Franchise Facts Report → brands → Waffle Love
Waffle Love franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Waffle Love is a food and beverage franchise with an investment range of $311,800 to $674,700.
Everything below is free, read straight off Waffle Love's registered filing, with where the numbers land against food & beverage peers. Weighing Waffle Love against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Waffle Love's most recent FDD (registered 2023). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-28486 — check it yourself. See every other California-registered franchise.
Considering Waffle Love? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Waffle Love will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Waffle Love franchise make?
Waffle Love 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 headline figure did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. See every food & beverage brand that discloses earnings in the Food & beverage franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Waffle Love 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 Waffle Love's 6% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Waffle Love franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Waffle Love franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure.
Waffle Love lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Waffle Love's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2023) does disclose 1 legal proceeding in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Waffle Love itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. 1 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Waffle Love closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Waffle Love 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 Waffle Love'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. Waffle Love's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 0%, against a food & beverage median of 3.3% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +1 to 3 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Waffle Love?
Waffle Love's franchise is offered by Waffle Love Franchises, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2023), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Food & beverage franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Waffle Love 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.
Waffle Love franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Waffle Love — who is the franchisor?
Waffle Love's most recently filed FDD (2023) names Waffle Love Franchises, LLC 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 Waffle Love franchise cost?
Waffle Love's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $311,800 – $674,700, with an initial franchise fee of $890,400 and a 6% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against food & beverage peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $379,725).
How much profit does a Waffle Love franchise make?
Waffle Love discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (6% of gross for Waffle Love), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Waffle Love franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate.
Does Waffle Love disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Waffle Love reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly, so check Item 19 of the source FDD for the numbers.
Are there lawsuits against Waffle Love?
Waffle Love's most recently filed FDD (2023) discloses 1 legal proceeding in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Waffle Love itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 1 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Waffle Love a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Waffle Love's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against food & beverage peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Waffle Love 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 state registries this page is built on.