FILING · MN · 2026 FDD
Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) — 2026
The FDD is the 23-item legal disclosure every U.S. franchisor must hand you at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything (FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436). Tropical Smoothie Cafe's most recent FDD tracked here is the 2026 FDD, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Registration-state filings are public records, so you can read it free, with no sign-up.
PUBLIC RECORD · FILED 2026 · SOURCE STATE MN
| ITEM 5 | Initial franchise fee | $35,000 |
| ITEM 6 | Ongoing royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| ITEM 7 | Total initial investment | $276K–$771K |
| ITEM 3 | Disclosed litigation matters | 2 |
| ITEM 19 | Earnings disclosure (FPR) | Yes — median unit volume $931K (population and period as defined in the filing's Item 19) |
| ITEM 20 | Outlets (fiscal 2025) | 1,650 franchised at year end · 34 exits (exit rate 2.2%, fiscal 2025) |
The headline figure is Avg. Net Revenues for FY2025 (ended Dec 28, 2025), for 1,431 of 1,650 units, leaving out open < 12 months, non-traditional locations, not open at least 357 days in 2025 and others. The mean is 5% above the median, so a minority of high-volume units pulls the average up. It shows no costs, so it says nothing about what an owner keeps.
Graded on three things the filing states: coverage (2 points if the figure covers at least 75% of the units it is compared with, 1 point for 50–75%), centre (2 points if it prints both a median and a mean, 1 for one of them), and costs (2 points for costs through a profit line or full cost detail, 1 for some cost items). 5–6 points = More complete, 3–4 = Partial, 0–2 = Limited. The grade describes the disclosure, not the business.
| What is measured | Avg. Net Revenues (net sales) |
| Period | FY2025 (ended Dec 28, 2025) |
| Whose results | Franchised outlets |
| Units included | 1,431 of 1,650 franchised Restaurants as of Dec 28, 2025 |
| Left out |
|
| Average (mean) | $978K |
| Median | $931K |
| Mean vs median | mean 5.1% above median |
| Met or beat the average | 643 (45%) |
| Costs shown | None — sales only |
| Where | p. 64 (Item 19 runs pp. 63–67) |
| The filing's words | “Of the 1,650 franchised Restaurants, 1,485 were franchised Restaurants that had been open for at least 12 months as of December 28, 2025.” |
Every figure above was extracted by software from the 2026 Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD as filed (figures are not individually checked by a person) and links back to that document. Fields that could not be extracted are omitted; no figure here is estimated. Extraction errors are possible: the filing controls, and FDDs are reissued annually; verify against the current issuance before relying on any number. Spotted an error? Franchisors and owners can report it via the contact on our Terms page.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD questions, answered
Where can I download the Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD for free?
Tropical Smoothie Cafe's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is a public record, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). It can be downloaded free from the source link on this page — no broker form, no email signup required.
What year is Tropical Smoothie Cafe's most recent FDD on file?
The most recent Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD tracked here is the 2026 FDD, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Franchisors must update their FDD annually; confirm you are reading the current issuance before signing.
Does Tropical Smoothie Cafe's FDD disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Tropical Smoothie Cafe makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $931K. Read the basis fine print: franchisors choose which units and metrics to include.
What does Tropical Smoothie Cafe's FDD Item 20 show?
In fiscal 2025, Tropical Smoothie Cafe ended with 1,650 franchised outlets; 34 of 1,514 open at the start of the year left the system (exit rate 2.2%, fiscal 2025) through terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons".
The Tropical Smoothie Cafe validation checklist
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