Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S1763 since 2017
THE HUMAN BEAN
Other · independent · est. —
The Human Bean is a drive-through specialty coffee chain serving espresso drinks, blended beverages, teas, and smoothies. Most locations are small drive-through-only kiosks focused on speed and repeat customers. A franchisee operates a coffee kiosk, training baristas and managing fast beverage service.
THE HUMAN BEAN net unit count grew +29.7% from 2022–2025 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. 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
Proven & strong
Distress
Enough units and history to judge, and the record is good: growing or stable units with clean exits by the standards of its disclosed record. The standout in the record: the system is growing.
Exit rate · latest year
1.8%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$672K–$1.5M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
24.1%
29 loans resolved — directional only
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2022–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 3 of 165 franchised outlets left the system — a 1.8% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 129 | 145 | 158 | 177 |
| Opened | 20 | 22 | 22 | 14 |
| Transfers | 1 | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| Outlets at end | 145 | 158 | 177 | 188 |
| Net change | +16 | +13 | +19 | +11 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 67 SBA-backed loans to THE HUMAN BEAN franchisees since 2013. Only 29 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 7 of them charged off.
—
29 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$656,425
what recent franchisees borrowed
58 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
17 vs 12
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO THE HUMAN BEAN BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
A typical THE HUMAN BEAN buyer since 2020 borrowed $656K through SBA — about $73K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $784K, that is 9.3% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.
Who finances it
Columbia Bank
10.3% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 12.2% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
64.1%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 67 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to THE HUMAN BEAN franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $35K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $672K–$1.5M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$672K–$1.5M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$35K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
—
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$0
0% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$0
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 THE HUMAN BEAN with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand looks safer than 62% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
38 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
11.1%
Observed SBA charge-off
24.1%
Top drivers: Investment ceiling (log) (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (raises) · Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers). 15+ resolved loans stand behind this estimate. 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 THE HUMAN BEAN. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing THE HUMAN BEAN's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →THE HUMAN BEAN franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of THE HUMAN BEAN franchises closed last year?
In THE HUMAN BEAN's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 3 of 165 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 1.8%. 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 THE HUMAN BEAN franchise cost?
Per THE HUMAN BEAN's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $35K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $672K–$1.5M (Item 7).
Does THE HUMAN BEAN disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — THE HUMAN BEAN makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $784K. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.