How Much Does It Cost to Open a Tropical Smoothie Cafe Franchise?
Verified · 2026 WI filingAs of its 2026 FDD, opening a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise costs an estimated $275,500 to $770,500 in total initial investment.
| Total investment | $275,500 to $770,500[1] |
| Franchise fee | $35,000[1] |
| Royalty | 6%[1] |
| Ad fund | 5%[1] |
Financial Performance (Item 19)
| Average unit revenue | $978,298 |
| Median unit revenue | $931,173 |
Average and Median Net Revenues for franchised Restaurants open at least one full year as of December 28, 2025 (1,431 Restaurants), presented by revenue category (Top 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and Bottom 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%) and Total. Net Revenue means all revenue related to sale of products and services, less discounts; excludes refunds, sales taxes, used equipment sales, and gift card sales (but includes redemptions). No cost/expense information is presented.
Outlet Counts by Filing Year (Item 20)
| FDD Year | Total Outlets | Opened | Closed | Terminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1650 | 170 | 12 | 21 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise?
According to Tropical Smoothie Cafe's 2026 FDD, the estimated total initial investment is $275,500 to $770,500.
What is the Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise fee?
The initial franchise fee disclosed in the 2026 FDD is $35,000.
What is the Tropical Smoothie Cafe royalty fee?
Tropical Smoothie Cafe charges a royalty of 6% of gross sales, plus a 5% advertising fund contribution, per its 2026 FDD.
Does Tropical Smoothie Cafe disclose franchise owner earnings?
Yes — Tropical Smoothie Cafe's 2026 FDD includes an Item 19 Financial Performance Representation. Average unit revenue was $978,298.
How many Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations are there?
Tropical Smoothie Cafe had 1,650 outlets as of its 2026 FDD.
Where does this Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise data come from?
Every figure on this page is extracted from Tropical Smoothie Cafe's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, filed with WI and human-verified against the source filing.
Sources
- 2026 FDD, filed with WI — state registry record — last verified from the 2026 FDD on 2026-07-26
FranchiseFilings is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tropical Smoothie Cafe. All figures above are drawn directly from the Tropical Smoothie Cafe FDD filings linked in Sources and have been human-verified against those filings. See our methodology for how we source and verify data.