FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source

2025 FDD

RAKKAN RAMEN

Asian restaurants · parent company: not identified

Rakkan Ramen is a Japanese ramen restaurant serving bowls of noodles in rich broths, known for plant-based and vegetable-forward broth options alongside traditional toppings. Customers dine in for made-to-order ramen. A franchisee operates a restaurant, managing kitchen staff, broth and noodle preparation, and dine-in service.

RAKKAN RAMEN went from 9 → 12 units over 2022–2025 — too small a starting base for a meaningful percentage per its FDD Item 20.

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. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:

  • 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, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.

Our rating · opinion

Too new to judge

12 franchised units over 4 disclosed years of Item 20 is too little history for a rating — a young system's record hasn't had time to show how units perform over a full loan term. Judge the disclosures, not a rating.

Exit rate · fiscal 2025

33.3%

vs 3.3% median across 6 comparable systems (asian restaurants)

Cost to open

$380K–$865K

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan losses

No loan record

no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand

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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from RAKKAN RAMEN's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2025, extracted 2026-07-23) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.

What each source says

FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor

Our answer: Too new to judge

The Item 20 record is too short or too small to rate; the loan record and model are context, not a verdict.

FDD record · Item 20

Too little history

Units went from 9 to 12 (2022–2025); exit rate 33.3% (fiscal 2025) vs 3.3% median.

SBA loans · vs same-year loans

No SBA loans found

No 7(a)/504 loans matched to this brand.

Modeled risk

Not scored

Too little evidence for the model.

Auditor opinion · Item 21

Clean opinion

Unqualified audit, 2025 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.

Behind the verdict

the record, factor by factor · Item 20

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth41%

latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1

Fair
Exit quality29%

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

Weak
Transfer / churn18%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Strong
Promise-keeping12%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Fair
Transparencynot in verdict

Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict

Strong

Systemwide units

2022–2025

9 → 12 units
92022152023152024122025

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2025, 4 of 12 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 33.3% (fiscal 2025), vs a 3.3% median across 6 comparable systems (asian restaurants). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.

Show the outlet tables ↓
Status (FTC)2022202320242025
Outlets at start791515
Opened3611
Transfers0000
Terminations0000
Non-renewals0000
Reacquired by franchisor0000
Ceased — other reasons0014
Outlets at end9151512
Net change+2+60-3

The franchisor's own finances

FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2025 FDD

Full read →

Schild & Co., Inc., Certified Public Accountants gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2025 FDD; revenue rose 144% from FY2023 to FY2025.

This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.

Audit opinion

Unmodified (clean) opinion

Schild & Co., Inc., Certified Public Accountants

Revenue · FY2025

$1.0M

extracted · not cross-checked

Net income · FY2025

$341K

extracted · not cross-checked

Where FY2025 revenue came from

49% royalties

initial-fee share not extracted

Show the statement figures ↓
Fiscal yearFY2023FY2024FY2025
Total revenue$413Kextracted · not cross-checked$579Kextracted · not cross-checked$1.0Mextracted · not cross-checked
Royalty revenue$365Kextracted · not cross-checked$517Kextracted · not cross-checked$488Kextracted · not cross-checked
Net income (loss)$207Kextracted · not cross-checked$6,153extracted · not cross-checked$341Kextracted · not cross-checked

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $20,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $380K–$865K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.

To open (Item 7)

$380K–$865K

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$20,000

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

5%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$900K/yr

Starts at a placeholder of $900K — a round figure for the sector, not from RAKKAN RAMEN’s filings. Set your own figure and check it against this brand's Item 19 and what owners tell you.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$45K

5% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$450K

royalties alone, excl. ad fund

This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.

This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on food and packaging cost, labor, rent, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).

Build a real pro-forma for RAKKAN RAMEN with a buyer-paid CPA

How the earnings claim is built

FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2025 FDD

This filing makes an Item 19 earnings claim; we have not yet read how it is built. Open Item 19 and check which units it covers, which it leaves out, and whether it shows costs.

Show the basis ↓

Labor record

US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present

Federal investigators have concluded 1 wage case against operators of this system, recovering $48K in back wages for 83 workers. Some of these cases are recent, not ancient history. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.

Concluded cases

1

Back wages owed

$48K

Employees affected

83

Since 2020

1

Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual RAKKAN RAMEN franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not RAKKAN RAMEN itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Cases are matched to the brand by trade name and may include misattributed employers. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2022.

Public records

Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored

We have no verified public-record signals published for RAKKAN RAMEN. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.

8 questions to ask a RAKKAN RAMEN 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 questions come from what RAKKAN RAMEN has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.

  1. 01

    RAKKAN RAMEN’s own Item 20 shows 4 of 12 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2025 — about 33.3%. 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 · FY2025

  2. 02

    You pay 5.0% 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

  3. 03

    RAKKAN RAMEN makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?

    Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.

    FDD Item 19 · 2025

  4. 04

    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

  5. 05

    Item 3 discloses 2 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?

    Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.

    FDD Item 3 · 2025

  6. 06

    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

  7. 07

    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

  8. 08

    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?

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A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing RAKKAN RAMEN’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.

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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. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.

RAKKAN RAMEN franchise questions, answered from the filings

How many RAKKAN RAMEN franchised outlets left the system last year?

In RAKKAN RAMEN's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 4 of 12 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 33.3% — compared with a 3.3% median across 6 comparable systems (asian restaurants) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.

How much does a RAKKAN RAMEN franchise cost?

Per RAKKAN RAMEN's 2025 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $20,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $380K–$865K (Item 7).

What royalty does RAKKAN RAMEN charge?

RAKKAN RAMEN charges an ongoing royalty of 5.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2025 FDD.

Does RAKKAN RAMEN disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — RAKKAN RAMEN makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2025 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.