FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

Verified — real FDD extraction

SBA-eligible · directory code S1197 since 2017

NrGize Lifestyle Cafe

Food & Dining · independent · est. —

NrGize Lifestyle Cafe is a smoothie and nutrition cafe concept selling fruit smoothies, protein shakes, and healthy snacks, often located inside fitness clubs. A franchisee operates a compact counter-service cafe, serving gym members and health-conscious customers before and after workouts.

New to franchising? Start here

A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.

Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:

  • Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
  • Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
  • Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).

The verdict

Not enough disclosure

Distress

0
STABLE

No verified FDD extraction to judge from. Any figures shown are labelled sample data or independent federal records.

Exit rate · latest year

2.5%

vs 8.2% across 146 food & dining systems

Cost to open

$107K–$347K

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan defaults

Too few resolved

6 loans exist; too few resolved to rate

Behind the verdict

the record, factor by factor · Item 20

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth35%

3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1

Weak
Exit quality25%

terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3

Fair
Transfer / churn15%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Fair
Promise-keeping10%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Not Disc.
Transparency15%

Item 19 disclosure + completeness

Weak

Systemwide units

2016–2018

-9.2%
872016812017792018

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2018, 2 of 81 franchised outlets left the system — a 2.5% annualized exit rate, vs 8.2% across 146 food & dining systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.

Show the outlet tables
Status (FTC)201620172018
Outlets at start908781
Opened250
Transfers1742
Terminations001
Non-renewals200
Reacquired by franchisor000
Ceased — other reasons3111
Outlets at end878179
Net change-3-6-2

The lender's view

SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present

Banks have made 6 SBA-backed loans to NrGize Lifestyle Cafe franchisees since 2007. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.

Charge-off rate

4 resolved · too thin to rate

Loss given default

avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $

Expected loss

default rate × loss severity

Avg. loan · FY2020+

$105,000

what recent franchisees borrowed

Median time to default

84 mo

approval → charge-off, defaulted loans

Lenders · FY21+ vs FY16–20

1 vs 1

distinct banks still lending

Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)

SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO NRGIZE LIFESTYLE CAFE BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $30K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $107K–$347K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.

To open (Item 7)

$107K–$347K

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$30K

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

6%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$1M/yr

Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$60K

6% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$600K

royalties alone, excl. ad fund

This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.

Build a real pro-forma for NrGize Lifestyle Cafe with an independent CPA

Modeled risk

FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record

Elevated

The public record puts this brand toward the middle of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.

Risk percentile (range)

46–70 / 100

Directional

Modeled SBA charge-off

13.9%

Observed SBA charge-off

no resolved cohort

Top drivers: System size (log units) (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers) · Net unit growth (raises) · Investment ceiling (log) (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.

Distress signals

news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits

No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for NrGize Lifestyle Cafe. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.

9 questions to ask a NrGize Lifestyle Cafe franchisee

Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls

The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These are the questions built from what NrGize Lifestyle Cafe has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.

  1. 01

    NrGize Lifestyle Cafe’s own Item 20 shows 2 of 81 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2018 — about 2.5%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?

    A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2018

  2. 02

    2 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2018. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?

    Transfers count as neutral in every ranking. They are the single easiest place to hide distress.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2018

  3. 03

    The system went from 87 units to 79 over 3 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?

    A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2016–FY2018

  4. 04

    You pay 6.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?

    Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.

    FDD Item 6

  5. 05

    NrGize Lifestyle Cafe’s FDD makes no financial performance representation at all — legally, they've told buyers nothing about earnings. What did your first 24 months actually look like, month by month?

    When a franchisor won't publish numbers, existing owners are the only source. Silence in Item 19 is a choice, not a requirement.

    FDD Item 19 · 2019

  6. 06

    How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?

    Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.

    Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner

  7. 07

    What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?

    Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.

    FDD Items 6, 8, 11

  8. 08

    If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?

    The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.

    Ask every owner you speak to

  9. 09

    Who else should I call — including someone who left?

    The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.

    Ask every owner you speak to

Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?

I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if NrGize Lifestyle Cafe’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.

Before you sign anythingfree · 30 min · no commission

A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing NrGize Lifestyle Cafe's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.

Don Drummond, CPA — Virginia #43775 · what I charge

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This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.

NrGize Lifestyle Cafe franchise questions, answered from the filings

What percentage of NrGize Lifestyle Cafe franchises closed last year?

In NrGize Lifestyle Cafe's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2018), 2 of 81 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 2.5% — compared with 8.2% across 146 food & dining systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.

How much does a NrGize Lifestyle Cafe franchise cost?

Per NrGize Lifestyle Cafe's 2019 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $30K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $107K–$347K (Item 7).

What royalty does NrGize Lifestyle Cafe charge?

NrGize Lifestyle Cafe charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2019 FDD.

Does NrGize Lifestyle Cafe disclose earnings (Item 19)?

No — NrGize Lifestyle Cafe's 2019 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.