In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the Your Pie franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Your Pie franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a Your Pie franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned Your Pie outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2016, 2017, and 2018, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2019 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of Your Pie’s financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2019 FDD, including information on the:

• 2018 average gross sales, cost of goods sold, other operating expenses, occupancy expenses, labor expenses, advertising expenses, and EBITDA for the top quintile, second quintile, third quintile, fourth quintile, and fifth quintile of the 36 franchised Your Pie Restaurants that operated during the entire fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and provided Your Pie with revenue and detailed cost information for the 2018 fiscal year (the “Covered Restaurants”)

Section I – Background Information

18 Things You Need to Know About the Your Pie Franchise

Awarded 19 Stores During Q2 of 2019

1.  At the beginning of July 2019, Your Pie announced that it had a successful second quarter, which included two new franchise locations, two limited-time Craft Series menu offerings, and its 8th annual Franchise Fest conference in Athens, Georgia. Between April 1 and June 30, Your Pie welcomed new Georgia locations in Cumming and Smyrna, bringing the brand’s total footprint to 65 stores nationwide with a busy summer still ahead.

2.  During Q3, Your Pie plans to open locations in Houston, Texas; Blacksburg, Virginia; Jacksonville, Melbourne, and Brandon, Florida; and Winder, Fort Oglethorpe, Dahlonega, and Dublin, Georgia. Also in the second quarter, Your Pie awarded 19 stores across Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida for future development.

3.  Ken Caldwell, vice president of development for Your Pie, said, “We’re always thrilled for the opportunity to lock arms with like-minded individuals to introduce the Your Pie brand to new communities nationwide. As we continue to grow our franchise footprint, our number one priority is to support franchise owner success at the individual unit level.”

4.  In addition to store growth in Q2, Your Pie introduced a new limited-time offering, the Double Bacon BLT Pie, as part of its rotating Craft Series Menu. Your Pie also celebrated the return of its award-winning summertime staple, the Peach Prosciutto Pie, featuring a sweet-savory blend of cheese, prosciutto, and fresh, seasonal peaches.

5.  To close the quarter, Your Pie invited franchisees from across the country to Athens, Georgia, for its annual Franchise Fest conference on June 25-27. As part of this year’s theme, 2020 Vision, Your Pie leadership shared learnings from the year and vision for the year ahead, and franchisees participated in a variety of interactive sessions related to sales, marketing, technology, and more.

6.  According to Drew French, founder of Your Pie, “Franchise Fest is one of my favorite events of the year. We work hard to create an event that is engaging, informative and inspirational, so that we as a franchise system can leave feeling energized and excited for what’s ahead. We always enjoy hosting the Your Pie Family in the city that started it all. It’s rewarding to celebrate what we’ve accomplished as a brand and put our brains together to discuss our vision for the future. This year was a huge success, and we’re enthusiastic about the year ahead.”

Launches Baked Pasta Nationwide

7.  In early September 2019, Your Pie launched baked pastas at all of its restaurants across the United States. The new menu includes classic pasta offerings like Zia’s Meatball Marinara and Cheesy Alfredo, as well as fan-favorite items inspired by Your Pie’s signature pizza menu – like The Nat, featuring penne, basil pesto, sundried tomatoes, spinach, chicken, mozzarella, and feta. Like all Your Pie offerings, customers have the option to build their own custom pasta dishes with a penne base, choice of sauce and cheese, and any desired meats and fresh veggies.

8.  Drew French, founder and president of Your Pie, said, “As the world’s first fast casual pizza franchise, innovation has always been part of the Your Pie DNA. More than 10 years later, we’ve never stopped challenging ourselves to improve, invent and evolve. We developed our pasta menu in response to guest and store feedback, and we look forward to seeing how it amplifies the Your Pie experience, both in stores and within our catering offerings.”

9.  According to Pat Landon, Your Pie franchise owner in Augusta, Georgia, “We’re excited to offer guests yet another fresh, great tasting menu option. As one of the first Your Pie groups to begin carrying pasta, we got to see firsthand our guests’ excitement at having a new build-your-own experience to choose from. My wife and I have had a lot of fun crafting our own custom pasta creations, like Spicy Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Veggie Extravaganza. At Your Pie, it’s about everyone getting to enjoy exactly what they want, with no need to compromise or sacrifice. Our new pasta offering supports that experience – plus, it’s perfect for catering.”

10.  To celebrate the launch of the new baked pastas, Your Pie is giving away a total of 10,000 pasta entrées to the Your Pie Family. Starting September 4, Your Pie fans can register on the brand’s website for a chance to win. On October 3, Your Pie will select 5,000 winners – each of whom will win a free entree for themselves, and one to share.

11.  French added, “At Your Pie, we believe that food can be fresh, fast, delicious and experiential. We want to be the go-to fast casual restaurant where families, friends, colleagues and groups can gather, dine and create shareable moments. When we began this journey, we offered guests a new way to experience pizza; now, we’re excited to introduce a new way to experience Your Pie.”

Partners with Impossible Foods on ‘Slider Pie’ Featuring Plant-Based Impossible™ Burger

12.  In early January 2019, Your Pie announced that it had teamed up with Impossible Foods for its latest Craft Series pizza, the Impossible Slider Pie. Your Pie is one of the first pizza brands to feature Impossible Foods’ flagship product, the plant-based Impossible Burger, as part of its limited-time Craft Series menu. The Impossible Slider Pie was available in participating stores from January 2 through February 27.

13.  This Craft Series pizza channeled the delicious flavors of a slider burger with a sustainable twist. Starting with an olive oil base, the pies were topped with mozzarella, thinly-sliced red onions, pickles, and Impossible Burger, then baked and finished with a drizzle of yellow mustard.

14.  The award-winning Impossible Burger is a plant-based meat created as an environmentally-sustainable option for beef lovers. Available in around 5,000 restaurants across the U.S., the Impossible Burger features a combination of ingredients to match the levels of protein and iron found in beef, plus a molecule called heme which allows it to deliver the flavor and depth of beef while using far fewer resources. With the Impossible Burger, Impossible Foods aims to satisfy the global demand for meat at a fraction of the environmental impact.

15.  Drew French, founder and president of Your Pie, said, “The Impossible Burger has been quickly gaining traction over the past year, and we were eager to feature it on our menu after learning about its mission. With New Year’s resolutions in full force, the Impossible Slider Pie gives our guests another healthy option to choose from, in addition to our vegan cheese, gluten-free crust, and more than 40 other freshly prepared ingredients. We’re excited to lock arms with Impossible Foods to bring to life a pizza featuring all of the classic flavors of a slider burger, with a healthy and sustainable ethos. We can’t wait for our customers to experience it. I think they’ll be blown away!”

Company History

16.  Your Pie was founded in 2008 by Drew French in Athens, Georgia. Two years before starting Your Pie, French and his wife had visited the island of Ischia near Sicily, Italy and fell in love with the region’s style of pizza. The pizzas were cooked in brick ovens, which imparted smoky, earthy flavors, and created a crisp thin crust. French also noticed that the brick ovens cooked the pizzas quickly, which was something that would appeal to American customers.

17.  It took two years for French to develop the Your Pie concept, which offers quickly-cooked, custom-made artisan pies. In 2010, French began franchising Your Pie and more restaurants were opened around the Southeastern United States. A few years later, in 2013, Your Pie decided to reinvent itself by improving the team member and customer experience. More recently, in 2018, Your Pie finally launched national franchising and began opening restaurants outside of the Southeast. It hopes to become a global brand someday.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

18.  Your Pie did not rank on Entrepreneur’s 2019 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Your Pie franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2019 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on Your Pie’s initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2019 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  23
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  34
• Net Change:  +11

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  34
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  47
• Net Change:  +13

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  47
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  61
• Net Change:  +14

Company-Owned

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  4
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  4
• Net Change:  0

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  4
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  4
• Net Change:  0

2018

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  4
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  4
• Net Change:  0

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2019 FDD) and Analysis

• There were 61 franchised Your Pie Restaurants open and operating as of December 31, 2018, 42 of which operated during the entire fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and 36 of which provided Your Pie with revenue and detailed cost information for the 2018 fiscal year (the “Covered Restaurants”) which appears in this financial performance representation.

• The Covered Restaurants do not include 24 franchised Restaurants that were not open throughout the entire fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 or the 6 franchised Restaurants that were open throughout the entire fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 but who did not provide Your Pie with the necessary financial information to permit their franchised Restaurants to be included in this financial performance representation.

• Your Pie did not include the four Restaurants owned by Lineage or other entities owned by the same individuals who own Your Pie, which Your Pie considers to be affiliated-owned Restaurants.

• This financial performance representation reflects the average Gross Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, Other Operating Expenses, Occupancy Expenses, Labor Expenses, Advertising Expenses, and EBITDA, as Your Pie defines each of these terms below, for all Covered Restaurants during Your Pie’s 2018 fiscal year (January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018).

• Your Pie then divided these Covered Restaurants into 5 quintiles (top, second, third, fourth, and fifth).

Part 1 – Top Quintile

• The first category of Covered Restaurants is the 7 Covered Restaurants that comprise the top quintile (by Gross Sales) of all Covered Restaurants. Of these 7 Covered Restaurants, 5 are located in Georgia, 1 is located in South Carolina, and 1 is located in Colorado. Of these Covered Restaurants, 1 opened in 2013, 3 opened in 2016, and 3 opened in 2017.