FRANZY THE WEEKLY BRIEFING |
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Welcome back to the Franzy Five. Just got back from Vegas where Riley and I spent the week at MUFC meeting franchisors and scouting brands. More on that below, but first: a massive deal just dropped. |
IN THIS EDITION | | 🗞️ KKR Just Bought Nothing Bundt Cakes for $2B | | 📞 MUFC Recap: What We Saw in Vegas | | ⭐ Brand of the Week: Joshua Tree Experts | | 📊 24 of 31 Franchise Stocks Declined Last Month | | 🎙️ Podcast: From Broadway to Crumbl with Taj Suri | | 🔄 The Fine Print: What is a Royalty Fee? | | 📰 More Franchising Headlines |
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WHAT'S HAPPENING KKR just acquired Nothing Bundt Cakes from Roark Capital for more than $2 billion. The 700+ unit bakery chain has nearly doubled in size since Roark bought it in 2021 and is approaching $1 billion in system-wide sales. |
WHY IT MATTERS This is the second billion-dollar-plus PE deal in franchising in two weeks (after Monomoy's $1.3B Jiffy Lube acquisition). Nothing Bundt Cakes locations average $1.4 to $1.5M in annual revenue, top performers exceed $2.4M, and the brand hasn't closed a single location in three years. |
THE BOTTOM LINE Roark bought at ~390 units, grew to 700+, and sold for $2B. That's the franchise playbook at the highest level. If you're exploring ownership, this is what the best brands look like from a financial trajectory standpoint. |
Read the full story → |
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Back from MUFC. Legacy brands are starting to see the value Franzy brings to the table. The conversations felt different this year. More inbound, more curiosity, more serious. Breakout sessions were sharper too, focused on what operators are actually dealing with right now. The quote that stuck: "Find motivation in defeat."Read Riley's full recap → |
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Joshua Tree Experts Just added to Franzy. Joshua Tree Experts is a professional tree care and plant health services franchise offering pruning, removal, fertilization, and pest/disease management. Founded in 2011, franchising since 2021. INVESTMENT $461K-$597K | AVG GROSS REVENUE $1.6M | ROYALTY FEE 3.5%-6% | MODEL Service / Mobile |
Why it's interesting: Tree care is essential and non-discretionary. Trees don't stop growing because the economy is down. The local arborist market is massive and fragmented. Joshua Tree is professionalizing that space, and $1.6M average gross revenue is strong for a service model. Best fit for: Operators looking for a crew-based, scalable business. No prior arborist experience required. |
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24 of 31 Franchise companies on the Franchise Times Scoreboard saw their stock price decline or stay flat last month. Global conflicts and economic uncertainty are hitting public franchise valuations. But PE firms keep buying: Nothing Bundt at $2B, Jiffy Lube at $1.3B, European Wax going private. The public markets are nervous. Private money is moving. Source: Franchise Times, April 2026 |
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From Broadway to Crumbl: Taj Suri's Franchise Story Taj Suri might be the most uniquely qualified franchise owner we've ever talked to. Broadway vocal training, Madison Square Garden, Fairmont Hotels, fintech, an entertainment agency pitching Netflix and Hulu. Now he runs two top-150 Crumbl Cookies locations in Tennessee and Virginia. In this episode: what it really takes to run a franchise from day one, why people and trust are everything, and how his background in music and hospitality made him a better operator than most. Fair warning: he literally sings on camera in the first two minutes. Not the typical franchise podcast opener. |
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What is a Royalty Fee? A royalty fee is the ongoing percentage of your revenue that you pay to the franchisor. It typically ranges from 4% to 8% of gross sales, paid weekly or monthly, and is separate from the one-time franchise fee you pay upfront. What it covers: Ongoing use of the brand, access to systems, training, support, supply chain, and corporate infrastructure. Think of it as the cost of staying plugged into the machine. What to watch for: Some brands charge lower royalties but make it up with higher ad fund contributions, technology fees, or supply chain markups. Always look at the total cost of being in the system, not just the royalty rate. The FDD spells all of this out. |
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