Chocolate Works franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Chocolate Works franchise takes $290,500 – $456,600 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $50,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales. To qualify, Chocolate Works asks for $200,000 in liquid cash and a $300,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Chocolate Works franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $290,500 | $456,600 | $290,500 to $456,600 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $290,500 | $456,600 | $290,500 to $456,600 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Chocolate Works cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Chocolate Works's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Chocolate Works's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $290,500 — about in line with the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $50,000 — about 1.4× the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How Chocolate Works's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2013–2017: began the window at 0 units; 15 units opened, 0 closed, ending at 17 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Chocolate Works or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Chocolate Works for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Chocolate Works is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Chocolate Works grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Chocolate Works can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Chocolate Works franchise
Chocolate Works is a food & beverage franchisor with 17 units at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2013 and 2017, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 15 unit openings and 0 closures, ending at 17 units. Its parent company is Chocolate Works Franchising, LLC.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
The franchise described in this Disclosure Document is to operate a business that sells an exclusive line of high-quality chocolates and other confections, including boxed chocolates, custom packed chocolate assortments, gift baskets and towers, chocolate dipped fruit, cookies and pretzels, hard candy, ice cream and seasonal items under the Chocolate Works brand.
Chocolate Works franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Chocolate Works franchise cost?
- $290,500 – $456,600 all-in to open, per Chocolate Works's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Chocolate Works units are there?
- 17 units at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Chocolate Works's units held up?
- 100% of units at risk between 2015 and 2017 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is Chocolate Works SBA-eligible?
- Chocolate Works is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.