Mrs. Fields Cookies Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Mrs. Fields Cookies franchisees defaulted on 11.8% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Baked Goods Stores industry average of 8.7%.
- 11.8%SBA default rate, small sample2 of 17 loans
- 17loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 8.7%Baked Goods Stores averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 10.2%all-franchise average7.8% non-franchised
| SBA default rate | 11.8% (small sample) |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 17 |
| Loans charged off | 2 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Baked Goods Stores |
| Industry average | 8.7% |
| 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 17 Mrs. Fields Cookies SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
What is the Mrs. Fields Cookies franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Mrs. Fields Cookies is a Baked Goods Stores franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Mrs. Fields Cookies franchisees: 17 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–FY201917
- Charged off2
- Charge-off rate (small sample)11.8%
- Baked Goods Stores franchise benchmark8.7%
- Brand vs industry1.4x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$188,706
How does Mrs. Fields Cookies compare with other Baked Goods Stores franchises?
The table sets Mrs. Fields Cookies's charge-off rate beside its Baked Goods Stores 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 | Mrs. Fields Cookies | Baked Goods Stores | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 11.8% (small sample) | 8.7% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 17 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 2 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $188,706 | — | — | — |
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 | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| FY2011 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2012 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2014 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2017 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
| FY2018 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
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?
Mrs. Fields Cookies's figure rests on 17 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 17 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 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 Mrs. Fields Cookies figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (17 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Is Mrs. Fields Cookies in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Mrs. Fields Cookies's SBA 7(a) default rate was 11.8% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (2 of 17 loans charged off) — the only Baked Goods Stores brand tracked here. A default rate close to the Baked Goods Stores average of 8.7% is, on its own, neither a warning sign nor a reassurance. With only 17 loans in the sample, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points, so read it as a flag rather than a verdict.
Frequently asked
- What is Mrs. Fields Cookies's franchise failure rate?
- Mrs. Fields Cookies franchisees defaulted on 11.8% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Baked Goods Stores industry average of 8.7%.
- How does Mrs. Fields Cookies compare to other Baked Goods Stores franchises?
- Mrs. Fields Cookies's 11.8% SBA default rate is higher than the Baked Goods Stores industry average of 8.7%. See every Baked Goods Stores franchise ranked on the Baked Goods Stores industry page. Baked Goods Stores 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). Mrs. Fields Cookies franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 11.8% (2 of 17 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/mrs-fields-cookies/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)