), owner compensation, depreciation, interest or taxes. The earnings line is therefore not net income, and the gross sales figure includes discounts that the franchisee never collects.
| Metric | Subset | Value | Units | Period | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross sales — franchised Kiosk Stores open the full year 47% of units met or exceeded 289 stores attained or exceeded the average. The stated attainment count and percentage correspond to 621 stores rather than the 761 listed as participating; see caveats. | Participating Kiosk Stores Average | $999,869 | 761 | CY2025 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — franchised Kiosk Stores open the full year | Participating Kiosk Stores Median | $966,739 | 761 | CY2025 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — lowest Participating Kiosk Store | Participating Kiosk Stores Low | $337,233 | 761 | CY2025 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — highest Participating Kiosk Store | Participating Kiosk Stores High | $2,458,874 | 761 | CY2025 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — franchised Kiosk Stores open the full year 46% of units met or exceeded Prior-year comparison. Median was $880,794; range $240,038 to $2,130,325. | Participating Kiosk Stores Average | $914,719 | 605 | CY2024 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — franchised Kiosk Stores open the full year 49% of units met or exceeded Median was $869,610. | Participating Kiosk Stores Average | $877,495 | 424 | CY2023 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — franchised End Cap Stores open the full year 49% of units met or exceeded 22 stores attained or exceeded the average. | Participating End Cap Stores Average | $1,082,458 | 45 | CY2025 | FDD p.50 |
| Gross sales — franchised End Cap Stores open the full year Range was $339,161 to $2,261,196. | Participating End Cap Stores Median | $1,076,758 | 45 | CY2025 | FDD p.50 |
| Average customer ticket — Participating Kiosk Stores 49% of units met or exceeded Total gross sales divided by total transactions. Median ticket was $10.20. | Participating Kiosk Stores Average | $10 | 761 | CY2025 | FDD p.51 |
| Average customer ticket — Participating End Cap Stores 47% of units met or exceeded Median ticket was $9.66. | Participating End Cap Stores Average | $10 | 45 | CY2025 | FDD p.51 |
| Gross sales — Reporting Kiosk Stores (cost-and-expense sample) 47% of units met or exceeded Basis for the Section C expense and earnings table. Net Sales after $75,064 of average discounts was $923,805. | Reporting Kiosk Stores Average | $998,869 | 621 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| Cost of goods sold — Reporting Kiosk Stores Coffee, dairy, food, syrups, cups and other direct product costs. | Reporting Kiosk Stores Average | $322,691 | 621 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| In-store labor cost — Reporting Kiosk Stores Wages for in-store staff including the store manager, plus payroll taxes; excludes employee benefits and any overhead staff such as a regional manager. | Reporting Kiosk Stores Average | $251,388 | 621 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| Rent — Reporting Kiosk Stores Base rent plus common area maintenance, taxes and insurance. Annual kiosk rent in 2025 ranged from $5,700 to $168,000. | Reporting Kiosk Stores Average | $58,694 | 621 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| Same-store net sales growth — comparable Kiosk Stores 51.81% of units met or exceeded Prior comparable periods were +5.22% (2023-2024), +0.74% (2022-2023), +5.92% (2021-2022) and +23.83% (2020-2021). | Comparable Kiosk Stores open 24 months Average | 8.9% | 525 | 2024 to 2025 | FDD p.56 |
| Same-store net sales growth — comparable End Cap Stores 46.51% of units met or exceeded The 2022-2023 comparable period was negative 1.70%. | Comparable End Cap Stores open 24 months Average | 7.08% | 43 | 2024 to 2025 | FDD p.56 |
| Gross sales in first full calendar month — Kiosk Stores opened during 2025 46% of units met or exceeded Median $93,425; range $33,930 to $155,016. A single opening month is not indicative of a full year and typically reflects grand-opening activity. | New Kiosk Stores opened in 2025 Average | $96,625 | 70 | First full month, 2025 openings | FDD p.57 |
| Gross sales in first full calendar month — End Cap Stores opened during 2025 50% of units met or exceeded Only six stores; median $71,462, range $36,716 to $118,205. | New End Cap Stores opened in 2025 Average | $73,713 | 6 | First full month, 2025 openings | FDD p.57 |
Disclosed cost and profit figures
These figures are disclosed by the franchisor for the population stated in each row — often a subset (company-owned units, or franchisees who chose to report). They frequently exclude owner compensation, rent, debt service, taxes or royalties. They are not a prediction of your results.
| Metric | Subset | Value | Units | Period | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA — Reporting Kiosk Stores Median $138,332; range negative $250,144 to positive $613,869. Stated before financing costs, depreciation and amortization on the initial investment. Royalty, marketing contribution and technology fee were imputed at contract rates; card processing at 2.6% of gross sales and overhead were estimated rather than reported. | Reporting Kiosk Stores Average | $134,457 | 621 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| EBITDA as a percentage of Net Sales — Reporting Kiosk Stores (labeled 'Net Profit Margin' in the FDD) The FDD calls this the net profit margin, but the figure equals average EBITDA divided by average Net Sales, not net income. | Reporting Kiosk Stores Average | 14.6% | 621 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| EBITDA — top quartile of Reporting Kiosk Stores by gross sales Average gross sales in this quartile were $1,433,875. | Top quartile Reporting Kiosk Stores Quartile avg. | $273,683 | 156 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| EBITDA — bottom quartile of Reporting Kiosk Stores by gross sales Average gross sales in this quartile were $615,746 and the stated margin was 0.8%. The lowest EBITDA in this group was negative $250,144. | Bottom quartile Reporting Kiosk Stores Quartile avg. | $4,524 | 155 | CY2025 | FDD p.52 |
| EBITDA — Reporting End Cap Stores Stated margin 15.6% of Net Sales. Median $153,411; range negative $69,727 to positive $597,369. Average gross sales $1,082,458 and in-store labor $275,312. | Reporting End Cap Stores Average | $155,439 | 45 | CY2025 | FDD p.54 |
System health (Item 20)
Outlets, openings, exits and transfers by fiscal year · U.S. onlyView detailed Item 20 tables and source notes
| Fiscal year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Not renewed | Reacquired | Ceased — other | End | Transfers | Company-owned (end) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 525 | 209 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 729 | 20 | 21 |
| 2024 | 729 | 121 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 825 | 36 | 24 |
| 2025 | 825 | 85 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 882 | 38 | 24 |
Disclosed 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC, Item 20, Tables 1–3 (PDF p. 58). All four status tables foot to their stated ending counts. Franchised outlets grew from 525 to 882 over three years, but the pace of openings fell sharply: 209 in 2023, 121 in 2024 and 85 in 2025, while closures for reasons other than termination or non-renewal rose from 2 to 20 to 24. Net franchised change was +204, +96 and +57. Company-owned outlets, held by the predecessor's affiliate, fell from 30 to 21 in 2023 and have been 24 since the end of 2024. Transfers between franchisees rose from 20 to 36 to 38, though the FDD notes that 8 of the 2024 Kansas transfers were two asset deals and 10 of the 2024 Nebraska transfers were a single asset deal between franchisees with the same principal owners. State-level movement in 2025 included 11 outlets in Texas and 6 in South Carolina ceasing operations for other reasons. Exhibit E lists 94 former franchisees representing 148 franchises, and the FDD discloses that some current and former franchisees have signed confidentiality provisions that may limit what they can say.
Source data notes (5) — inconsistencies found in the FDD itself during verification
Our verification re-reads every table. Where the FDD's own printed tables disagree, we document the discrepancy rather than silently "fixing" it. Classes: B = arithmetic error in the source's derived column; C = the printed tables genuinely disagree; D = a legitimate definitional difference (e.g., transfers netted, explained by a footnote); E = unresolved ambiguity. Figures a material C/E issue puts in doubt are excluded from our derived metrics, scores and rankings.
- [D/minor] Item 19 store-type table vs Table No. 1 2025: Item 19 (page 48) reports 881 Franchised Stores and 25 Affiliate-Owned Stores as of December 31, 2025; Item 20 Table No. 1 (page 58) reports 882 franchised and 24 company-owned. Both total 906. — A definitional difference the FDD itself explains. Item 19, page 48: "Included in the Affiliate-Owned Stores in the chart above is one Kiosk Store owned by one of our officers disclosed in Item 2, even though this Store is operated under a Franchise Agreement." Item 19 classifies that Store by ownership, Item 20 by the agreement it operates under. The 906 total is corroborated by Table No. 1 (882 + 24) and by Table No. 4's 24 company-owned end-of-year total. The one-unit difference is 0.12% of the 825 start-of-year franchised units, well inside the 0.5% threshold, and cannot change the direction of growth. Use the Item 20 figures (882 / 24) for unit counts.
- [D/minor] Item 20 preamble, Table No. 1 and Table No. 4 2025: Every historical figure in Item 20 describes the predecessor's system, not the current franchisor's. The preamble states all company-owned outlets were owned by the predecessor's affiliate and all franchised outlets operated under agreements with the predecessor SCL; Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC has never operated a Store. — A disclosed attribution caveat, not an arithmetic problem. Item 20 preamble (page 58): "All of the company-owned outlets disclosed in the tables below were owned by our predecessor's affiliate"; Table No. 4 footnote (page 64): "These Stores are all owned by our predecessor's affiliate." No figure changes; the tables reconcile exactly as printed. The site should label unit history as the predecessor system transferred to the current franchisor, rather than restate any number.
- [D/minor] Table No. 2 2024: The printed transfer totals (20 / 36 / 38) overstate genuine changes of ownership. Footnotes disclose that the 8 Kansas transfers in 2024 were two asset transfers, and 10 of the 14 Nebraska transfers in 2024 were a single asset transfer between franchisees with the same Principal Owners. The table also excludes affiliate-to-third-party sales, which Table No. 4 counts as sales of company-owned Stores (12 in 2023, 2 in 2024, 1 in 2025). — The definition is disclosed on the face of the table. Page 60 footnotes: "**In 2024, 8 stores in Kansas were part of two asset transfers between franchisees with two different Principal Owners" and "***In 2024 10 stores in Nebraska were part of a single asset transfer between franchisees with the same Principal Owners"; the table asterisk adds "This table does not include transfers of Stores from our predecessor's affiliate to other parties." The state rows were re-summed and foot exactly to 20 / 36 / 38. So the printed totals are right; they count Stores transferred, not transactions. In 2024 the 36 Stores represent roughly 20 distinct ownership changes once the two multi-unit asset deals are collapsed, and the 10 same-owner Nebraska Stores are not an economic change of hands at all.
- [D/minor] Table No. 3 vs Table No. 4 2023: Table No. 3 has no column for outlets transferred in from the company-owned estate, so the Stores sold to franchisees in Table No. 4 (12 in 2023, 2 in 2024, 1 in 2025) have to be absorbed in Table No. 3's "Outlets Opened" column for the tables to reconcile. — A table-structure limitation, not an error. The reconciliation was recomputed and holds exactly: 525 + 209 - 1 - 0 - 2 - 2 = 729 (2023), 729 + 121 - 0 - 0 - 5 - 20 = 825 (2024), 825 + 85 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 24 = 882 (2025), and every state row sums to its TOTAL in all seven columns. Table No. 1's franchised end column (729 / 825 / 882) corroborates the same totals, so the totals are not in doubt. The consequence is interpretive: "Outlets Opened" is not a pure count of new construction. Up to 12 of the 209 openings in 2023 (5.7%), 2 of 121 in 2024 and 1 of 85 in 2025 were affiliate Stores changing hands. Present openings as gross additions, not new builds.
- [D/minor] Exhibit E disclosure vs Table No. 3 2025: Exhibit E lists 94 former franchisees representing 148 franchises for the 12 months ended December 31, 2025, against only 28 franchised outlets that terminated, were not renewed, were reacquired or ceased operations that year in Table No. 3 (2 + 1 + 1 + 24). — The two populations are defined differently and the FDD says so. Item 20, page 65: the list covers franchisees who ceased business, were terminated, cancelled, not renewed "or transferred during the 12-month period ended December 31, 2025, or who have not communicated with us or our predecessor within 10 weeks of the issuance date." Transferors (38 Stores transferred in 2025 per Table No. 2) and non-communicating franchisees inflate the count well beyond genuine exits. Table No. 3's 28 is the right attrition input; the Exhibit E count must not be read as closures.
Company-owned outlets (Table 4)
| Year | Start | Opened | Reacquired from franchisee | Closed | Sold to franchisee | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 21 |
| 2024 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 24 |
| 2025 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 |
Read: How to read Item 20.
Ownership and operations
Items 11, 12, 15, 17Manager-run permitted Disclosed
- Source
- 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC
- Document
- FDD 2026, issued 2026-07-14
- Item
- Item 15
- Page
- PDF p. 42
- Obtained
- Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search, file 642104
Principal Owners are not required to manage the store personally, but if they do not, a Designated Manager must be responsible for management and operation. A Principal Owner, Designated Manager or shift supervisor must be present whenever the store is open. The franchisee must be a corporation, LLC or partnership, formed within 90 days of the Franchise Agreement and before signing a lease or purchase agreement. The Designated Manager need not hold equity but must complete training and sign confidentiality and, if requested, non-competition agreements. Owners of multiple stores may be required to employ Multi-Unit Leaders.
View operating requirements, territory and contract term
| Owner involvement (Item 15) | Manager-run permitted Disclosed
Principal Owners are not required to manage the store personally, but if they do not, a Designated Manager must be responsible for management and operation. A Principal Owner, Designated Manager or shift supervisor must be present whenever the store is open. The franchisee must be a corporation, LLC or partnership, formed within 90 days of the Franchise Agreement and before signing a lease or purchase agreement. The Designated Manager need not hold equity but must complete training and sign confidentiality and, if requested, non-competition agreements. Owners of multiple stores may be required to employ Multi-Unit Leaders. Principal Owners are not required to manage the store personally, but if they do not, a Designated Manager must be responsible for management and operation. A Principal Owner, Designated Manager or shift supervisor must be present whenever the store is open. The franchisee must be a corporation, LLC or partnership, formed within 90 days of the Franchise Agreement and before signing a lease or purchase agreement. The Designated Manager need not hold equity but must complete training and sign confidentiality and, if requested, non-competition agreements. Owners of multiple stores may be required to employ Multi-Unit Leaders. |
|---|---|
| Initial training | Two mandatory initial programs. Immersion Training is a three-day owner session (21.5 classroom hours) at the Omaha, Nebraska training facility or another designated site, attended by one Principal Owner roughly four to five months before opening and required to be completed within 150 days of signing the Franchise Agreement. New Store Opening (NSO) Training lasts 15 days: four days of barista skills and four days of manager training (56 classroom and 64 on-the-job hours) at a corporate training kiosk in Omaha or Dallas, followed by seven days on site at the store (four days of barista support and three days of opening support). A Principal Owner and the Designated Manager must both attend NSO Training, plus any additional individuals the franchisor requires; the Item 7 estimate assumes four people attend. NSO Training for up to four people and Immersion Training for an unlimited number are included in the initial franchise fee; later replacement managers cost $500 per person. Disclosed
Failure to complete either program on schedule is grounds for termination with retention of amounts paid. |
| Multi-unit / development options | A Multiple Store Development Agreement covers a minimum of two stores, with development schedules typically for two to five stores and no stated maximum. The developer pays a $20,000 Development Fee for each store beyond the first when the MSD Agreement is signed, and each $20,000 is credited against that store's then-current initial franchise fee. A separate franchise agreement, on the franchisor's then-current form, is signed for each store. Estimated total investment under an MSD Agreement is $678,898 to $1,465,750 for two to five stores. Failing the development schedule can cost the developer the Development Area. Multi-store owners in good standing may qualify for an Enterprise Training Program allowing self-training of managers. Disclosed
Details drawn from Items 1, 5, 7, 11 and 12. |
| Territory (Item 12) | No exclusive territory is granted under the single-store Franchise Agreement. The franchisee operates only at the approved Franchised Location; if no site is identified at signing, the franchisor designates a Non-Exclusive Search Area that limits where the franchisee may look but confers no territorial rights. The franchisor and its affiliates keep the right to open or license stores at any location, to sell the same products under other marks, and to distribute through other channels including the internet, grocery and convenience stores, with no compensation to the franchisee. Two search-area shift requests are free; further requests cost $3,000. There is no minimum sales quota and continued operation does not depend on sales volume. Under an MSD Agreement the franchisor will not grant a third party the right to operate a store inside the Development Area while the developer is in full compliance, but it reserves the right to operate its own or affiliate stores there and to place stores at non-traditional locations the developer cannot secure. Disclosed
|
| Initial term | 10 years Disclosed
|
| Renewal | One option to renew for a further 10 years. Conditions include advance notice, signing the then-current form of franchise agreement (which may differ materially), being in compliance, showing property control for the new term, signing a release, renovating the store if required, and paying a renewal fee of the greater of $10,000 or 25% of the then-current initial franchise fee. If conditions are not met but the franchisor allows continued operation, it becomes month to month. Disclosed
|
| Staffing | The FDD does not state a required headcount. It requires a Principal Owner, Designated Manager or shift supervisor to be present at all times during operation, and Item 19 shows average in-store labor cost of $251,388 per reporting kiosk and $275,312 per reporting end cap in 2025, covering wages for in-store staff including the manager plus payroll taxes but excluding benefits. Disclosed
Labor figures are from Item 19 Section C, page 52 and page 54. |
Risk and legal observations
Items 3, 4, 8, 15, 17 — summarized neutrallyLitigation: None disclosed Disclosed · Bankruptcy: None disclosed Disclosed
View legal disclosures, restrictions and guarantees
| Litigation (Item 3) | None disclosed Disclosed Item 3 states that no litigation is required to be disclosed. Because the franchisor entity was organized in April 2026 as part of a securitization, this disclosure covers a very short corporate history for the entity itself. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy (Item 4) | None disclosed Disclosed Item 4 states that no bankruptcy is required to be disclosed. |
| Personal guaranty | Required Disclosed
Every person or entity holding a direct or indirect interest of 20% or more, plus any affiliate that owns the land or building and acts as landlord, must sign a Guaranty and Assumption of Franchisee Obligations personally assuming all franchisee obligations. The franchisor may require other owners to sign as well, and any new or replacement principal owner must sign. Spouses are not required to sign unless they are themselves principal owners. |
| Non-compete | During the term the franchisee may not be involved in any competing business anywhere. After termination, expiry or transfer, the restriction runs two years and covers any interest in any capacity in a competing business located or operating within 10 miles of the former franchised location (or within the non-exclusive search area if no site was selected) or within 10 miles of any Scooter's Coffee store. The MSD version extends to 10 miles of any former store owned by the developer or an affiliate and to the whole Development Area. Both are stated to be subject to applicable state law. Disclosed
|
| Transfer restrictions | The franchisor must approve all transfers, which include a transfer of the business, the store, substantially all assets, the agreement or any controlling interest. Conditions are full compliance, a qualified transferee, payment of all amounts due, completion of training, payment of the transfer fee (the greater of $10,000 or 25% of the then-current initial franchise fee), the transferee signing the then-current form of franchise agreement, and delivery of a release. The franchisor has a 30-day right of first refusal to match any offer. On the death or disability of a principal owner, the interest must be assigned to an approved buyer within 120 days. Disclosed
The transfer fee is waived when a principal owner transfers to a spouse, son or daughter (Item 6). |
| Termination / non-renewal | The franchisor may terminate only on default. Curable defaults carry short cure periods: 72 hours for health, safety or sanitation violations, 10 days for unpaid amounts and for misuse of the marks (or sooner), and 30 days for other curable defaults. Non-curable grounds include misrepresentation in the application, abandonment, missing site approval or opening deadlines, deceptive practices, a felony conviction or other serious conduct, unauthorized assignment, misuse of confidential information, failure to pay taxes, insolvency or bankruptcy, repeated violations, loss of the lease, and blocking the franchisor's access to accounting systems or revoking its direct-debit authority. The franchisee may terminate on 10 days' notice only if it is in compliance and the franchisor materially breaches and fails to cure within 30 days. On termination the franchisee must cease operating, de-identify, assign the lease or phone numbers, discontinue the POS system and settle all amounts, generally within five business days, and the franchisor may exercise an option to purchase the store or its assets and to assume the lease. Disclosed
|
| Supplier restrictions (Item 8) | Purchasing is tightly controlled. Coffee beans, syrups and sauces, sandwiches, burritos, baked goods, smoothie mixes, dairy, paper goods, all items bearing the marks, and certain equipment such as espresso machines, brewers, grinders and ovens must be bought from the franchisor's affiliate Harvest Roasting, LLC (trading as Scooter's Coffee Supply Chain) or another designated supplier, and no alternative may even be proposed where a designated supplier has been appointed. The franchisor is the sole source of the proprietary Dashboard Software, the POS system must come from a designated supplier, and construction, equipment, fixtures, furniture and signs must meet its specifications and come from approved sources. Reviewing an alternative item or supplier costs $2,500 plus testing and investigation costs, with a 90-day response window. The franchisor estimates that items meeting its specifications represent about 75% to 85% of the cost to develop a store and about 28% to 36% of the cost to operate it. In the year ended December 31, 2025 the predecessor received $448,684 from required franchisee purchases (under 0.62% of its $72,107,159 of revenue) and the affiliate supply company received $247,244,700 of revenue from sales to franchisees. Rebates and other supplier payments to the predecessor and affiliates ranged from under 1% to 10% or more of the prices franchisees paid, and the franchisor may keep them. Disclosed
The cover pages carry a state-required Supplier Control risk warning that prices from required sources may exceed market. |
| Dispute resolution | Except for franchisor claims for money owed or injunctive relief, disputes go first to non-binding mediation in the county where the franchisor is headquartered and then to binding arbitration in Omaha, Nebraska. Choice of forum and governing law are Nebraska, each stated to be subject to applicable state law. The cover pages carry a state-required warning that out-of-state dispute resolution may cost more and may lead to a less favorable settlement. Disclosed
|
- No exclusive territory under the single-store Franchise Agreement; the franchisor and its affiliates may open or license stores at any location without compensating the franchisee (Item 12).
- 242 franchise agreements were signed but not yet open at December 31, 2025 against 85 franchised openings during 2025; the cover pages flag unopened franchises as a special risk.
- Franchised openings slowed from 209 in 2023 to 85 in 2025 while outlets ceasing operations for other reasons rose from 2 to 24 (Item 20 Table No. 3).
- The franchisor entity was organized on April 24, 2026 in a securitization and has never operated a store; support services are delivered by the predecessor under a management agreement, and the audited balance sheet in Item 21 is that of an affiliate guarantor formed in April 2026 with no significant prior operations.
- The technology fee is subject to a 15% annual increase that is compounded and cumulative, so skipped years can be caught up later (Item 6).
- Franchisees may not advertise or sell through the internet, mobile applications or any other electronic channel, and may have no unapproved online presence (Item 8).
- Some current and former franchisees have signed confidentiality provisions that may restrict what they can tell a prospective buyer (Item 20).
- Insurance requirements are specified in Item 8, including $1,000,000 per occurrence general liability and umbrella coverage that rises to $3,000,000 for owners of five or more stores.
Summaries are neutral paraphrases of the cited document and are not legal advice. Read the full Items in the current FDD and consult a franchise attorney.
Illustrative unit economics
Model estimateModel estimate — not disclosed by the franchisor, not a forecast. Fee lines below come from this brand's verified FDD fee schedule and are computed exactly as disclosed (each line shows its arithmetic). Operating-cost ratios are category placeholders we chose — every one is editable and labeled assumption. Results are illustrative arithmetic, not expected returns. Every figure here belongs to one of five labeled categories — disclosed inputs, model assumptions, unmodeled mandatory fees, user-editable assumptions, and exclusions — defined in our methodology. This brand's Item 19 also discloses some cost or profit data — see the Item 19 section, which takes precedence over any assumption here.
| Line (annual) | Downside | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (AUV basis) | $799,895 | $999,869 | $1,149,849 |
| − Cost of goods / supplies assumption | $247,968 | $309,959 | $356,453 |
| − Payroll (excl. owner) assumption | $223,971 | $279,963 | $321,958 |
| − Occupancy assumption | $63,992 | $79,990 | $91,988 |
| − Other operating expenses assumption | $87,988 | $109,986 | $126,483 |
| − Royalty disclosed 6% of net sales = $59,992 |
$47,994 | $59,992 | $68,991 |
| − National Marketing and Advertising Contribution disclosed 2% of net sales = $19,997 |
$15,998 | $19,997 | $22,997 |
| − Technology Fee disclosed $350/month × 12 = $4,200 |
$4,200 | $4,200 | $4,200 |
| − Conference Fee disclosed $499 per year |
$499 | $499 | $499 |
| − Technology Systems maintenance, support and upgrades assumption $1,000/yr (seeded from the disclosed floor) |
$1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| = Modeled operating result before the items below (EBITDA-style) | $106,286 | $134,283 | $155,280 |
| − Manager compensation assumption | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| = Modeled result after manager compensation | $46,286 | $74,283 | $95,280 |
| − Illustrative debt service assumption | $142,214 | $142,214 | $142,214 |
| = Illustrative pre-tax cash flow — before taxes, capital expenditures and unmodeled fees | −$95,928 | −$67,932 | −$46,935 |
| Modeled operating margin | 13.3% | 13.4% | 13.5% |
This modeled result is not owner income. It excludes: income taxes; capital expenditures and equipment-replacement reserves; working-capital needs; ramp-up losses; owner-specific costs; one-time and per-event fees (transfer, renewal, audit). It is illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions, not a promise or forecast of what a franchisee earns.
Every figure in this table is a model estimate built on the disclosed fee schedule plus labeled assumptions. Excluded: income taxes, owner draw, working-capital swings, capital expenditures, ramp-up losses in year one, one-time and per-event fees (transfer, renewal, audit), and the undisclosed-amount fees listed above. Read AUV vs. EBITDA vs. owner income before using this.
Sources and provenance
Primary source: 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC · issued 2026-07-14. Find the FDD at Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search. We cite source pages and do not redistribute PDFs.
View all sources, provenance and verification notes
| Document | Obtained from | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document — Scooter's Coffee Franchisor, LLC Registry file 642104 · 306 pages Wisconsin registration effective July 15, 2026; issuance date on the cover is July 14, 2026. This was the newest document available at retrieval. Financial data in Items 19 and 20 cover the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. | Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration Search | Issued 2026-07-14 Retrieved 2026-08-29 | Newest available at retrieval |
AI-assisted extraction from the archived FDD text, independently machine-verified against the cited source (two passes plus tie-break); not human-reviewed. Extracted 2026-08-29. Last updated 2026-09-05. AI-assisted extraction independently machine-verified against the cited source document (2026-09-01): two independent AI reading passes plus tie-break re-inspection of every disagreement; 74 of 77 material fields confirmed (69 with the exact page citation re-confirmed), 0 corrected, 0 unresolved, 3 confirmed not disclosed. No human has reviewed this profile. Fiscal year covered: FY2025 (Dec 31, 2025). See how we use AI and verify data.
Fields flagged as uncertain (4)
- item19.population_count and the population_count of the 2025 Participating Kiosk metrics: recorded as 761 because that is the figure in the FDD's participating-store table, but the FDD elsewhere states that 697 of the 768 franchised kiosks operated for the entire 2025 period, and the attainment counts, median, high and low for 2025 match the 621 Reporting Kiosk Stores exactly. The true population for the 2025 kiosk average is therefore ambiguous in the source.
- item19.headline_auv: Section A states $999,869 and Section C states $998,869 as the 2025 average kiosk gross sales. Section A is used because it is the broader statement of average gross sales; the difference is noted in the fact's note field.
- investment.unit_type: the FDD presents two single-store Item 7 tables of similar standing. The Kiosk table is recorded as the primary investment because kiosks were 781 of 906 systemwide stores at year end; the End Cap table is in alternative_formats. A buyer choosing an end cap would face the lower range.
- item20.us_only: set true because every table lists only U.S. states and Item 1 refers to the transfer of all existing U.S. agreements, but the FDD does not state explicitly that the counts are U.S.-only.
Extraction notes (8)
- Item 7's Kiosk and End Cap tables both foot exactly to their stated totals, and Item 20 Tables 1, 3 and 4 all reconcile (start plus openings minus closures equals end) for all three years.
- Item 19 Section C arithmetic checks out: Total Expenses excludes cost of goods sold, and Gross Profit minus Total Expenses equals the stated EBITDA for both formats.
- Item 20 Table No. 1 reports 882 franchised and 24 company-owned outlets at December 31, 2025, while the Item 19 store-type table reports 881 franchised and 25 affiliate-owned for the same date. The FDD explains the difference: one kiosk owned by an officer is grouped with affiliate-owned stores in Item 19 although it operates under a franchise agreement. The Item 20 Table No. 1 figures are used for units.
- The initial fee is recorded as $60,000 because the $40,000 Initial Franchise Fee and the $20,000 Initial Opening Support Fee are both mandatory, non-refundable and due to the franchisor at signing, and both appear as separate Item 7 rows. Item 5 also notes the predecessor collected initial franchise fees of $20,000 to $40,000 during 2025 and that veterans receive a $20,000 product credit; neither changes the standard fee.
- fees.local_marketing, fees.cooperative and two entries in other_recurring are recorded with a value of 0 because the FDD affirmatively states that nothing is currently required, with the disclosed ceiling in range_high. These are disclosed facts, not absent ones.
- Item 19 note 9 states average overhead of $49,800 for both formats, but every column in the Section C tables applies $52,500. The tables' figure is what feeds the disclosed EBITDA, so the table figures are recorded and the discrepancy is flagged in caveats.
- The validator's Item 20 Table 1 versus Table 3 checks pass; the only expected warnings would relate to null-valued facts with not_disclosed evidence, which is the intended encoding for the undisclosed liquidity and net-worth requirements.
- Verification 2026-09-01: fix_page /fees/cooperative 13 → 14
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