Quick Verdict · who it fits
Tropical Smoothie Cafe fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mature food & beverage concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$276K - $771K
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$35K
Royalty (Item 6)
6% + 5–6% ad
Item 19 median rev
$931k all franchised units
System size (Item 20)
1,650 +170
Years in business
2+ yrs
Item 3 litigation
2 suits
Model Tropical Smoothie Cafe's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Buyer qualifications
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Where units actually land — not just the headline average.
P25
$589k
Median
$931k
P75
$1.11M
▪ n = 1,431 units · all franchised units · fiscal year 2025 · Source: 2026 FDD Item 19
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 6% + ad fund 5–6% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$930,000
$100k$2M
Royalty (6%)
—
Ad fund (5–6%)
—
Total / year
—
▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
1,651
Total units open
170 franchised units
Units opened last year
21 franchised units terminated; 1 non-renewed; 12 ceased operations
Units closed last year
other reasons
136 units
Net unit growth
2025 vs. 2024
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
5
Risks to review
4
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How Tropical Smoothie Cafe ranks against 788 Food & Beverage peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
36th pct · of 788 peers
Franchise fee
35th pct · of 788 peers
System size
96th pct · of 788 peers
Food & Beverage industry averages
Avg investment
$583K - $1.4M
Avg franchise fee
$37K
Avg system size
244
Franchises analyzed
788
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | Disclosed | $35K | $276K - $771K | 6% | 1,650 |
| South Bay Soup Corporation (dba Pho Hoa Phohoa.com)Similar price | None | $30K | $395K - $769K | 4% | 15 |
| Doctor's AssociatesBiggest system | None | $15K | $227K - $630K | 8% | 18,773 |
| Vintage Hospitality GroupTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $50K | $3.5M - $6.4M | 5.5% | 33 |
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Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
Chipotle reported 4,186 company-operated restaurants and 15 international licensed restaurants as of June 30, 2026. None are franchised, there is no FDD, and there is nothing to apply for. Qdoba is the franchised version of the same order line, and its 12/25 FDD puts a traditional restaurant at $548,100 to $1,294,000.
Brand Analysis
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. reported 656 company-operated stores in 43 states as of January 30, 2026, and the brand has never sold a franchise. Huddle House and Another Broken Egg cover the same daypart with filed FDDs, at $555,375 to $1,715,275 and $792,500 to $1,804,000.
Brand Analysis
The Häagen-Dazs Shoppe Company franchises the ice cream shops on a $30,000 fee and a 4% royalty, with a 2026 Item 7 range of $213,329 to $591,579. The trademark belongs to a different company, and the ice cream you are required to buy comes from a third.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe requires a $35,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $275,500–$770,500, per the most recent FDD on file.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is franchised by TSC Franchisor, LLC, the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the franchisor's corporate history, parents, and predecessors.
Yes. Tropical Smoothie Cafe discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $931,173. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 6% and an advertising fund contribution of 5.0% to 6.0% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Tropical Smoothie Cafe has 1,650 total locations, with 170 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt