Top This Chocolate Franchise
Audited FinancialsRisk Score
Pending analysis
Investment Range
$337,267 - $533,675
Franchise Fee
$31,500
Total US Locations
1
Business Summary
Top This Chocolate is a retail food business that specializes in selling premium chocolate with made-to-order custom toppings, along with other related products and services. Top This Chocolate restaurants operate from a single fixed location, offering products for on-site consumption or shipment within a designated territory. The business operates using a proprietary system and trademarks to ensure brand uniformity and quality.
Corporate History
Top This Franchise, LLC was established on July 25, 2022, in California. The company began offering Top This Chocolate franchises on October 24, 2022, to entrepreneurs interested in developing and operating their own retail food business. Before launching the franchise system, an affiliate, Commissioned Desserts LLC, founded on September 22, 2014, in California, owned and operated a Top This Chocolate Restaurant in Ventura, California, which also owns the brand's licensed marks.
Financial Overview
Investment Range
$337,267 - $533,675
Franchise Fee (Low)
$31,500
Franchise Fee (High)
$35,000
Royalty %
6%
Marketing %
1%
Equipment Costs (Low)
$230,029
Equipment Costs (High)
$390,352
Working Capital
$17,132
Audited Financials
Yes
Offers Financing
No
Audit Opinion
Unqualified opinion
Financial Health Notes
Top This Franchise, LLC's financial condition, as reflected in its financial statements, raises questions about its ability to provide services and support to franchisees. The franchisor was established on July 25, 2022, and its balance sheet as of December 31, 2022, shows only $10,000 in cash and members' equity, with no liabilities or revenues generated by that date. The FDD itself highlights this limited operating history and financial state as a risk for potential franchisees, noting that it calls into question the franchisor's financial ability to provide services and support.
Financing Details
Top This Franchise, LLC does not offer any direct or indirect financing to its franchisees. The franchisor also does not guarantee any notes, leases, or other financial obligations for franchisees.
Performance Metrics
Total US Locations
1
Franchised Units
0
Corporate Units
1
Avg Square Footage
1,250
Franchising Since
2022
Legal & Compliance Analysis
Recent Litigation
No
Bankruptcy
No
Litigation Summary
Top This Franchise, LLC has no litigation to disclose, as stated in Item 3 of its Franchise Disclosure Document. This means Top This Franchise, LLC has no administrative, criminal, or material civil actions pending against it or any person identified in Items 1 or 2, nor has it been convicted of a felony, pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge, or been subject to certain civil actions or injunctive orders within the past 10 years that would be required for disclosure.
Bankruptcy History
Top This Franchise, LLC has no bankruptcy history to report. Item 4 of its Franchise Disclosure Document explicitly states that no bankruptcy information is required to be disclosed for the franchisor or any person identified in Items 1 or 2.
Agreement Terms
Initial Term
10 years
Renewal Term
5 years
Renewal Conditions
To renew their Top This Chocolate franchise, franchisees must comply with the Franchise Agreement's terms, provide 180 days' written notice of their intent to renew, sign the then-current form of Franchise Agreement and related agreements, execute a general release in favor of Top This Franchise, LLC, pay a renewal fee, remodel and upgrade their restaurant to meet current brand standards, secure the legal right to occupy their location for the renewal term, and fulfill all other renewal requirements outlined in the Franchise Agreement. Owners and their spouses must also guarantee the terms of the new agreement.
Training & Support Program
Franchisor Assistance
Top This Chocolate provides pre-opening assistance, including granting the right to operate a restaurant within a designated territory, providing access to confidential operations manuals, and reviewing and approving proposed restaurant sites. The franchisor also provides a list of approved suppliers for signage, equipment, furniture, and fixtures, along with guidance on brand identification elements. Before opening, Top This Chocolate identifies the franchisee's restaurant on its website and offers an initial training program in Ventura, California, for the franchisee's managing owner and one manager. Post-opening, Top This Chocolate may offer supplemental on-site training for a fee, communicate operating standards and approved products, designate approved vendors, and may coordinate an annual system conference. Top This Chocolate administers a brand development fund for system-wide marketing but does not provide assistance with hiring or pricing decisions, although it may suggest pricing levels.
Initial Training Hours
48
Training Location
Ventura, California
Ongoing Support
After opening, Top This Chocolate franchisees may be required to participate in supplemental on-site training, for which they would pay a daily fee plus travel expenses. The franchisor establishes and communicates ongoing operating standards, procedures, and system requirements, including updates on approved services and products, system supplies, and designated suppliers. Top This Chocolate also sets and communicates marketing standards, approving or disapproving marketing materials used by franchisees. An annual system conference may be coordinated for franchisees in good standing, with an attendance fee and travel expenses being the franchisee's responsibility. The franchisor also administers a brand development fund, which franchisees contribute to, for system-wide marketing and development. Franchisees are responsible for their own hiring and training of employees, and while Top This Chocolate may suggest pricing levels, franchisees determine their own prices.
Franchise Requirements
Ideal Candidate Profile
Top This Chocolate seeks franchisees, particularly a Managing Owner (who must own at least 25% of the entity if it's a Corporate Entity) or an Operating Manager, who will be personally responsible for the active, continuing, and substantial hands-on supervision and day-to-day management of the Restaurant. Ideal candidates must be of good moral character, possess sufficient business experience and aptitude, and have adequate financial resources to operate a Top This Chocolate Restaurant. They are required to successfully complete the franchisor's initial training program and sign confidentiality agreements. All trainees, including the franchisee or Managing Owner and designated manager, must hold a ServSafe Certification or an equivalent food handler's certification. Franchisees, or their owners and spouses, must not operate or intend to operate a competitive business. Qualified U.S. military veterans are offered a 10% discount on the initial franchise fee.
Industry Experience Required
No
Management Experience Required
No
Sales Experience Required
No
Technical Skills Required
No
Operational Details
Location Type
retail
Owner Participation
supervisory
Territory Type
protected
Territory Size Requirements
Top This Chocolate territories are generally defined as the smaller of a 5-mile radius from the restaurant location (travelable by road) or an area encompassing a population of 100,000 people at the time the Franchise Agreement is signed. If a restaurant is situated within a shopping mall or similar facility with a captive market, the designated territory may be limited to the physical boundaries of that mall or facility.
Staffing Notes
Top This Chocolate requires that the franchised business always be under the active, continuous, and substantial personal involvement and hands-on supervision of the franchisee's Managing Owner. While the franchisor recommends the Managing Owner personally participate in day-to-day operations, franchisees can hire an Operating Manager to oversee daily on-site operations. This Operating Manager must meet the franchisor's minimum standards for managers, complete initial training, and sign a confidentiality agreement. The franchisor does not provide direct assistance with hiring and training employees; franchisees are solely responsible for managing and supervising their staff. All employees must wear approved, branded uniforms and adhere to System standards for preparing, maintaining, and serving approved products and services.