Apple Spice franchise
2026 filing · April 30, 2026Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Apple Spice at a glance
A box lunch delivery and catering business serving offices and events from a kitchen in its territory. At the end of 2025 there were 31 Apple Spice locations in the US, 30 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Café & Bakery Group, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2011
- 15 years of selling franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $410K–$633K
- An Apple Spice territory with one kitchen
- Franchise fee
- $49,000
- For a single territory
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of weekly gross sales, paid weekly; it can rise to 2%
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 31
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 30
- Company-owned
- 1
- Change in 3 years
- −2
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 17
- Most in Texas, Michigan and South Carolina
From Café & Bakery Group, LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 168; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Apple Spice among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Apple Spice | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $521,350 | Costs more than 66% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $49,000 | Higher than 62% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 31 | More than 56% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $933,858 | Higher than 59% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.8× | Higher than 57% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Apple Spice franchise costs
Opening an Apple Spice territory with one kitchen costs an estimated $409,500 to $633,200. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 2
Apple Spice franchise fee
The franchise fee is $49,000, for a single territory. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 13
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of weekly gross sales, paid weekly; it can rise to 2%. |
| POS System (hardware/software/install) | $19,200 |
| Franchise Agreement Transfer Fee | $10,000 / Franchise Business |
| Transfer Training Fee | $10,000 |
| Local Advertising Requirement | Minimum of 2% of gross sales, spent locally by you. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 15
Other fees as filed, from pages 15–20. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Apple Spice publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average revenue
- $933,858
- Median revenue
- $718,554
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchise businesses open a full calendar year (30 locations). The average is about 1.8 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 54
SBA loans to Apple Spice franchisees
Lenders approved 38 SBA-backed loans for Apple Spice franchisees from 2004 to 2025, $10.7M in all: 37 7(a) loans and 1 504 loan. Of the 30 that have ended, 23 were paid in full and 7 were charged off (23.3%). The other 8 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Apple Spice | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −3.2% / −6.3% | +3.3% / +5.9% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 3.2% / 9.4% | 3.2% / 11% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical bakery brand is the median of the 33 brands in bakery franchises with three years of counts.
How Apple Spice compares
Of the 112 bakery franchises on this site, Apple Spice is the 67th cheapest to open and the 43rd largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Apple Spice | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $410K | $341K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $633K | $720K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $49K | $40K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $934K | $792K | $794K |
| US locations | 31 | 16 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 74 of 112 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 112 brands in bakery franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 31 (−1) | 1 | 0 | −1 |
| 2024 | 31 (0) | 1 | +1 | −1 |
| 2025 | 30 (−1) | 1 | 0 | −1 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 57
Where Apple Spice locations are
At the end of 2025, Apple Spice had locations in 17 states. The most are in Texas, Michigan and South Carolina.
- Texas5
- Michigan3
- South Carolina3
- California2
- Georgia2
- Maryland2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Michigan | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| South Carolina | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| California | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Georgia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Maryland | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ohio | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Colorado | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 57
Who owns Apple Spice?
Apple Spice franchises are sold by Café & Bakery Group, LLC.
From Café & Bakery Group, LLC’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Café & Bakery Group, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 13, bankruptcy on page 13
Apple Spice filings
The figures on this page come from Café & Bakery Group, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 30, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 30, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other bakery franchises
All bakery franchises
Apple Spice is also on these lists: business services franchises, food franchises.