Nothing Bundt Cakes Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Nothing Bundt Cakes discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses average Net Revenues ($1.48M), 4-Wall EBITDA (~21.6% avg), COGS, labor, occupancy breakdowns for 297 bakeries. Excludes owner salary from EBITDA, omits D&A, interest, taxes; cherry-picks mature, top-performing subset.
What a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 11% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $667,100 – $1,032,500 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 6% + marketing 5% = 11% total weekly on net revenues; renewal fee 50% of then-current initial fee.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Nothing Bundt Cakes system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 660 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 46 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
Zero terminations or closures across 2022-2024; rapid growth with 46 transfers in 2024 suggests healthy system.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Nothing Bundt Cakes worth it? — how it compares to 59 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 11% of sales | steeper than 96% of bakery, dessert & ice cream franchises |
| Startup cost | from $667,100 | pricier than 87% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 85% of bakery, dessert & ice cream franchises |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 0.9%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every bakery, dessert & ice cream franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Nothing Bundt Cakes
The franchisor's framing: Discloses average Net Revenues ($1.48M), 4-Wall EBITDA (~21.6% avg), COGS, labor, occupanc… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $667,100–$1,032,500, including a $45,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise owners make?
- Discloses average Net Revenues ($1.48M), 4-Wall EBITDA (~21.6% avg), COGS, labor, occupancy breakdowns for 297 bakeries. Excludes owner salary from EBITDA, omits D&A, interest, taxes; cherry-picks mature, top-performing subset. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise fees?
- Nothing Bundt Cakes' FDD discloses a $45,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 11% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 6% + marketing 5% = 11% total weekly on net revenues; renewal fee 50% of then-current initial fee.
- What is the Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise profit margin?
- Nothing Bundt Cakes does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses average Net Revenues ($1.48M), 4-Wall EBITDA (~21.6% avg), COGS, labor, occupancy breakdowns for 297 bakeries. Excludes owner salary from EBITDA, omits D&A, interest, taxes; cherry-picks mature, top-performing subset. Recurring fees alone take about 11% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise failure rate?
- Zero terminations or closures across 2022-2024; rapid growth with 46 transfers in 2024 suggests healthy system.
- How many Nothing Bundt Cakes locations are there?
- Nothing Bundt Cakes' FDD reports 660 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 46 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Nothing Bundt Cakes have complaints or lawsuits?
- Nothing Bundt Cakes discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Nothing Bundt Cakes scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 11% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: MN CARDS 34084-202505-07 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Nothing Bundt Cakes or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.