How Much Can a Blaze Pizza Franchise Owner Make?

Let’s start with the financials from the 2020 Blaze Pizza franchise disclosure document (FDD)The Franchise Disclosure Document (“FDD”) is a legal document that the franchisor presents to prospective franchisees in the franchise pre-sale process. Every U.S. franchise must register their Franchise Disclosure Document in order to sell the franchise opportunity. It is a very extensive document that discloses detailed information about the franchisor and the franchise..... From the ITEM 19 fo the FDD, we can determine key financials including salesThe total amount in dollars made in the business before expenses are deducted. See also Gross Revenue.... of franchiseA franchise is when a business (franchisor) allows a party (franchisee) to acquire its know-how, procedures, processes, trademarks, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand and rights to sell its products and services. The franchisee signs a contract (franchise agreement) with the franchisor to acquire the franchise and generally has a territory granted to operate.... owners for Blaze Pizza.

Blaze Pizza Sales Figures

As of December 29, 2019, there were 313 Blaze Pizza Restaurants in operation: 306 franchised Restaurants and 7 corporate or affiliate Restaurants (“Corporate Restaurants”).

The financial information provided represents the historical financial performance of the 226 Franchised Restaurants and four Corporate Restaurants that (a) had been in operation for at least 18 months as of December 29, 2019; and (b) were not operated from food courts or traditional malls for the fiscal year 2019 (December 31, 2018 to December 29, 2019.

Blaze Pizza has also excluded one Corporate Restaurant that is operated under a license agreement with a master concessionaire.

Franchised Blaze Pizza Restaurants will share many of the same characteristics as Corporate Restaurants, including degree of competition, length of time the outlets have operated, and services and goods offered, except that Corporate Restaurants do not pay Continuing Royalties.

Corporate Restaurants pay Creative Fund Contributions and incur comparable cost of goods sold as Franchised Restaurants.

Blaze Pizza Franchised Restaurants

2019 Average Gross Sales (226 units):  $1,204,410

2019 Median Gross Sales (226 units):  $1,166,924

Corporate Restaurants

2019 Average Gross Sales (4 units):  $1,700,144

2019 Median Gross Sales (4 units):  $1,774,488

Of the 226 Franchised Restaurants in the Reporting Group, 99 or 44% attained or surpassed this average. Of the 226 Franchised Restaurants in the Reporting Group, the lowest Gross Sales reported to Blaze Pizza was $535,636 and the highest Gross Sales reported to Blaze Pizza was $2,492,460.

Of the four Corporate Restaurants in the Reporting Group, two or 50% attained or surpassed this average. Of the four Corporate Restaurants in the Reporting Group, the lowest Gross Sales was $1,099,470 and the highest Gross Sales was $2,152,132.

How long to reach business maturity for a blaze pizza franchise owner?

Blaze Pizza competes in an emerging category of fast casual, artisanal pizza. Blaze Pizza Restaurants reach maturity generally after 18 months of operation. For purposes of this Item 19, Blaze Pizza has excluded outlets that have operated less than 18 months as the financial results of these development stage outlets may not be representative of long-term results attained by mature outlets.

For items sold pursuant to coupons or other discounts (which Blaze Pizza must approve), Gross Sales also excludes the amount discounted from the purchase price of such item and from sales of pre-paid gift cards and certificates. The financial performance representations above do not reflect the costs of sales, operating expenses, or other costs or expenses that must be deducted from the gross revenueThe total amount in dollars made in the business before expenses are deducted. See also Sales.... or gross sales figures to obtain your net income or profit.

When Considering Blaze Pizza Franchise Costs

The total estimated initial investmentThe amount of funds necessary to begin operations of a business or franchise including the first three months of operation.... necessary to begin operation of a Blaze Pizza restaurant ranges from $541,500 to $1,150,500. As presented in our previous post, significant differences in the costs of Leasehold Improvements ($233,000 to $547,000) and Furniture and Fixtures ($21,000 to $102,000).

Using the midpoint of the initial investment range ($846,000) and the 2019 average gross sales for the 226 franchised Blaze Pizza restaurants that had been in operation for at least 18 months as of December 29, 2019 and were not operated from food courts or traditional malls ($1,204,410), we arrive at an average sales-to-franchise cost ratio of 1.4:1.

Pizza Franchise Comparison

For purposes of comparison, the average sales-to-franchise cost ratio for Your Pie is 1.5:1, based on the midpoint of its initial investment range ($537,375) and the 2018 average gross sales for the 36 franchised Your Pie restaurants that operated during the entire fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and provided Your Pie with revenue and detailed cost information for the 2018 fiscal year ($795,700).

The average sales-to-franchise cost ratio for MOD Pizza is 1.4:1, based on the midpoint of its initial investment range ($741,500) and the 2018 average annualized  sales (i.e. average weekly sales x 52 weeks) for the 71 franchised MOD Pizza restaurants that operated at traditional locations for all 12 months/52 fiscal weeks during the period from January 1, 2018 through December 30, 2018 ($1,053,008).

The average sales-to-franchise ratio for Pieology is 1.7:1, based on the midpoint of its initial investment range ($548,250) and the 2018 average gross sales for the 38 franchised Pieology restaurants that had been in operation in establishedThe year a Business for Sale was established. If the business has been running for a minimum of ten years, Vetted Biz will qualify the business for sale as a “Well-Established Business.”... Pieology markets (all in California) for at least two years as of the end of the 2018 fiscal year ($945,409).

The average gross sales for the franchised Blaze Pizza restaurants that had been in operation for at least 18 months as of the end of the fiscal year and were not operated from food courts or traditional malls, declined by 4.6% year-over-year ($1,261,926 in 2018 to $1,204,410 in 2019). This is on top of the 11.4% drop from 2017 ($1,424,218) to 2018 ($1,261,926).

The 2019 average gross sales for the 4 corporate Blaze Pizza restaurants that had been in operation for at least 18 months as of December 29, 2019 and were not operated from food courts or traditional malls ($1,700,144) was a whopping 41.2% higher than the corresponding average for the 226 franchised Blaze Pizza restaurants that had been in operation for at least 18 months as of December 29, 2019 and were not operated from food courts or traditional malls ($1,204,410).

This suggests that Blaze Pizza’s corporate restaurants are situated in much better locations and/or are operated much more effectively than their franchised counterparts.

Conclusion

Although Blaze Pizza might be the right franchise depending on your finances, location and other factors, it is important to consider other franchises. We encourage you to view our franchise directory of over 1,800 franchises and franchise industries beyond Food & Beverage.