Bruster's Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Bruster's franchisees defaulted on 13.3% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 15 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry average of 10.1%.
- 13.3%SBA default rate, small sample2 of 15 loans
- 15loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 10.1%Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 15th lowestindustry rankof 20 Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars brands
| SBA default rate | 13.3% (small sample) |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 15 |
| Loans charged off | 2 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
| Industry average | 10.1% |
| Data source | U.S. SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data |
Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
2 of 15 Bruster's SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
What is the Bruster's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Bruster's is a Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Bruster's franchisees: 15 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 2 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201915
- Charged off2
- Charge-off rate (small sample)13.3%
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchise benchmark10.1%
- Brand vs industry1.3x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$319,933
How does Bruster's compare with other Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchises?
The table sets Bruster's's charge-off rate beside its Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Bruster's | Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 13.3% (small sample) | 10.1% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 15 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 2 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $319,933 | — | — | — |
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2011 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2012 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
| FY2017 | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Bruster's's figure rests on 15 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019. That cohort has matured, so the count is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 15 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 6.7 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Bruster's figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (15 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Is Bruster's in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Bruster's's SBA 7(a) default rate was 13.3% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (2 of 15 loans charged off) — 15th lowest of 20 Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars brands tracked here. A default rate close to the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars average of 10.1% is, on its own, neither a warning sign nor a reassurance. With only 15 loans in the sample, one default moves the rate by about 6.7 percentage points, so read it as a flag rather than a verdict.
Frequently asked
- What is Bruster's's franchise failure rate?
- Bruster's franchisees defaulted on 13.3% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 15 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry average of 10.1%.
- How does Bruster's compare to other Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchises?
- Bruster's's 13.3% SBA default rate is higher than the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry average of 10.1%. See every Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchise ranked on the Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars industry page. Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars franchises →
- What does 'SBA default rate' mean?
- An SBA default rate is the share of SBA 7(a) loans, approved FY2010–FY2019 and since resolved (paid in full or charged off), that were charged off — written off after the borrower failed to repay. It is not a measure of unit closures.
Source
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Every brand in one table, with percentiles and breakdowns by year, industry and loan size: franchise SBA default rates, all 415 brands.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Bruster's franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 13.3% (2 of 15 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/brusters/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)