Franchise Facts Report → brands → Caribou Coffee
Caribou Coffee franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network Item 19 disclosed
Caribou Coffee is a food and beverage franchise with an initial investment ranging from $281,100 to $1,515,000.
Everything below is free, read straight off Caribou Coffee's registered filing. The $99 report is the part a single FDD can't give you: the earnings figures themselves, and where every number lands against food & beverage peers.
The numbers above tell you what Caribou Coffee discloses. The report tells you whether that's good:
- The earnings figures themselves — the average unit revenue Caribou Coffee puts on paper in Item 19, and what it does and doesn't include.
- Where every number ranks — investment, fees, royalty, earnings and churn against food & beverage median and quartile. This is the part no single FDD, and no AI reading one, can produce.
- What's driving the medium risk read — the specific figures behind it, not the label.
- The litigation, split properly — each case, and which ones franchisees brought against the franchisor rather than the reverse.
- The questions to ask before you sign — drawn from what Caribou Coffee's own filing leaves open, in the words to use on the call.
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Compare 3 brands — $249 See a sample reportFigures above are as disclosed in Caribou Coffee's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641334 — check it yourself. The Item 19 figures, where each number ranks against peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
How much does a Caribou Coffee franchise make?
Caribou Coffee is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The average revenue Caribou Coffee reports, what that figure does and doesn't include, and where it ranks against food & beverage peers are in the full report. See every food & beverage brand that discloses earnings in the Food & beverage franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Caribou Coffee franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Caribou Coffee's 5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Caribou Coffee franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Caribou Coffee franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. The full report sets Caribou Coffee's disclosed revenue against its total ongoing fee load, so you can see what that revenue has to cover before anything reaches you.
Caribou Coffee lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Caribou Coffee's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
Caribou Coffee closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Caribou Coffee will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Caribou Coffee's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a food & beverage of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Caribou Coffee's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. The actual closure and termination counts, and how Caribou Coffee's churn ranks against food & beverage peers, are in the full report.
The Item 19 earnings figures, every number ranked against food & beverage peers, and the litigation and churn detail — delivered instantly, yours to keep.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Who owns Caribou Coffee?
Caribou Coffee's franchise is offered by Caribou Coffee Development Company, Inc. — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Food & beverage franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Caribou Coffee is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Caribou Coffee franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Caribou Coffee — who is the franchisor?
Caribou Coffee's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Caribou Coffee Development Company, Inc. as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Caribou Coffee franchise cost?
Caribou Coffee's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $281,100 – $1,515,000, with an initial franchise fee of $30,000 and a 5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against food & beverage peers.
How much profit does a Caribou Coffee franchise make?
Caribou Coffee discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (5% of gross for Caribou Coffee), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Caribou Coffee franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The full report shows the disclosed revenue against the full ongoing fee load it has to cover.
Does Caribou Coffee disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Caribou Coffee reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The full report shows the actual revenue figures and how they rank against food & beverage peers.
Are there lawsuits against Caribou Coffee?
No — Caribou Coffee's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Caribou Coffee a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Caribou Coffee's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against food & beverage peers, which is what the full report is for. Our read on this filing is medium risk, stated free above. For $99 you get the figures driving that read, the actual Item 19 earnings (disclosed in this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
A Caribou Coffee franchise is a $281,100 – $1,515,000 decision you make once, on a ten-year agreement, usually with a personal guarantee behind it. For $99 you get an independent read of the document that decides it: the actual Item 19 earnings, every figure ranked against food & beverage peers, the litigation split into franchisee and corporate matters, the churn behind the outlet count — and the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign. If it tells you nothing new, reply within 14 days and we'll refund it.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Compare 3 brands — $249Get a free email when something changes on Caribou Coffee or food & beverage: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same registries every report is built on.